Introduction

Professional & business defense firms handle some of the most complex, high-stakes matters in the legal industry.

Clients often reach out while facing investigations, regulatory scrutiny, licensing issues, breach-of-duty allegations, contract disputes, or internal business conflicts.

These situations require fast response, highly accurate fact-gathering, structured timelines, and careful documentation.

Traditional intake systems — long calls, scattered notes, email chains — simply cannot keep up.

AI tools like Retriever significantly improve the intake process by automating initial conversations, collecting key business and professional facts, reviewing documents, and identifying early risk indicators.

Challenges in Professional & Business Defense Intake

Defense attorneys frequently face:

• Clients in crisis providing unclear or emotional narratives

• Incomplete or disorganized timelines

• Complex interactions with employees, partners, vendors, or regulators

• Missing documents

• Multiple concurrent issues (contracts, compliance, HR, licensing)

• High variability across industries

• Slow follow-up leading to stalled engagements

Manual intake often requires 45–120 minutes and may still miss critical information.

What Is Retriever?

Retriever is an AI-powered intake and case assessment assistant designed for law firms.

It conducts the full first conversation with prospective clients, collects structured business and professional data, reviews uploaded documents, and screens cases based on your defense criteria.

Attorneys receive a clean, organized summary ready for immediate evaluation.

How AI Improves Intake for Professional & Business Defense Firms

1. Structuring Complex Business Timelines

Defense cases rely on clear chronology, which can include:

• dates of alleged incidents or violations

• internal communications

• compliance actions

• contract events

• employee interactions

• regulatory notices

• decision-making timelines

• prior corrective measures

Retriever organizes these details chronologically and fills missing gaps with guided follow-up questions.

2. Early Identification of Risk & Exposure

AI screening helps attorneys quickly gauge:

• regulatory and compliance exposure

• breach-of-duty claims

• licensing issues

• employment liability

• contract disputes

• negligence allegations

• governance concerns

• safety or operational failures

This streamlines prioritization and early strategy planning.

3. Gathering Key Business and Professional Details

Retriever collects essential information such as:

• company size and structure

• roles & responsibilities of involved parties

• internal policies and procedures

• prior incidents or investigations

• insurance coverage

• relevant financial or operational details

• vendor/contractor relationships

This supports rapid early assessment and case strategy.

4. Automated Document Intake & Extraction

Clients can upload:

• contracts

• employee files

• internal policies

• regulatory notices

• email threads

• incident reports

• audit/inspection documents

• compliance manuals

• financial statements

Retriever extracts relevant facts and ties documents to the case timeline.

5. Managing Sensitive & High-Stress Conversations

Business clients often:

• downplay risk

• over-explain irrelevant details

• jump between topics

• omit critical information

• feel defensive or overwhelmed

Retriever uses:

• structured, neutral questions

• a professional and calm tone

• consistent, non-judgmental guidance

This leads to more accurate information from the first interaction.

How Retriever Works (Step-by-Step)

1. AI Conversation: Guided intake tailored to Professional & Business Defense.

2. Business & Professional Fact Collection: Roles, internal policies, incident details, timelines, communications.

3. Risk Screening: AI filters cases based on your defense criteria.

4. Document Review: Extracts key facts from uploaded files.

5. Attorney Summary: A clear, structured case overview delivered instantly.