Frequently Asked Questions

#Search & Experts

#How current is the expert database?

Expert profiles are updated by the experts themselves. Active subscribers are more likely to keep their profiles current. You can filter to Premium-only experts to see the most engaged professionals.

#Can I search by specific credentials (e.g., MD, CPA)?

Yes — include the credential abbreviation in your search query. The AI recognizes common credentials like MD, PhD, CPA, PE, CFE, and many others.

#What does "unclaimed" mean on an expert profile?

Some expert profiles were pre-loaded from public sources. An "unclaimed" profile has not been verified or updated by the expert. The contact information may be incomplete. We recommend prioritizing claimed profiles for active matters.

#How do I save an expert from search results?

Click the Add to Shortlist button on any search result card. A popover lets you select an existing shortlist or create a new one. You can also add experts directly to a case.

#Cases & Pipeline

#What are pipeline stages?

When you add an expert to a case, they enter the expert pipeline. There are 8 stages: Shortlisted, Reviewing, Contacted, Responded, Interviewing, Selected, Completed, and Declined. Drag expert cards between stages in the Kanban view, or use the table view for a spreadsheet layout.

#Can I archive a case?

Yes — open the case detail page, click the archive button, and confirm. Archived cases are hidden from your main list but can be restored later.

#How do I switch between Kanban and table views?

On the case detail page's Experts tab, use the view toggle in the top-right corner to switch between Kanban board and table layout.

#Messaging & Inquiries

#How do I contact an expert?

You can send an inquiry from the Inquiries page or from a case's Inquiries tab. Fill in the case type, summary, expertise needed, and your preferred engagement type (Consulting, Testifying, or Both). The expert receives a notification.

#What are the inquiry statuses?

Inquiries move through these statuses: Pending (sent), Viewed (expert saw it), Accepted (expert interested), Declined (expert not interested), and Expired (no response within the allowed timeframe).

#Where do I see my messages?

Go to Dashboard → Messages. All conversations with experts appear as threads. Unread messages show a badge count in the sidebar.

#Credits & Billing

#Do credits expire?

No. Credits have no expiration date.

#Can I get a refund for an unused unlock?

Unlocks are non-refundable once used. If you accidentally unlocked the wrong profile, contact [email protected] and we'll review on a case-by-case basis.

#Do all firm members share credits?

Yes — when your account is part of a firm, all credits are pooled and shared across firm members.

#Account & Firm

#How do I add colleagues to my firm?

Go to Dashboard → Firm and click Invite Member. Enter their email address. They'll receive an invitation to join your firm on Exlitem. See Firm Management for details.

#Can I use Exlitem without creating a firm?

Absolutely. Firms are optional. You can use Exlitem as an individual attorney with your own credit balance.

#What firm roles are available?

Firms have two roles: Admin (can invite members, manage roles, remove members) and Member (can use shared credits and view the member list). See Firm Management for details.

#How do I update my billing information?

Go to Dashboard → Settings → Billing to update your payment method or view past invoices.

#Search Features

#Does the search handle typos?

Yes — the AI search engine has built-in typo tolerance. It also suggests corrections with a "Did you mean?" prompt when a better match exists.

#Can I see my search history?

Yes — your recent search queries are saved and can be re-run from the search page. You can also see recently viewed expert profiles for quick access.

#How do I compare multiple experts?

Select experts from a shortlist and click Compare to see a side-by-side view of their credentials, experience, and specialties.

#Notifications

#How does the notification bell work?

A bell icon in the top navigation shows a badge with your unread count. Click it to see your 10 most recent notifications; click any item to deep-link to the relevant thread (and it's marked read automatically). The bell refreshes every 30 seconds while the tab is visible. For the full history, click "View all notifications" or go to /notifications.

#Can I control which emails I receive?

Yes — go to Dashboard → Settings → Email Notifications. Each category has a frequency picker (Real-time / Daily digest / Weekly digest / On / Off) rather than a simple on/off toggle. Changes save instantly. See Account Settings for full details.

#What's the difference between Daily digest and Weekly digest?

Daily digest collects events through the day and sends one consolidated email at 9 AM UTC. Weekly digest does the same on a weekly schedule, sending Monday morning UTC. Both are useful when a category is interesting enough to know about, but not urgent enough to warrant a real-time email per event. (Per-user local-time delivery is supported on the backend; a settings field to set your timezone is coming next.)

#I set a category to "Daily digest" — why am I still seeing items in the bell as they happen?

Email frequency and in-app visibility are independent. The bell always shows every notification as it happens; the frequency setting only affects when (and how often) we batch them into emails.

#How do I turn off marketing emails?

In Settings → Email Notifications, set "Product news & announcements" to Off. Transactional emails (messages, inquiry responses, billing) are unaffected and continue normally.

#Why didn't I get an email I expected?

Each category row in Settings → Email Notifications has a "Last sent X ago" timestamp and a "View recent notifications sent to you" modal that shows the last 50 events we tried to deliver. Start there — if the event isn't listed at all, the frequency setting blocked the email; if it's listed but undelivered, it's queued for the next digest.