Automatic Document Processing
When you upload a PDF to a matter, Laminar doesn’t just store it. Inlet, the document-processing engine, reads it and, where it recognizes the document, extracts the data into the matter: contacts created, fields filled, relationships attached. The goal is simple: information your firm already received on paper shouldn’t need retyping.
Inlet is in early validation. Expect it to handle the common documents first (purchase agreements today) and grow from there. The banner on the tab says as much.
Where to See It
Section titled “Where to See It”Every matter has an Inlet Activity tab: a read-only log of what’s been processed. Each entry shows the source file, where processing stands, and what changed:
- Statuses progress through Queued, Receiving, Reviewing document, Extracting, Updating matter, and Complete, with Awaiting approval or Awaiting review when a human gate applies, and Failed when something went wrong.
- A summary line says what actually happened: “3 fields updated, 2 contacts created” or, honestly, “No matter changes detected.”
What Triggers It
Section titled “What Triggers It”PDF uploads to a matter, and only those. Images, Word documents, and files on tasks or trust transactions aren’t processed. PDFs that are password-protected, corrupt, or oversized show a “Not processed” note with the reason; the file itself is always saved regardless.
The Right Level of Trust
Section titled “The Right Level of Trust”Treat Inlet like a fast junior clerk: genuinely useful, always supervised. Data it writes is logged in the matter’s activity like any other change, so you can see exactly what came from a document. When the summary says fields were updated, glance at them; when it says nothing was detected, the document just wasn’t one it recognizes yet, and nothing was touched.