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What is legal case management software?

Legal case management is a structured approach to handling legal cases. It involves using legal case management software to streamline processes in accordance with relevant legal guidelines, such as ethical obligations and specific court rules. This article provides an overview of the practicalities of the case management process and how legal case management software aids by facilitating an organized, efficient roadmap for the legal process.  

Woman sitting in front of a tablet writing down legal notes

Legal case management 101: What is it? 

Legal case management is information management tailored to meet the needs of the legal field, ranging from corporate legal teams to law firms operating in civil or criminal court. Broadly speaking, it covers a range of approaches and technologies that legal professionals use to more effectively manage legal cases. This ensures their knowledge is leveraged effectively, making the case management process more streamlined. 

Who uses legal case management? 

The deployment of legal case management is often divided into two scenarios or players: 

  • Corporate legal teams that manage legal matters, compliance issues, and/or external litigation. For a department in a medium-sized company, the software helps them save administrative costs and makes their task burden easier to handle.  

  • Law firms (civil or criminal court) that manage client cases, court filings, and handle legal documentation. For example, a family law firm in Chicago can reduce the number of hours spent on case management while still accepting new cases and without increasing overhead.

How to leverage legal case management 

  • As a roadmap: It outlines all the necessary steps of a legal case, functioning as a helpful tool for lawyers to ensure a smooth legal process 
  • As an organizational tool: It keeps all case elements neatly organized
  • As an efficiency booster: It helps with resource allocation and automates routine tasks, freeing up time for more complex legal case handling  

Tasks covered in legal case management 

Legal case management is the organized and coordinated handling of legal cases by lawyers and other legal professionals. This covers the following tasks and opportunities: 

Compliance 

→ Organizing case files 

→ Tracking deadlines

→ Managing communication

→ Preparing legal documents

→ Task management 

→ Financial management 

→ Legal research

→ Case presentation

Using legal case management software 

Legal case management is practically performed via legal case management software. This is a digital tool that enables the organization and management of legal cases. It centralizes information and streamlines workflows, ensuring better document management, time tracking, and billing. 

The software has three core functions

  • To organize individual cases

  • To record the services that the firm provides

  • To manage, consolidate, share, and protect the information resources  
Woman in red jacket taking notes on her tablet while sitting in front of desk

Relevant features in a legal case management software 

  • Document management, sharing, and collaboration functionalities  
  • Communication features 
  • Time-tracking and billing   
  • Presentation modules 
  • Customer relationship management (CRM) tools

Variations of case management software for specific needs 

Several methodologies exist within legal case management used to organize, track, and manage legal cases. The specific needs the software intends to fill determine which approach is used, whether it be traditional or practice-specific case management.  

  • Traditional case management, for example, is common in civil or criminal court litigation
     
  • Practice-specific case management, for instance, might be found in a medical malpractice-specific software solution with modules that support the presentation of the legal medical chronology 

Use together with legal timeline software

There are several different legal case management tools, one of which is legal timeline software. When you are presenting in court, you can use Case Crafter Legal Timeline Software to streamline the process and create a compelling case. In a few steps, you can import all relevant evidence, display it on a timeline, and present it to the judge and jury.

Benefits of using legal case management software

Streamlined workflow

By taking advantage of legal case management software, you can streamline your workflow. It becomes more efficient by reducing the administrative burden on every team member. Additionally, it automates routine tasks that previously tied up resources, allowing those resources to be spent on more complex legal challenges and questions instead. At the same time, all the practicalities of scheduling and task management are taken care of. 

Organized task burden 

The software functions as a central hub for all case-related information. Firstly, this makes it a useful tool for ensuring the timely completion of tasks. Secondly, it centralizes all case-related information in one place and makes the data accessible to everyone. As a result, the risk of errors or miscommunication is also lessened. Finally, it stores and retrieves legal documents, making it easier to manage and collaborate on the most essential legal documents in each case. 

Successful case outcomes

Being organized and having the tools necessary for an effective case management process  increases the likelihood of achieving success. This includes both client satisfaction and cost savings.

Potential challenges 

When leveraging digital tools like a case management system, there are potential challenges associated with the interface and data collection. Especially in legal processes, one is dependent on reliable information and seamless processes to ensure that this information remains correct. For example, challenges might arise when collecting data or doing migration and/or integration from one system to another. While this can complicate the situation, either by slowing down the process or disrupting the data, it is important, as with any tool, to remain in control of the situation and leverage support systems that facilitate a smooth transition. 

Keep an extra eye on: 

  • Data collection and migration: This ensures integrity when moving data  
  • User training: This is essential in enabling colleagues to understand the software and making sure that they get the necessary training to manage it successfully 
  • Integration with other systems: For example, connecting it with an external invoicing system
  • Specific software requirements: It is often related to the legal practice area or a particular use, such as case presentation 

 

Summary: The process of case management

  1. Intake and assessment: Evaluate the needs of the client and determine how to approach the legal case 
  2. Case strategy: Create a concrete plan to reach the client’s goal and outline a strategy that adheres to the relevant legal standards 
  3. Documents and evidence gathering: Collect, structure, and manage all documents, including evidence, in one central place 
  4. Communication and collaboration: Maintain a continuous flow of communication internally among the team and externally with the client, enabling a strong framework for collaboration
  5. Task management: Keep track of important deadlines, such as grand jury testimony deadlines or exhibit hand-ins
  6. Financial management: Ensure that budgets are balanced and expenses are registered correctly
  7. Preparation: Secure evidence, gather it in organized folders, prepare for case presentation, and conduct mock trials with the help of the software.
  8. Negotiation: Explore opportunities for settlements or dispute resolutions before taking the case to court 
  9. Trial and litigation: If the dispute cannot be settled, move the case to trial and use the software for case presentation, organization, and facilitation. 
  10. Case closure: Conclude the case by ensuring all legal commitments have been fulfilled, where the case management software can help provide an overview of the entire case proceeding. 

Boost case management with a legal timeline software 

Legal timeline software is a case management tool designed to help legal teams organize and visualize key events chronologically. In this specific legal case management system, you can import relevant documents into the software and organize them on a timeline, allowing you to filter by people and organize evidence chronologically. This helps you improve productivity and accuracy while building a strong case. 

Book a demo of the Case Crafter software today!

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