Hona for PracticePanther firms

Hona works alongside PracticePanther. PracticePanther stays the system of record for every matter. Hona is the system of action: its AI case agent, Lia, runs your firm's playbooks to do the follow-up work of personal injury pre-litigation, from intake through treatment, records, settlement and payout, and logs what happened back to the PracticePanther matter.

How does Hona work with PracticePanther?

Hona connects to your PracticePanther account, reads each matter, works it with the client and their medical providers, and writes the results back to the matter as notes. When a matter changes phase, Hona moves the client's case tracker, sends the update you wrote for that phase, and starts the playbook for that phase.

PracticePanther stays the source of truth for case and contact data. Your team keeps working in PracticePanther, and the matter gets more complete, because every client conversation lands on it.

What syncs between PracticePanther and Hona?

What is a Hona playbook?

A Hona playbook is your firm's standard operating procedure, written so Lia can run it. It says when it starts, such as a matter entering a phase; what Lia does, in plain language; and when it stops, such as records received or a person on your team taking over.

Escalation rules live inside the playbook, written the way you would say them: "Escalate to the case owner, high priority, when the client mentions a new injury."

Hona ships standard playbooks for care coordination, provider follow-up and escalations. Hona's forward-deployed team builds custom playbooks with your firm, and your team can read and change any playbook in plain language.

How does Hona work alongside PracticePanther at each stage of pre-litigation?

1. Intake and sign-up

The jobs are to answer every call, qualify the lead, capture the facts, get the retainer signed, and open the matter.

• Hona's AI Receptionist answers calls around the clock in 31 languages, screens new injury callers, and sends your team a transcript and summary of every call.
• Intake forms go out by text with e-signature, and Lia's intake playbook follows up until the documents you need arrive.
• Once the matter is open in PracticePanther with Hona Enabled set to yes, it syncs into Hona under the project type its Case Type maps to.

2. Onboarding the client

The jobs are to explain what happens next, gather the accident details, insurance information and list of providers, and get authorizations signed.

• Forms collect the details by text. A PracticePanther: Update Matter automation writes the answers you choose to matter fields and contact fields, and each submission is logged as a note.
• Photos, police reports and signed documents come back by text, form and e-signature, and your team finds them on the case in Hona.
• The client gets a case tracker that shows their PracticePanther phase in plain language. No app is required. Updates arrive by text with a link.
• If the client contact has a Birthday custom field, Hona can send a birthday message.

3. Getting the client through medical treatment

The jobs are to remind clients about appointments, confirm they went, catch new providers, check in between visits, and catch gaps before they form.

• Lia's care coordination playbook texts and emails clients appointment reminders, follows up after each visit to confirm attendance and pick up new providers, checks in between visits, and can call a client to schedule an appointment when your firm turns calling on.
• If a client misses an appointment and cannot be reached, or mentions symptoms nobody is treating, Lia escalates to your team with the reason, what she already tried, and a priority.
• Every text Lia sends and receives is logged to the PracticePanther matter as a note, with a link back to the full conversation in Hona.

Treatment is where case value is built. In an Insurance Research Council study of auto injury claims published in July 2026, total payments ran about $2 for every $1 of medical bills. In Lia's beta, appointments Lia tracked to resolution had 86% attendance, against a typical healthcare rate of about 70%.

4. Collecting bills and records from providers

The jobs are to confirm visits, request itemized bills and records, and follow up until everything arrives.

• Lia's provider follow-up playbook emails provider offices for attendance, itemized bills, balances, CPT and ICD codes, letter of protection status and medical records, using the client's signed HIPAA authorization.
• She keeps following up until the office answers. Results land on the Treatment tab in Hona, and when your firm wants, the playbook has Lia update the PracticePanther record too.

5. Client updates when a matter changes phase

The jobs are to tell the client when the case moves, answer "where's my case?", and keep them engaged through the long quiet stretches.

• When a matter's Phase Name changes in PracticePanther, the nightly sync picks it up. Hona moves the client's case tracker, sends the update you wrote for that phase, and starts the playbook for that phase.
• When a client should hear right away, staff can sync that one matter by hand for an immediate update.
• Firms that run matters on tasks can have the case tracker move on PracticePanther tasks instead.
• Lia answers client texts at any hour from your FAQs and phase descriptions.
• Drip messages keep clients engaged while a matter sits in one phase.

6. Building the demand

The jobs are to confirm treatment is complete, gather final bills and records, and collect anything else the demand needs.

• When a client texts that they are done treating, Lia records it, and the text is logged to the matter.
• The provider follow-up playbook collects final bills and records.
• Lia chases the client for what is still missing, and the files land on the case in Hona.

7. Negotiation

The jobs are to keep the client informed while offers go back and forth, and get the client's decision on each offer.

• Phase updates keep the client informed without a phone call.
• Questions about case value, settlement or timing go to your attorney every time. Lia escalates them and does not answer them.
• Your attorney talks the client through each offer in the same text thread, which is logged to the matter.

8. Settlement payouts

The jobs are to pay the client, pay medical providers and lien holders, and answer "where's my money?"

• Hona Disbursements, powered by Confido Legal, pays your client, medical providers, lien holders and other vendors from Hona.
• Drafting and approving a payout are separate permissions, and an approver at your firm releases every payout.
• The client gets a secure link in the same text thread, verifies their identity, and chooses an instant payout to a debit card or free direct deposit.

9. Closing out

The jobs are to ask for a review and measure how the client felt about the case.

• Review requests and NPS surveys go out automatically when a case reaches the phase you choose.
• A reputation dashboard tracks the results.

How do you set up Hona with PracticePanther?

An admin with access to both PracticePanther and Hona sets up the integration.

• Add your app credentials. In Hona, open Company Settings, then Integrations. On the PracticePanther tile, click App Credentials, enter your PracticePanther app's Consumer Key and Consumer Secret, and save.
• Set the redirect URL. When your firm creates the app in PracticePanther, set its redirect URL to https://app.hona.com/callback, so PracticePanther can send you back to Hona after you approve access.
• Connect. Click Connect on the same tile and approve access in PracticePanther.
• Check the status. The tile shows Connected, Inactive. Hona can read your PracticePanther data, but nothing goes to clients yet.
• Add custom fields in PracticePanther. Create a Hona Enabled matter field, as a dropdown with Yes and No or as a checkbox, to decide which matters sync. Hona reads the project type from a Case Type field and the phase from a Phase Name field. If your firm already tracks these in other fields, click Map Fields on the PracticePanther tile and map those instead.
• Set up project types and phases. Under Company Settings, then Project Types, add the PracticePanther case types each project type covers, and choose whether it moves on phase names or on tasks. Give each phase at least one PracticePanther trigger, spelled exactly as it appears in PracticePanther.
• Test a matter. On the Projects page in Hona, paste a PracticePanther matter ID and sync it. Check that it lands under the right project type and phase.
• Find the matter ID. Open the matter in PracticePanther and copy the ID from its web address, the part after /Project/Details/.
• Go live. When you are ready, your Hona onboarding or account manager sets the integration to Active, and nightly syncs begin.
• Add the browser extension, if you want. The Hona Browser Extension recognizes PracticePanther matter pages, so your team can open the matching Hona project, its messages and its forms without leaving PracticePanther.
• If the connection stops working. If PracticePanther stops accepting Hona's credentials, the tile shows Connected, Unauthorized and syncing stops. Click Update Connection on the PracticePanther tile and approve access again.

How does Hona keep your team in control?

Lia works alongside your staff, never around them.

• Lia tells clients she is an AI.
• Lia texts and emails clients, and she can call a client to schedule an appointment when your firm turns calling on.
• She never gives legal advice, medical advice, or an opinion on case value or settlement. She escalates those questions, and any client in distress.
• Proactive messages go out only between 9am and 7pm in your firm's time zone. Lia answers incoming texts at any hour.
• Your team can review Lia's work, pause her, or take over any conversation.
• Setting Hona Enabled to No on a matter stops automated messages for that client while the matter keeps syncing.
• Lia updates PracticePanther records only as part of a playbook, and only when your firm wants her to.
• Every text, Lia's included, is logged to the PracticePanther matter as a note, so the record shows what was said.
• Hona is SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA compliant.

The takeaway

Keep PracticePanther. It is the record of every matter, and it is good at that. Add Hona to do the work a record cannot: reach out first, follow up, notice when a client goes quiet, and hand your team what needs a person. Every text and notification lands back on the PracticePanther matter. Your playbooks already describe the work. Lia runs them.

Book a demo to see Lia run your playbooks on matters from your PracticePanther account.

Frequently asked questions

Does Hona replace PracticePanther?

No. PracticePanther stays the system of record for every matter. Hona connects to PracticePanther, does the client and provider follow-up through its AI case agent Lia, and logs texts and notifications back to the matter.

What does Hona write back to PracticePanther?

Every text with the client, Lia's included, is logged as a "Hona 2 Way Message" note on the matter, with a link to the conversation in Hona. Notification history and form submissions are logged as notes, and form answers you map update matter and contact fields. Lia can also update PracticePanther records as part of a playbook when your firm wants her to.

Which PracticePanther matters sync to Hona?

Matters with the Hona Enabled custom field set to yes. The field can be a Yes or No dropdown or a checkbox. Each matter's Case Type sets its Hona project type, and its Phase Name sets its phase and the client's case tracker.

A matter without the field, or with it left blank, does not sync. Closed matters are marked complete.

How quickly does a phase change in PracticePanther reach the client?

Hona picks up changes on its nightly sync, and the update goes to the client the next day. Staff can sync one matter by hand for an immediate update.

Can the case tracker follow PracticePanther tasks instead of a phase field?

Yes. Each Hona project type can move on phase names or on tasks, so firms that run matters on tasks can keep doing so.

How do I stop automated messages for one client?

Set Hona Enabled to No on the matter. If the matter has not synced yet, Hona will not create it. If it already has, the matter keeps syncing and any queued notifications are cancelled before they send.

Can form answers update PracticePanther?

Yes. A PracticePanther: Update Matter automation writes the form answers you choose to matter fields and contact fields.

Does Lia give legal or medical advice?

No. Lia never gives legal advice, medical advice, or an opinion on case value or settlement. She escalates those questions to your team, and she tells clients she is an AI.