Developers · Zapier + Smokeball

Send referrals to Thurgood from Smokeball

About 10 minutes, one time. After that, when you mark a lead as referred to Thurgood, the client's details reach us automatically and their CaseFile is started. Thurgood never emails the client. You need a Zapier account (a free one works) and your Thurgood API key.

Add Thurgood to Zapier

Step 1

Add the Thurgood app to Zapier

Open this link while logged in to Zapier and accept the invite: add Thurgood to Zapier.

Step 2

Get your API key

Each firm has its own key, issued by Thurgood. It starts with tgk_. If you don't have one, email caseworker@askthurgood.com with your firm's name. Thurgood only stores a fingerprint of the key, so keep it somewhere safe; if it's lost, we revoke it and issue a new one.

Step 3

Mark referrals in Smokeball

When you refer a client to Thurgood, add them as a new lead and include the word Thurgood in the lead's description, for example "Referred to Thurgood".

Step 4

Build the Zap

01
Create a Zap
In Zapier, create a new Zap.
02
Smokeball → New Lead
Connect your Smokeball account when asked. Smokeball sends a lead to Zapier when it is added, and it runs for every new lead, so the "Send only when" setting in step 5 sends only leads that mention Thurgood.
03
Thurgood → Send Referral
Connect it with your Thurgood API key.

Step 5

Map the fields

Thurgood field	Map from Smokeball
Record ID	The lead ID (required)
Name	The lead's client name (required)
Email, Phone	The client's email and phone
State	The state the client worked in, if you track it
Initial Summary	The lead description
Company	The client's employer, if you track it
Employer's stated reason, Believed reason	Your intake question fields, if you have them
Dates of employment, Hourly or Salary	Your dates and pay fields
Documents or Links, Job Title, Notes	Anything else you want Thurgood to have
Send only when this field…	The lead description
…or contains	Thurgood

Leave blank anything you don't track. "Send only when" is what keeps other leads out: anything that doesn't match is skipped and nothing is sent. It's built into the Thurgood step, so the Zap stays two steps and works on Zapier's free plan.

Step 6

Test and turn on

Testing sends a real referral: when you click Test step, Zapier sends the sample lead to Thurgood. Pick a lead you are actually referring to us, or skip the test. Then turn the Zap on.

What happens next

After the Zap is on

Thurgood creates the client's record, linked to your firm, and starts their CaseFile from the intake you sent.
Nothing is emailed to the client or to your firm. Once the Zap is on, you don't need to email referrals to Thurgood.
Your firm's lawyers can see the referral, and the intake you sent, on the client's profile.
Each lead is sent once, so editing it afterwards won't create a duplicate.
If the client's email already belongs to a Thurgood client, that client is left unchanged.

Questions: caseworker@askthurgood.com

API reference

The API behind the Zap

You don't need this to use Zapier. It's here for your developers, or if you'd rather send referrals from your own system.

Authentication

Send your key in the X-Api-Key header on every request. Authorization: Bearer <key> is also accepted on POST, and an api_key field for senders that can't set headers. Use https://askthurgood.com, not www.: a redirect would drop the request body.

Check a key

GET https://askthurgood.com/api/thurgood/referrals/me
X-Api-Key: tgk_your_key_here

200 {"status": true, "lawfirm": "Your Firm Name"}
401 {"status": false, "error": "Invalid API key"}

Send a referral

POST https://askthurgood.com/api/thurgood/referrals
X-Api-Key: tgk_your_key_here
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "external_id": "4821",
  "name": "Jane Doe",
  "email": "jane@example.com",
  "state": "CA",
  "initial_summary": "I was fired two weeks after reporting unpaid overtime..."
}

JSON or form fields are both accepted. Fields not listed below are ignored.

Field	Required	Description
external_id	Recommended	Your record id (e.g. Pipedrive deal id). Each id is accepted once per firm. `pipedrive_deal_id` also works.
name	Yes	Client's full name (or send `first_name` + `last_name`).
email	No	Client's email. If sent, it must be a valid address.
phone	No	Client's phone.
state	No	US state the client worked in — `CA` or `California`.
company	No	Employer.
initial_summary	No	The client's account of what happened. Used to start their CaseFile.
employer_reason	No	What the employer said was the reason for the termination/separation.
believed_reason	No	Why the client believes they were actually terminated/separated.
employment_dates	No	Dates of employment.
pay	No	Hourly or salary.
drive_links	No	Links to any client documents (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.).
job_title	No	Job title.
notes	No	Anything else for Thurgood.

Response	Body	Meaning
202	`{"status": true, "referral_id": 123}`	Accepted. Processing finishes within a few minutes.
200	`{"status": true, "duplicate": true, "referral_id": 123}`	This `external_id` was already sent — nothing new created.
401	`{"status": false, "error": "Invalid API key"}`	Missing, wrong or revoked key.
422	`{"status": false, "error": "A name is required"}`	Missing name, or an email that isn't a valid address.
429		More than 200 requests a minute.