FAQ

What is Guild? Guild is a co-counsel matching platform for solo legal practitioners. You post an anonymized case, get a triage read on how much help it needs…

Basics

What is Guild? Guild is a co-counsel matching platform for solo legal practitioners. You post an anonymized case, get a triage read on how much help it needs, find compatible co-counsel by practice area and jurisdiction, and manage the professional details — fee splits, referrals, bids — on the platform.

Who can use it? Solo practitioners and small firms looking for co-counsel. The MVP targets California solo practitioners, but the platform itself is jurisdiction-aware (you pick your jurisdictions from the reference list).

What does it cost? Guild is currently in early access. The planned revenue model is a flat monthly subscription — not a percentage of fees, which keeps the model clean under MRPC 5.4. Billing is not implemented yet; there's nothing to pay while you use the current build.

Confidentiality & ethics

Do clients ever enter the platform? No. Clients never have accounts and never log in. Client identity is an offline attestation — you confirm relationships in the real world, not on the platform.

Is my case posting anonymous? Yes. Case titles are anonymized with no client PII, and descriptions should describe scope and issues, not identify anyone. Adverse parties are listed only as names, for conflict screening. Treat the platform as semi-public among practitioners: publish nothing you wouldn't want another lawyer to see.

Does Guild run my conflicts check? Guild runs a basic screening — it compares your adverse-party list against the other practitioner's active cases and flags overlaps. It's a courtesy, not a substitute for your own conflicts process: the check flags, it never blocks, and you remain responsible for your conflicts obligations.

How do fee splits work, ethically? The fee-split form implements the consent mechanics of MRPC 1.5(e) — written client consent to the arrangement and each lawyer's share — plus a total-fee reasonableness certification under 1.5(a). The platform records your certifications; the substance (actually getting written consent, setting a reasonable fee) is your professional responsibility. See Fee Splits.

Is a referral fee allowed? Referral fees are governed by your jurisdiction's rules — generally they must be reasonable and disclosed with client consent. Guild records the percentage and terms and requires your client-consent attestation; compliance with your jurisdiction's rules remains yours to ensure.

Using the platform

How do I sign in? Magic link / email code — no passwords. Enter your email on the login page and click the link we send. See Getting Started.

Why do I keep landing on onboarding? Your profile must exist before you can use the platform. Complete the one-page onboarding form (name, bar admissions, practice areas, jurisdictions, experience, bio) once and you're in.

Why don't I appear in searches? Your profile must be Active (not Paused or Hidden) and your practice areas and jurisdictions must exactly include the searched values. Matching is exact-match on both fields. Check your profile's Active visibility setting and its area/jurisdiction lists (see Getting Started → Profile visibility).

How do I publish a case for co-counsel? Create the case, then change its status from Draft to Seeking co-counsel on the case detail page. Only published cases are matchable.

Can I take back an acceptance or decline? No — match status changes are one-way (proposed → accepted/declined). If you made a mistake, contact the other practitioner directly; the records stay as they are.

Where do my messages go? Messages live per-match on the platform and are also emailed to the other participant. Unread counts appear on your dashboard. See Messages & Unread.

Can I edit a fee split after saving? No. Saved fee splits are immutable by design — consent-based agreements shouldn't be silently edited. If the arrangement changes, record a new agreement. See Fee Splits.

What's the difference between a referral and a bid? A referral hands a case to another practitioner; a bid is a group response to a case where several lawyers pitch together. See Referrals & Bids.

Coming soon

What's planned but not built yet?

• Related-area matching (suggesting practitioners in adjacent areas) — Phase 2.
• Persisting notification preferences (Settings currently shows a stub).
• Peer reviews of co-counsel.
• PDF generation of fee-split records.
• Billing (flat subscription).

Nothing in this FAQ describes behavior the platform doesn't actually have; planned items are marked as such.