Which cases you can opine on
Understand why a case is open to you, how matching works, and how to qualify for more cases.
What you'll do
By the end of this page, you'll understand why Write opinion is available on some cases and not others, what makes a case a match for you, and how to widen the set of cases you qualify for.
Before you start
- A profile with at least one specialty selected, and your state licensure recorded. Both come from Credentials and profile.
- A look at your Case Feed, where matched cases show up.
Reading is open; opining is matched
You can open and read any live case on the platform — that's by design, so you can browse the work. You can write an opinion (and see a case's attachments) only on cases that match you. A case you can't opine on isn't a judgment about you — it simply asked for a different specialty or a different state licence.
What makes a case a match
A case is open for you to opine on when both of these are true:
- Specialty — you hold at least one of the specialties the attorney asked for.
- Licensure — if the case is limited to certain U.S. states, you're licensed in at least one of them. If the case lists no states, or only prefers states, this condition is already met.
If both line up, Write opinion is active on the case. If either doesn't, the button is unavailable and you'll see a short note that the case isn't currently open for your specialty or licensure.
How the attorney's choice decides whether you qualify
When an attorney posts a case, they choose how widely to cast the net. That choice is what decides whether you're a match:
| What the attorney asked for | You qualify if… |
|---|---|
| One specific subspecialty | you hold that exact subspecialty. |
| A whole field | you practise in that field — any subspecialty within it counts. |
| A subspecialty, in any field | you practise that subspecialty, whatever base specialty you trained in. |
So the same case can be a match for a broad group of experts or a very narrow one, depending entirely on how the attorney framed it — not on anything about your standing.
How to qualify for more cases
The set of cases you match is a direct reflection of your profile. Two things widen it:
- Add every specialty and subspecialty you genuinely practise. Each one you record opens up the cases that ask for it. Don't claim fields you don't practise — but don't undersell yourself either. Update them any time from Credentials and profile.
- Keep your state licensure current. Cases limited to specific states only reach experts licensed there. Adding a state you're licensed in unlocks the cases scoped to it.
Saving a change refreshes your feed right away — the For me tab reflects your current profile, not a snapshot from signup.
Tips
- An empty For me tab almost always means no specialty or no licensure on file yet. Add them and matched cases appear.
- You can read a case in full before deciding — the narrative, the attorney's questions, and the patient context are all visible. Only the attachments and the Write opinion action wait on a match.
- Once you've started a draft on a case, it stays yours to finish even if the case later narrows — your in-progress work is never pulled out from under you.
- Browsing All open is a good way to learn what's on the platform, even for cases outside your specialty. There's no downside to looking.