Getting Started as an Attorney

Exlitem helps you find the right expert witness in minutes using AI-powered search. This guide covers the core workflow and your dashboard.

#How Exlitem Works

1. Search — search by keyword, or switch on AI Mode to describe what you need in plain English
2. Review — browse expert profiles, credentials, and specialties
3. Unlock — spend 1 credit to reveal an expert's contact details
4. Connect — reach out directly via email, phone, or by sending an inquiry
5. Track — add candidates to a matter and move them through the pipeline as they respond

#Account Setup

When you sign up, you'll complete a short onboarding to create your attorney profile. After that, you land on your Attorney Dashboard.

#Your Dashboard

The dashboard greets you by name, with a one-line summary of what needs you — something like "3 inquiries awaiting you · 1 unread · 2 matters need experts", or "You're all caught up." when there's nothing outstanding. A timestamp in the top-right shows how fresh the numbers are, with a refresh button beside it.

The page is a two-pane workspace: your work on the left, your numbers in a rail on the right.

#Get an Expert

The dark card at the top has three tabs — the same three services as the sidebar's Get an Expert group:

• Find an Expert — type a name, discipline, or location and hit Search, or switch on AI Mode to describe what you need in plain English. When Case Analysis is enabled for your account, Run a case analysis below the search bar matches experts to a court document.
• Research an Expert — type an expert's name to order an Expert Atlas Report. This tab is hidden if Expert Atlas isn't enabled for your account.
• Concierge — let our team find your expert: order an Expert Search Report (when it's available to you), or choose Request Concierge to hand the whole search to our concierge team.

#Shortcuts

The Shortcuts card in the right-hand rail has New matter (opens the new-matter dialog in place; Org Admins, Members and solo attorneys only), Compare experts, and Shortlists.

#Continue your research

When you have completed Expert Atlas Reports, this card shows the most recent five so you can pick up where you left off. It doesn't appear until you have some.

#Active matters

Your three most recent active matters, with a View all link to the full list. If you don't have any yet, the card offers a Create Matter button instead — unless your firm role is Viewer or Restricted Viewer, who can't create matters (see Roles).

#This Week

The right-hand rail tracks four numbers, each one a link to the page behind it:

Below the rail, amber cards appear only when there's something to act on:

• Needs attention — you're awaiting a response from N experts, with a Follow Up Now button
• Ready for a matter — accepted inquiries that aren't attached to a matter yet, with a Review button
• Expert Atlas Reports — up to three reports currently being researched

#Low credits

If your personal balance drops below 5 credits, a top-up dialog appears once per session with the credit slider built in. Firm-pooled members never see it — they spend from the firm's balance.

#The Header

Two controls sit in the top bar of every attorney page, so you can find something or start something without first navigating to the right screen.

#Search

The Search… box — or ⌘K (Ctrl+K on Windows) from anywhere — opens the command palette. Type at least two characters and matches arrive in groups:

Before you type, the palette offers Trending searches. Use the arrow keys to move through the rows and press Enter to open the highlighted one.

#+ New

The + New button opens a menu of things you can start from anywhere:

• New expert search
• New preliminary screening, New Expert Atlas Report — each opens the Expert Atlas order dialog; New expert monitoring opens the monitoring dialog
• New matter — the same dialog as Create Matter
• New Expert Search Report
• Concierge order — opens the Concierge form

The menu only lists what you can actually use: the Expert Atlas entries appear when Atlas is enabled for your account and your role can order (or, for monitoring, start a monitor), the search-report entry appears when that product is available to you, and New matter appears for Org Admins, Members and solo attorneys — Viewers and Restricted Viewers can't create matters (see Roles). On the Expert Atlas hub the Atlas entries are grouped under their own heading at the top of the menu.

#Sidebar Navigation

The left sidebar is organised by intent — getting an expert versus the work you already have:

Research an Expert appears when Expert Atlas is enabled for your account, and Reports (your delivered Expert Search Reports) when that product is available to you. Case Analysis has no sidebar entry — start it from the dashboard's Find an Expert tab — and Reviews live on the My Experts page.

#Keyboard Shortcuts

Press ⌘K (Ctrl+K on Windows) anywhere to open the command palette — the same one the header's Search… box opens — and jump to a page or run a search. Most sidebar items also have a two-key shortcut (not shown in the sidebar itself) — press G, then the second key within a second:

#Credits

Credits are how you pay to unlock expert contact details. Each unlock costs 1 credit.

• New accounts receive 1 free credit on signup
• Additional credits are purchased on the Pricing page, where a slider covers 25–125 credits
• Credits never expire
• If you're in a firm, credits are pooled and only the firm admin can buy more

See Credits & Unlocks for full details.

#Your First Search

Use the search bar on your dashboard, or press ⌘K. Type a name, discipline, or location — or switch on AI Mode and describe the expert you need in a sentence:

"Forensic accountant in New York with securities fraud experience"

Results come back ranked, and you can narrow them with the filter panel. See Searching for Experts for tips on getting the best results.