What to expect after you book a case

knowledge base

Updated over a month ago

What happens the moment you book

As soon as you complete your booking, three things happen:

You are introduced to your attorney Your matched law firm and attorney are revealed immediately. You can see their name, their firm, and their contact information in your case dashboard.
Your attorney is notified The law firm receives a notification that they have a new case to review — yours. They will review it during the current or next business day.
The case chat opens You can start communicating with your attorney right away through the case chat. You do not have to wait for them to reach out first.

When will your attorney reach out?

Your attorney will review your case within 1 business day of booking. Until they accept, you do not yet have official legal representation — acceptance is the moment the attorney formally agrees to represent you. During this review, they may:

Accept your case right away If everything looks good and the information is complete, the attorney accepts and begins working on your case immediately.
Ask you questions first The attorney may need clarification or additional documents before accepting. Keep an eye on your case chat and respond promptly — the faster you respond, the faster your case moves forward.
Send a counter offer In some cases, the attorney may request an adjusted legal fee after reviewing the details. This happens when the case is more complex than initially indicated. You will need to accept the new terms before the attorney proceeds. For more on counter offers, see How much does it cost to book a case on OTR?

If the initial attorney declines your case, SmartMatch automatically rematches you with the next best attorney. You do not need to do anything.

✅ More than 90% of cases are accepted by the first matched attorney.

Most clients see their case accepted within hours of booking.

What you can do right now

You have done the hard part — you booked your case and have an attorney working on it. But there are a few things you can do right now to help your case move faster and set your attorney up for success.

Send your attorney a message

Introduce yourself in the case chat and tell your attorney what happened in a few sentences. Include any relevant details: the circumstances of the stop, your priorities (keep it off your record, avoid court, protect your CDL), and anything you think they should know. This often answers questions the attorney would have asked anyway and speeds up their review.

For a full guide on what to share and how to write effective messages, see How to communicate with your attorney.

Upload your driver's license

Your attorney may need your driver's license to pull up your driving or criminal record, or the court may require it with certain filings. If you upload it now through the app, it saves the back-and-forth of your attorney requesting it later — and it helps them accept your case faster.

Upload your ticket or charge document

If you did not upload a photo of your ticket, citation, or court document during booking, send it now through the case chat. A clear photo of the document is the single most helpful thing you can provide. If you do not have the document, that is OK — your attorney can locate your case with your basic information.

Update your profile

Make sure your contact information is accurate:

Verify your email and phone number so you receive all notifications without delay
Check your mailing address in case the court or your attorney needs to send physical correspondence
Upload a profile picture — you can upload any selfie you want, but we encourage you to upload your funniest, most creative, or most proud selfie. Legal matters are serious enough — your profile picture does not have to be.

Invite case participants

You can invite others to follow along on your case. Case participants can see all case details, receive notifications, and communicate with the law firm through the case chat. Common case participants include:

A teen or young adult inviting a parent to follow along
A parent who booked a case for their teenager and invites the teen to the case
A spouse or partner who wants to stay informed
A company or fleet manager who books cases on behalf of employees (for example, trucking carriers and delivery companies with OTR company accounts who book on behalf of their driver employees, then invite the driver to the case so they can answer questions directly)

To invite a case participant, open your case in the app and follow the steps to add them.

You’ve done the “hard” part. Now let us educate and entertain you. Check out our Traffic Tales series and try not to laugh, we dare you.

What happens next

Once your attorney accepts your case, they take it from there. Here is what the timeline typically looks like:

Within 1–2 business days Your attorney reviews and accepts your case. They may reach out with initial questions.
First 1–2 weeks Your attorney researches your case, reviews the details, and begins building your defense. They may request additional documents or information from you during this time.
Weeks to months Your attorney works through the court process — filing motions, attending hearings, negotiating with prosecutors. Some cases resolve in weeks, others take months. Your attorney keeps you updated through the case chat.
Resolution Once your case is resolved, your attorney notifies you of the outcome. Common outcomes include dismissal, charge reduction, point elimination or reduction, deferral, traffic school, and fine reduction.

While your case is ongoing, your record and insurance are not affected. A charge does not go on your driving or criminal record until the case is closed and a final judgment is entered.

💡 Patience is part of the process.

If your case seems to be taking a while, that is not a bad sign. Attorneys often use time as an intentional strategy — witnesses become unavailable, courts become more willing to negotiate, and prosecutors may offer better deals to clear their backlog. Your attorney will let you know if there is a reason to be concerned.

You always have a team behind you

From the moment you book to the moment your case is resolved, you have a team working for you. Your attorney handles the legal work. OTR's support team monitors every case and can step in if anything goes wrong — an unresponsive attorney, a declined case, or anything else.

If you ever have questions or concerns, contact our support team. We are always here.