Abstract: Methods and systems for automatically interviewing and evaluating prospective clients for engagement by a law firm. Through a virtual agent interface a prospective client is engaged in conversation to elicit information useful in determining whether the prospective client is suitable for an engagement. Information obtained from the prospective client is evaluated to identify likely causes of action, which are scored and assessed against engagement criteria. If the scoring and assessment reveal that the prospective client's likely cause of action is suitable for engagement, an engagement process is initiated, otherwise, the interview continues in an attempt to identify other potential causes of action and/or additional facts for reassessing the initially identified potential cause of action. If one or more potential causes of action score sufficiently high enough to warrant engagement, an engagement process is initiated, otherwise a non-engagement procedure with the prospective client is performed.