# Business card scanning for lawyers The stack from the bar dinner, the box in the file room, the cards clipped to a closed matter: scan them and get clean, searchable contacts instead of a drawer you never open. > ConnectMachine's AI scanner turns a lawyer's collected business cards into clean contacts. Photograph a card, or a stack of them, and the scanner reads name, firm, title, email, and phone, keeps the original card image, and files each one as a searchable contact you can tag by practice area and export to CSV. Every lawyer has the drawer. Cards from CLE seminars, cards clipped to matters that closed years ago, cards from the conference where you met the expert you now cannot name. Scanning is how the drawer becomes useful. The AI scanner reads a card in a second and files it as a proper contact, so the pile stops being an archive you never open and starts being a list you can search. ## The drawer, the box, and the closed file Paper cards accumulate in a way that resists sorting. There is never an afternoon free to type them up, and the value of any single card is too low to justify the effort, so none of them get entered. The cost shows up later, when a matter needs a forensic accountant or a conflict needs a referral out and you know the right card exists somewhere. - Cards from CLE and bar events, still bundled. - Cards paperclipped into files that have since been archived. - Handwriting on the back that made sense at the time. - Nothing searchable, so the whole collection is dead weight. ## Scan a card, or scan the stack The flow is built for clearing a backlog, not for entering one card at a time. 1. Open the scanner and photograph a card, or work through a stack one after another. 2. The AI reads name, firm, title, email, phone, and address. 3. Check the result on screen and correct anything the card made ambiguous. 4. Tag the contact by practice area, event, or matter. 5. Add a note or a voice memo on who they are and why they matter. The original card image stays attached, so if the scan misread a hand-written mobile you can still look at the card itself. ## Cards that are not in English The scanner reads cards in five or more languages, which matters for foreign co-counsel and for conferences with international delegations. A stack from an overseas event comes back as clean contacts without a single one retyped. ## Accuracy on the cards that matter Legal cards are usually well set: a firm name, a practice group, a direct line, and a mobile. That is the easy case and the scanner handles it cleanly. Where cards get creative, with a logo across the text or a number written on the back, the scan is still a draft you can correct in a tap, and the image is kept so nothing is lost. ## From scan to searchable network A scanned card is only worth the time if you can find it again. Each contact is searchable by name, firm, and anything you tagged it with, and the AI Concierge answers questions over your notes in plain language. Ask who you met at last year's construction law seminar and the answer comes back with names, not a scroll through a list. ## Getting the collection out again Contacts export to CSV on any plan, so the scanned collection can go to your assistant, into the firm's CRM, or into a spreadsheet for a mailing. Paid plans sync to CRMs and to 5,000+ apps through Zapier. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do lawyers scan business cards into contacts? Photograph the card with the AI scanner. It reads name, firm, title, email, and phone, keeps the original image, and files the result as a contact you can tag and search. ### Can I scan a whole stack at once? Yes. Work through the stack card after card in one sitting. The scanner is built for clearing a backlog rather than entering one card at a time. ### What if the scan gets something wrong? Correct it on screen before saving. The original card image stays attached to the contact, so you can always check what the card actually said. ### Does it read cards that are not in English? Yes, in five or more languages, which covers foreign co-counsel and international conference stacks. ### Is scanning free? The free plan includes a limited number of scans and CSV export. Paid plans add unlimited scanning, voice notes, and the AI Concierge. ### Where do the scanned contacts go? Into your own private list. Nothing is published, and you can export everything to CSV or sync to a CRM on a paid plan. ## Getting started with card scanning Start with the drawer. An hour of scanning turns years of collected cards into a list you can actually search, and the free plan is enough to see whether it earns its place. ## Get started Empty the drawer into something you can search. [Create your lawyer card free](https://www.connectmachine.ai/download-app/) ## More for Lawyers - [Business Card Scanner](https://www.connectmachine.ai/use-case/business-card-scanner.md): A business card scanner saves you from the shoebox of paper cards you never look at again. - [AI Concierge for lawyers](https://www.connectmachine.ai/for/lawyers/ai-concierge.md): The AI Concierge answers questions about a lawyer's own network in plain language. - [Contact management for lawyers](https://www.connectmachine.ai/for/lawyers/contact-management.md): ConnectMachine keeps a lawyer's professional network in one private, searchable place. - [Lead capture for lawyers](https://www.connectmachine.ai/for/lawyers/lead-capture.md): ConnectMachine turns bar events, CLE seminars, and client introductions into captured leads. - [Digital business cards for lawyers](https://www.connectmachine.ai/for/lawyers.md): ConnectMachine gives lawyers a digital business card that shares practice area, direct line, and firm details by QR or link, an AI scanner that turns the cards collected at bar events and CLE conferences into clean contacts, and a private note on each person recording how you met.