Joining a firm (accepting an invite)

When a firm wants you to work in Esqase, someone at that firm sends you an invitation by email. Opening the link in that email walks you through signing in (or creating an account), reviewing the invitation, and joining the firm. This page explains exactly what you will see and what happens when you accept or decline.

Once you join, you become an active member of the firm with a role that determines what you can see and do across Esqase.

Before you begin

You do not need an existing Esqase account to be invited. If you have never used Esqase, the invitation link guides you through creating one. To accept an invitation, you do need a few things:

• The invitation email. It is sent to the exact email address the firm entered when they invited you. Keep that email handy, because the link inside it is what opens the join page.
• Access to that email inbox. You may need to verify the address with a code before you can join (see Signing up and signing in).
• The matching email address. You must sign in with the same email the invitation was sent to. If you sign in with a different address, Esqase will tell you the invite is for a different email and will not let you join.

Accept an invitation and join the firm

This is the main flow: open the email, sign in or create your account, review the invitation, and join.

1. Open the invitation email from the firm. It tells you which firm invited you and includes a button or link to accept the invitation. Click it.
2. The link opens the Esqase join page. What happens next depends on whether you are already signed in:
   • If you are not signed in, you are taken to the Sign in screen first. Sign in with the email address the invitation was sent to. If you do not have an account yet, click Sign up to create one, then come back to the invitation. (Esqase remembers where you were headed and returns you to the invitation automatically after you sign in.)
   • If your email address is not verified yet, Esqase asks you to verify it first. Enter the code Esqase emails you, then continue. For details, see Passwords and account recovery and Signing up and signing in.
   • If you are already signed in and verified, you go straight to the invitation.

3. Review the invitation. The join page is titled Welcome to Esqase and shows an invitation card with:
   • Who the invitation is for. A line reading "Invitation for" followed by your email address, so you can confirm it matches the inbox you opened.
   • Who invited you. An "Invited by" label showing the sender's name (and email, if available).
   • The firm. The firm's name and a count of how many members it has, with a few member avatars shown as a preview.
4. To join, click Join firm. The button shows Joining... while Esqase sets up your membership.
5. When you join, Esqase confirms with a message like "You're in. Welcome to [firm name]." and takes you straight into that firm's dashboard. You are now an active member.

Decline an invitation

If you did not expect the invitation, recognize the wrong firm, or simply do not want to join, you can decline. Declining does not delete your Esqase account; it only turns down this one invitation.

1. Open the invitation link and reach the Welcome to Esqase join page (sign in first if prompted, as above).
2. Review the invitation card to confirm which firm is inviting you.
3. Click Decline. The button shows Declining... while Esqase records your decision.
4. Esqase confirms with "Invite declined" and moves you off the invitation:
   • If you are already a member of another firm, you return to your dashboard.
   • If this was your first firm, you are taken to the firm setup screen, where you can create your own firm instead. See Quickstart: set up your firm.

What happens after you join

Joining does more than open the dashboard. Here is what changes for you behind the scenes.

• You become an active member of the firm. Your name appears in the firm's member list, and other members can assign you to matters, tasks, and activities.
• The firm becomes your active firm. Esqase switches your dashboard to the firm you just joined, so the very next thing you see is that firm's workspace. If you belong to more than one firm, you can switch back to another firm at any time from the dashboard. See Navigating the dashboard.
• You get the role you were invited with. The person who invited you chose a role for you (for example a role for attorneys, staff, or administrators). Your role controls what you can view, create, edit, and delete across Esqase, so what appears in your sidebar and which buttons you see depends on it. To understand how roles shape your access, see Roles and permissions.
• Your join is recorded. For security and recordkeeping, the firm has a record that you accepted the invitation and joined. Firm administrators can see this in the firm's activity history. See Activity timelines and audit logs.

Common questions

Can I change my role after I join? Not yourself. Your role is set by the firm. If you need different access, ask a firm owner or administrator to change your role from the member settings. See Managing firm members and Roles and permissions.

I joined the wrong firm. What do I do? Joining cannot be undone from the invitation. Ask a firm administrator at that firm to remove (archive) your membership. If you belong to other firms, switch to one of those from the dashboard in the meantime.

Do I need a separate password for each firm? No. Your sign-in credentials belong to you, not to a firm. The same email and password work across every firm you join. See Signing up and signing in.

Troubleshooting

If the join page shows a message instead of the invitation card, here is what each one means and what to do.

• "This invite is for a different email." You are signed in with a different address than the one the invitation was sent to. Sign out, sign in with the email the firm invited, and open the link again.
• "This invite has expired." The invitation is too old to use. Ask the sender to send a fresh invitation, then open the new link.
• "This invite was cancelled." The firm cancelled this invitation before you could accept it. Ask them to send a new one if you should still join.
• "This invite was already declined." You (or someone using this link) previously declined it. Ask the sender to send a new invitation if you have changed your mind.
• "This invite was already accepted." The invitation has already been used to join. Click Go to dashboard to keep working with the firm.
• "You're already a member of this firm." No action is needed. You already belong to this firm; click Go to dashboard to continue.
• "Invite unavailable." Esqase could not load the invitation. This usually means the link is incomplete, the invitation was removed, or it does not belong to your account. Double-check that you opened the most recent invitation email, and that you are signed in with the invited email address.

Related

• Signing up and signing in
• Passwords and account recovery
• Managing firm members
• Roles and permissions
• Quickstart: set up your firm
• Navigating the dashboard