In this guide 6 sections
Before the diary goes, settle five things. They are your courts and stages, every running matter with its next date, each fee arrangement, who sees which files, and how the clerk records adjournments. Then check a week of dates against the paper diary. GullySystem sets up its Law Firm Case Management Software in this order.
List your courts, stages and numbering
Start with where you appear. Civil courts, the High Court, consumer forums, NCLT, DRT and arbitration each go on one list.
Then write down the stages you use, from filing to evidence to arguments to disposal. Keep your own matter numbering if the office already knows it.
This list is short. Getting it right first saves renaming hundreds of matters later.
Gather every running matter
Each matter needs its client, opposite party, court, case number, year, stage, advocate in charge and next date. Past orders come along too.
The clerk’s diary is the main source. Juniors’ own notes come second, since they often hold matters nobody else tracks.
Run a party search across the finished list. It doubles as the base for conflict checks on new briefs.
- Client and opposite party
- Court, case number and year
- Stage and advocate in charge
- Next date and its purpose
- Fee arrangement for the matter
Write down each fee arrangement
One client may have a retainer for one matter and a per-appearance rate for another. Record which applies, matter by matter.
Note unbilled appearances and drafting on the day of the switch. Otherwise that work stays unbilled.
Decide who sees what
Not every junior needs every file. Decide who opens each matter, down to a single advocate where a conflict calls for it.
Decide too how client updates go out. A short message after each hearing saves many calls, but someone should read it before it is sent.
Settle who holds the records and how the firm gets a full copy back. Do this before anything moves.
- Partners who see every matter
- Advocates and juniors, matter by matter
- Who reads client updates before sending
- How the firm takes a full copy of its records
Train the clerk first, then check a week
The clerk records more dates than anyone. Train him first, on a real week of listings.
Before the diary is retired, check one court’s listings against it for a full week. Every next date should match.
Juniors learn next. Most of their work is recording the outcome and next date from a phone in the corridor.
Case diary switch-over checklist
A two-page checklist covering courts and stages, running matters, fee arrangements, access, client updates and the week of parallel checking. Tick each item with the name of whoever checked it. Keep the paper diary until the last box is ticked.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Does the software pull hearing dates from eCourts?
No. The cause list is built from the next dates your own team records. A case status feed can be scoped at set-up.
Can we e-file from it?
No. Nothing is filed from here. What you file is recorded, and the stamped copy is attached to the matter.
Is a diary still fine for a two-advocate office?
Often, yes. If you handle a modest number of matters and your clerk has never missed a date, a diary is cheaper and quicker.