Immigration Lawyers: Working with Sponsored Clients

As an immigration lawyer on LeyApp, you may receive bookings where a third party — an NGO, a family member, or an employer — has paid for the consultation. These sponsored bookings come with additional privacy tools and professional obligations. Here is what you need to know.

Your Client Is the Beneficiary, Not the Sponsor

This is the most important point. When someone sponsors a consultation, the person receiving legal advice (the beneficiary) is your client. Your professional duties under EGAE 2021 — confidentiality, competence, loyalty — are owed to them.

The sponsor's payment does not create a professional relationship between you and the sponsor. They are a third-party payer, nothing more.

How Sponsored Bookings Appear

Sponsored bookings are clearly marked on your dashboard:

• Colored sponsor badge on the booking card — each sponsor gets a consistent color so you can distinguish between multiple sponsors at a glance.
• Context header on the booking detail page — shows the sponsor's name and type (individual or organization).
• Permission summary — a clear breakdown of what the sponsor can and cannot see about this consultation.

Always check the permission summary before sharing any information.

Sending Updates

LeyApp provides a structured update system for case progress. You can send four types of updates:

1. Status changes (e.g., "Documents Received," "Under Review") — these are automatically shared with the sponsor if the beneficiary allows status updates. No action needed from you.

2. Progress notes — free-text updates that use the "double-gate" model. The beneficiary must allow notes in their settings AND you must explicitly check the "share with sponsor" checkbox. A confirmation dialog appears before sending.

3. Document requests — private to the beneficiary. The sponsor never sees these.

4. Internal notes — private to you. Nobody else sees these.

The Double-Gate Model

For progress notes, two independent conditions must be true for the sponsor to see your note:

1. The beneficiary's privacy settings allow notes (they chose "status and notes").
2. You explicitly check the "share with sponsor" box on that specific note.

If either gate is closed, the sponsor sees nothing. This protects both you and your client from accidental information sharing.

Best Practices

Before the consultation

• Review the permission summary on the booking detail page.
• Note which sponsor funded this booking (the colored badge helps).
• If the beneficiary revoked or tightened permissions, you will see the updated summary.

During the consultation

• Treat it like any other consultation. The sponsor's involvement does not change your professional obligations.
• If the beneficiary asks about what the sponsor can see, point them to their Sponsorships dashboard where they can review and change permissions.

After the consultation

• Use status changes for routine updates (these route automatically).
• For detailed notes, only check "share with sponsor" if the content is genuinely appropriate for a third party to see.
• When in doubt, do not check the box. You can always share later — you cannot un-share.
• Use internal notes for anything you want to keep private.

What Sponsors Cannot See

Regardless of the beneficiary's settings, sponsors never see:

• Your direct contact information (phone, email)
• Case summaries written by the beneficiary
• Internal notes you write
• Document requests between you and the beneficiary
• Other bookings the beneficiary has
• Anything from a different sponsored booking (even from the same sponsor)

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the sponsor contact me directly? No. LeyApp does not share your contact details with sponsors. All communication goes through the platform.

What if the sponsor asks me for case information? Refer them to the LeyApp platform. You should not share case information outside the platform's privacy-controlled channels.

Can I refuse a sponsored booking? Yes. You can decline any booking, sponsored or not, through your normal booking management flow.

What happens if the beneficiary revokes the sponsorship mid-case? Active bookings continue — the lawyer-client relationship is separate from the sponsorship. But the sponsor loses all access to case information and cannot create new bookings.

Sponsored consultations are a powerful way to expand access to legal services. With LeyApp's privacy tools, you can serve sponsored clients with the same level of confidentiality and professionalism as any other client.