Sponsored bookings — for lawyers

Sponsored bookings on the lawyer side

When a client is covered by a sponsorship, you see the same booking flow plus a sponsor-context card above the permission summary. The card tells you who is sponsoring, the scope they allowed, and what information you are allowed to share upstream.

The client is still your client — duty of care, confidentiality, and all ethical obligations are with them. The sponsor is a payer with limited metadata visibility.

How to identify a sponsored booking

A "Sponsored" badge appears on the booking card and in the dashboard list. Inside the booking, the sponsor-context card shows organization name, scope, case package budget (if any), and caseworker.

If sponsor-context info is missing or looks wrong, flag it via the "Report issue" button on the booking — LeyApp triages within 24h.

What you see

• "Sponsored" badge on the booking card and the bookings list.
• Sponsor-context card with organization name, scope, budget, and caseworker contact.
• Permission summary showing what the sponsor is allowed to see about this case.

Sending progress updates

Use the "Send case update" form inside the conversation, not free-text chat. Only structured updates respect the permission summary — free-text chat is always private.

If the permission summary says "status only", the sponsor receives only the selected status. If it says "status + notes", your brief note is included. Either way, client-side chat content is never forwarded.

Types of update you can send

• Status change — case initiated, awaiting docs, in progress, completed, closed.
• Progress note — a short summary (under 500 chars) of what was accomplished.
• Document request — tells the sponsor the client owes specific documents so they can help chase.
• Internal note — stays in your own records, never shared with sponsor or client.

Reading the permission summary

The permission summary card lists exactly what the sponsor sees: lawyer name, status updates, progress notes, next steps. Anything not on the card is hidden. Use it as your reference before sending any update.

Best practices

Keep sponsored bookings as smooth as any other consultation. A few practices that help:

• Send the first status update within 24h of accepting — it reassures the sponsor the client is taken care of.
• Keep progress notes factual and short; detailed analysis stays in private chat with the client.
• Use "document request" instead of chasing the client yourself if the sponsor is the one who can help gather them.
• Flag scope issues early — if the matter falls outside the sponsor's scope, ask the sponsor to widen it or bill the client directly.