Introducing "Got Questions?": Our New AI Information Portal

Why we built it

Most people who contact a law firm begin with the same quiet uncertainty: Is my situation even a legal matter? What kind of attorney handles this? What questions should I be asking? Those are reasonable things to wonder, and they often go unspoken because there is no comfortable place to ask them. People hesitate to call an office when they are not yet sure they have a "real" question.

We built the "Got Questions?" portal to lower that first barrier. It offers a private, no-pressure place to ask a general question about a Louisiana legal topic and receive a plain-language explanation — the kind of background information that helps you understand the landscape before you decide whether to schedule a consultation. Think of it as a knowledgeable starting point, not a destination.

What it is

The portal is an artificial-intelligence assistant. When you type a question, your words are sent to a large language model — the same general category of technology behind tools you may already use — which generates a written response drawing on broad, general knowledge of legal concepts. We have configured it to focus on the areas our firm knows well: estate planning, business formation, and oil and gas law as they operate under Louisiana's civil law tradition.

The responses are written to be clear and accessible. Where a topic is genuinely Louisiana-specific — forced heirship, the Mineral Code, our state's strict non-compete statute, the formalities a valid testament requires — the assistant is designed to flag that distinctiveness, because Louisiana law so often differs from what people read about other states online.

What it does — and how it works

In practical terms, the portal does three things. First, it answers general questions in everyday language, so you can build a working understanding of an unfamiliar area. Second, it points you toward the right kind of help, helping you recognize when a matter warrants a conversation with an attorney. Third, if you choose, it lets you leave your contact information so that our office can follow up with you directly.

That last step is the only point at which information leaves the conversation and reaches us. Simply asking a question does not send us anything; we do not monitor the questions people type. It is only when you deliberately submit your name and contact details — to request that we reach out — that a message comes to the firm. We mention this plainly because we want you to understand exactly when, and how, you are choosing to be in touch.

What it is not: this is not legal advice

This is the part we most want you to read carefully. The information the portal provides is general legal information, not legal advice. The distinction is not a technicality — it is the whole point.

Legal advice is the application of the law to your specific facts by an attorney who has agreed to represent you, who knows the full circumstances of your matter, and who owes you professional duties of confidentiality and loyalty. General legal information, by contrast, describes how the law works in the abstract. The portal can tell you what forced heirship generally is; it cannot tell you whether it applies to your estate, what it means for your children, or what you should do about it. Only an attorney, advising you directly, can do that.

A few points follow from this, and they bear stating directly:

• No attorney-client relationship is created. Using the portal — asking a question, reading an answer, even submitting your contact information — does not make Valorem Law Group your lawyer. That relationship is formed only through a signed engagement agreement with our office, never through this website.
• Your questions are not confidential. Because no attorney-client relationship exists, what you type into the portal is not protected by the attorney-client privilege. Please do not share sensitive details, and never include anything you would not want disclosed.
• AI can be wrong. Large language models can produce answers that are incomplete, outdated, or simply mistaken, and they do not know the particular facts of your situation. Nothing the portal says should be relied upon or acted upon as though it came from your attorney.
• It is Louisiana-focused, but general. The firm is licensed only in Louisiana, and the assistant is oriented toward Louisiana law — but even a Louisiana-specific answer remains general information, not counsel tailored to you.

Use it as a beginning, not an end

We offer this tool in the same spirit that animates the rest of our work: a belief that clients are best served when they understand what is happening and why. The portal is meant to inform and to orient — to help you arrive at a consultation already knowing the right questions to ask. It is a doorway, not the room itself.

If something you read there raises a real concern, or if you simply want advice about your particular circumstances, the next step is the one that has always mattered most: a direct conversation with our office. We would be glad to have it.