How to Automate Lead Intake in MyCase (No Zapier)

I built one Make.com scenario that carries a Typeform submission all the way into MyCase: contact, case and note, without anyone retyping a field.

Every boutique law firm runs the same loop. A prospect fills out a form, a paralegal reads the email, opens MyCase and types the same data twice. That is not intake, that is busywork, and it gets slower the week you spend more on ads. This is what CRM API workflow overhaul fixes for you.

Why MyCase lead intake needs automation

If you are mapping intake into a case system, the Implementation Review and Multi-Workflow Program cover the audit and build.

Most firms running MyCase still handle new leads by hand: a prospect submits a form, someone reads it, opens MyCase and types the same data into a new contact and a new case record. Under volume that loop stalls, fields get mistyped and the first reply lands after the prospect has already booked a call somewhere else.

MyCase ships a full REST API. The only thing standing between your intake form and a populated case record is the automation layer that connects them. What follows is the exact Make.com architecture I build, stage by stage.

The same routing problem shows up one step later in my automated lead routing guide, where the record already exists and you still have to get it to the right person.

The automation blueprint

One Make.com scenario carries the whole path. The piece that decides whether it survives is Typeform's payload shape: answers arrive as an array instead of a flat object, and logic jumps, conditional fields and hidden values ride along inside that same array.

Step 1: the webhook

Create a custom webhook inside Make.com and paste that URL into your Typeform webhook settings. Every submission arrives the instant it is sent, with no polling gap and no queue to drain later.

Step 2: data extraction

Use a Set Multiple Variables module to parse the Typeform array. Map each field.id to your values with Make's native map() function. Conditional fields arrive as array entries, and this mapping layer gives them stable keys no matter which path the prospect took through the form.

Keep a raw copy as well: hold the untouched payload in a variable and write it to the case as a note. Your attorney reads the answers in the prospect's own words, including the answers the form skipped.

Step 3: MyCase injection

MyCase runs a strict API. Create the Contact first, take the returned contact_id and pass it into the Create Case module. Then use Create Note to attach the raw Typeform transcript. The case lands with context attached, before anyone has touched a keyboard.

That write path is the same one running in D'Alessio Law's intake rebuild, where the firm went from hours of manual entry to an intake that files itself.

MyCase intake forms: what to map and what to leave alone

Not every form answer belongs in a MyCase field. Map the fields that drive the case, leave the rest in the note.

Into the contact: full name, email, phone, preferred contact method, city and the referral source. Into the case: matter type, practice area, incident date, opposing party and the budget band your form already asks for. Left in the note: long free-text answers, "how did you hear about us" details, and anything the attorney reads once.

Every field you push into a custom field is a field someone has to keep clean. Map what changes how the case is routed or billed. Everything else belongs in the transcript, where context beats structure.

MyCase follow-up automation after intake

Creating the contact and the case is step one. Follow-up is where most firms still lose the thread. The same scenario that writes the record can hand off the work: a task for the intake paralegal, a scheduling link to the prospect and a message to the attorney, all inside the same webhook cycle.

The MyCase API supports task creation and note attachment. Wire both into the tail of the scenario. Every new intake lands with context attached and a human notified, so the first reply goes out in minutes, not hours.

When the firm runs several intake channels, this is also where you decide who owns the lead. Speed-to-lead architecture covers the routing half of that decision.

MyCase and Zapier vs custom webhooks

Zapier's MyCase integration gives you basic triggers and create-only actions, with little control over field mapping, retry behaviour or error routing. When a step fails you get an email, and the payload waits for someone to notice.

A custom Make.com webhook gives you instant delivery, full payload control, conditional routing, idempotency and structured logging. If MyCase rejects a contact because the email already exists, your scenario detects it, fetches the existing contact_id and keeps going instead of dropping the record. That reliability gap is why firms moving off Zapier watch their intake errors disappear.

Zapier is fine for a two-step test. It is the wrong layer for the record your revenue depends on.

Error handling: what happens when MyCase says no

Automations fail in public if nobody designs for failure. Build these four checks in before you switch the scenario on.

Validate before you write. Check email, phone and matter type inside the scenario. Bad payload, no API call, no half-created case.

Handle the duplicate. MyCase rejects a contact that already exists. Search first, reuse the contact_id, then create the case. One lookup removes the most common failure.

Retry with a ceiling. Three attempts with a short backoff, then stop and route the payload to a dead-letter sheet. Retrying forever hides the problem instead of solving it.

Log the raw payload. Keep the original Typeform body in a sheet. When someone asks what the prospect answered, the answer is one row away.

Frequently asked questions

How do I automate lead intake in MyCase?

Point a Typeform webhook at a Make.com scenario, parse the answer array with map(), create the Contact, pass its contact_id into Create Case and attach the raw transcript with Create Note. Four modules, one run per submission, no manual entry.

Can I connect Typeform to MyCase without Zapier?

Yes. A custom Make.com webhook replaces every Zapier step: instant delivery, full control over field mapping, bounded retries and error routing, and no polling delay between submission and processing.

Does MyCase have a native intake automation?

MyCase exposes a REST API covering forms, contacts, cases, tasks and notes. The intake layer that sits between your form and those endpoints is yours to build, and that is where the Make.com scenario lives.

What is the best way to automate the MyCase lead pipeline?

Split it into three stages: capture through a webhook, write to contact and case, then handoff through a task, a scheduling link and a team message. Keep routing rules outside the write step, so you can change who gets the lead without touching the API calls.

Which fields should I sync from Typeform into MyCase?

Contact details, matter type, practice area, incident date and budget band go into MyCase fields. Long free-text answers belong in the case note, where an attorney reads them in the prospect's own words.

Why does Zapier drop MyCase leads?

A failed step has nowhere to go: you get an email and the payload sits there. Add idempotency, a bounded retry and a dead-letter sheet, and the same failure becomes a logged row you can replay in seconds.