Superpanel Raises $5.3M to Automate Half of Legal Intake
Superpanel automates half of legal intake, turning dropped leads into signed retainers with clean escalation to humans. Backed by $5.3M, it unifies multi-channel workflows.
Superpanel targets the intake bottleneck: AI that actually clears the backlog
For Julien Emery, legal access wasn't theoretical. As a Canadian, he saw how hard - and expensive - it can be to get help. He also watched a settlement keep his family afloat after his mother's car accident. That mix of urgency and friction pushed him to fix the intake problem.
Intake is where great cases die. Consumers face a maze of forms and phone calls. Firms face dropped leads, inconsistent data, and manual follow-ups that stretch staff thin. Emery calls intake a costly, error-prone bottleneck - and he's right.
What Superpanel does
Launched in 2024 by Emery and co-founder Dingyu Zhang, Superpanel automates about half of legal intake. Think "digital teammate" for plaintiff firms that manages collection, feedback, escalation, and compliance. It engages clients across phone, texting, email, and forums, guiding them through their story and document submission.
On the firm side, it sorts case type, jurisdiction, and documentation, then flags edge cases for human review. When ambiguity or risk appears, it escalates to a team member. The result is a unified, multi-channel workflow you can measure and trust - closer to a dependable hire than a script.
Why now
Until recently, most leaders saw intake as too complex for automation. Recent advances in AI changed that. Emery's background at Hootsuite and his prior startup Allay (exited to Novo Benefits) met Zhang's AI expertise to build a system tuned for plaintiff workflows.
Funding and focus
Superpanel raised a $5.3 million seed round co-led by Outlander VC and Field Ventures, with participation from LOI Venture, Zenda Capital, 8-Bit Capital, and Behind Genius Ventures. The plan: accelerate hiring and expand capabilities for plaintiff firms. The team is building for speed, reliability, and measurable outcomes.
Where it fits in a crowded market
Legal tech has options. Competing intake tools include Clio Grow, LegalClerk.ai, MyCase, and Whippy.ai. Emery's bet: clients expect instant, self-serve answers informed by modern AI experiences, and firms need continuous guidance from first touch to signed retainer.
Practical takeaways for plaintiff firms
- Quantify the intake gap: track response times, drop-off rates, qualified lead rate, and time-to-retainer. These numbers tell you where automation should start.
- Start with one high-volume practice area. Standardize questions, documents, and disqualifiers; let AI handle the routine and route exceptions.
- Set escalation rules. Define triggers for ambiguity, risk, complaints, or VIP leads so humans step in fast - with context.
- Tighten compliance from day one. Address consent, retention, and confidentiality; map how intake data flows into your DMS and case management.
- Integrate with your stack. Sync contacts, matters, and documents to avoid duplicate work and ensure clean records.
- Train staff on prompts and review workflows. Great outcomes come from clear instructions and consistent human oversight.
- Measure weekly: first-response time, completion rate, conversion to retainer, and QA flags. Use the data to refine scripts and escalation.
Quick rollout checklist
- Define your ideal client profile and disqualifiers.
- Map your current intake (channels, forms, handoffs, SLAs).
- Draft standardized question sets and document requests.
- Configure escalation and compliance rules (PII, consent, retention).
- Integrate with case management and e-sign tools.
- Pilot with one channel (e.g., web form + SMS follow-up), then expand.
- Review flagged transcripts weekly; iterate scripts and playbooks.
Risk and governance
AI needs guardrails. Maintain audit trails, human-in-the-loop checkpoints, and clear data permissions. Align processes with recognized frameworks and tech competence obligations.
Bottom line
Intake is where client trust starts and firm economics get set. If half of that work can be automated - with clean escalation to humans - you cut delay, close stronger cases, and protect your team from low-value busywork. That's the promise Superpanel is trying to deliver, backed by fresh capital and a focused roadmap.
If you're upskilling your team on practical AI workflows, see curated options by job role here: Complete AI Training: Courses by Job.
