Whether you are a law firm posting your first appearance request or an attorney accepting your first CourtCounsel appearance, the first time through the platform can raise questions. What exactly happens at each step? What does the attorney receive? What does the client see? This post walks through the entire process from start to finish.
From the Client Side: Posting the Appearance
Post the Hearing Details
After logging in to app.courtcounsel.ai, clients click Post an Appearance. The form asks for the courthouse name, hearing date and time, case type (motion, status conference, trial, deposition coverage, etc.), case number, and any specific instructions for the appearing attorney.
The entire form takes under two minutes to complete. Payment is authorized at this stage but not captured until the appearance is confirmed and completed.
Review Matched Attorneys
Within minutes of posting, you see a list of attorneys matched to your courthouse and case type. Each profile shows their photo, bar state and number, years licensed, practice areas, how many appearances they have completed on CourtCounsel, their client rating, and which specific courthouses they know well.
The match score shown on each profile factors in distance from the courthouse, courthouse familiarity, and rating. You are never locked into the top result — you review the list and choose who you want.
Confirm and Upload Materials
Once you select an attorney and confirm the booking, you upload the case materials the attorney will need: the complaint, any pending motions, the scheduling order, and your specific instructions on positioning. CourtCounsel delivers these directly to the attorney through the platform. No email chains, no attachments lost in spam.
Note on confidentiality: All documents uploaded to CourtCounsel are transmitted securely. Attorneys are bound by the platform’s Terms of Service and applicable bar rules regarding client confidentiality.
From the Attorney Side: Accepting the Appearance
Attorneys on CourtCounsel receive notifications (push via the mobile app and email) when a new appearance is posted near one of their listed courthouses. Here is what the attorney experience looks like.
Review the Posting
Before accepting, the attorney sees the courthouse, hearing date and time, case type, and the offered rate. They can review the hearing details and confirm it fits their schedule before committing. There are no obligations — if the date does not work or the case type is outside their wheelhouse, they pass.
Access Case Materials
Once accepted, the full case package is visible inside the platform. Attorneys review the uploaded documents, note any specific client instructions, and can message the posting firm if they need a clarification before the hearing date.
Appear and Submit the Report
The attorney appears at the hearing, handles the matter according to the client’s instructions, and submits the outcome report within two hours of the hearing’s conclusion. The report form is built into the CourtCounsel mobile app and asks for:
- Hearing result (continued, argued, granted, denied, etc.)
- Judge’s full name and courtroom number
- Orders entered on the record
- Next hearing date and time, if scheduled
- Action items for the client’s team
- Any notes or observations from the courtroom
The Outcome Report: What Clients Receive
The outcome report is what separates CourtCounsel from an informal referral. It is a structured, permanent document stored in your account. You receive a notification the moment it is submitted.
The report contains every field the attorney filled in, plus a free-text outcome summary and specific action items. If any orders were entered, the attorney notes them explicitly so your team knows immediately what to file, serve, or respond to.
The report is exportable as a PDF and stored in your account for the life of the case. No more calling someone to find out what happened at a hearing you could not attend.
Payment: How It Works
Payment is authorized when you post the appearance request, but it is not captured until the outcome report is submitted and accepted. Once the report is in, CourtCounsel captures the payment and releases 80% to the attorney via Stripe Connect. The platform retains 20%.
Attorneys receive payment in their connected Stripe bank account within two business days. Clients receive a receipt and can download invoices for each appearance from their billing dashboard.
First appearance tip: After your first appearance, both the client and attorney are prompted to leave a brief rating. Ratings are how attorneys build their reputation on the platform — a complete, timely outcome report is the single best thing an attorney can do to earn a five-star review.
What to Expect Going Forward
Most clients find that after the first appearance, subsequent bookings take half the time. Your preferred attorneys are saved to your account, your billing details are on file, and the case files for ongoing matters are already uploaded.
For attorneys, the first appearance is the hardest because you are learning the form and flow. By the third or fourth appearance, the outcome report takes under ten minutes to complete.
If anything goes wrong at any point — a judge continues the hearing unexpectedly, the attorney cannot locate the courtroom, a document is missing — the in-platform messaging system keeps everyone connected in real time.