# Escalating to legal

Some accounts won't pay through any amount of friendly outreach. At that point, your options are:

1. Recall and write off.
2. Refer the account to an attorney for suit or pre-suit demand.

This page covers the second option. **Important:** the self-serve "Escalate to legal" workflow described in earlier drafts of this page does not exist in the platform today. There is no Escalate-to-Legal button on the placement detail page, no `referred_legal` placement status, and no attorney-network referral package. What we *can* do today, and what's planned, is described below.

## What the platform actually does today

The `Creditor.has_attorney_retainer` flag and the firm-wide `settings.attorney_retainer_active` flag exist (both default `False`). They gate one specific compliance behavior:

* When the flag is on **and** FDCPA / Rosenthal don't apply, the compliance engine permits the voice agent to surface **escalation language** during outreach (e.g., references to potential legal action). Without the retainer on file, the engine refuses — the rationale is FDCPA §807(5)'s ban on threats of action the collector can't take.

A separate `Creditor.litigation_authorized` flag exists (ops-set, default `False`) which the engine checks when evaluating litigation eligibility.

That's the entire wiring today. There is no:

* "Escalate to legal" button on the placement detail page.
* `referred_legal` value in the `PlacementStatus` enum.
* Automated referral-package compiler that bundles audit logs, recordings, and emails.
* Attorney network UI for selecting counsel.
* Self-serve "use my own attorney" toggle.

## How to escalate today

Treat escalation as a manual handoff:

1. **Decide internally** that the account is going to legal. Use the signals below as a sanity check.
2. **Recall the placement** so we stop pursuing it in parallel. Use `POST /v1/placements/{placement_id}/recall` (see [Pausing or recalling a placement](/for-creditor-partners/creditor-operations/pausing-or-recalling-a-placement.md)).
3. **Pull what you need from the dashboard for your attorney.** Useful surfaces:
   * The **Audit Trail** tab on the placement detail page (filterable export by event type / actor / date).
   * The **Calls** tab — each call has the AI summary, full transcript, and (where permitted) the recording URL.
   * The **Emails** tab — full thread of inbound and outbound.
   * The **Context** tab — uploaded invoices, contracts, SOWs, proof of service.
4. **Email `support@moderncollections.io`** if you need help compiling a full handoff package while the self-serve compiler is still in roadmap.
5. **Engage counsel directly.** We are not a law firm and we do not introduce attorneys. Your attorney's engagement is between you and them.

## When to consider escalation

Common signals:

* Multiple right-party contacts with no commitment to pay.
* A broken payment commitment with no follow-through.
* A clear refusal to pay despite verification.
* A high-value account (typically $10,000+) where the cost of a lawsuit is justified.
* Suspected fraud or asset transfer indicating the debtor is making themselves judgment-proof.

Signals that suggest you should **not** escalate:

* The debtor has filed bankruptcy (see [Handling a bankruptcy notice](/for-creditor-partners/creditor-operations/handling-bankruptcy-notice.md)).
* The debt is past the statute of limitations.
* Small balance where attorney fees exceed the recovery.
* You don't have documentation to prove the debt.
* You'd damage a customer relationship you want to keep.

## Fees

* Our contingency fee on amounts already recovered before escalation remains owed (deducted from the next remittance).
* After you recall the placement, we charge no further contingency. What your attorney charges on amounts they recover is between you and them.

## What's planned

* A self-serve "Escalate to legal" action on the placement detail page.
* An automated referral-package compiler (audit log + recordings + emails + enrichment + dispute history) you can hand to counsel.
* A `referred_legal` placement status so escalated accounts are visually distinct.
* An optional ai-collect attorney network with state-aware routing.

When any of these ship, this page will be updated.

## TODO

* Document the manual recall + handoff flow with example.
* Build the self-serve escalation surface.

***

Last reviewed: 2026-05-24 by Customer Success. **TODO: external counsel review of attorney-referral language to confirm we're not making unauthorized-practice-of-law representations.**


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