How to spring clean your case files on LEAP: Six tips to get the best out of LEAP

There is no better time than spring to have a clean up of your case management system - LEAP addition to protect yourself from overwhelm and productivity burnout.

Picture and logo courtesy of LEAP: https://leap.us/

It can be tempting to skip the organisation of your matters on your case management system when you’re trying to get as much billable work done as you can, but in reality you’re shooting yourself in the foot. Just because work isn’t billable, doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect your billable work.

82% of professionals 

82% of professionals reported that poor information management negatively impacts their productivity, because they end up spending too much time navigating various tools and locations to find what they need.

71% say poor digital organisation hampers their effectiveness at work.

I know myself if a file isn't organised and information is everywhere, my brain instantly wants to run away rather than do any form of billable work. So why don't we just keep things organised?

Spring is the perfect time to have a spring clean of your case files, leaving you feeling rejuvenated and giving you back more productivity, so you can in turn actually do more billable work. Trust me!

Here’s how you can organise Leap to your advantage (these tips can also be implemented on other case management software)...

1. Use Folders and Stick to Them

It’s very tempting to follow your process of setting up folders when you first open a file, but if you don’t continue to use them, they’re as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

The trick is to not use too many folders, because that’ll just overwhelm you more and you won’t use them. A good rule of thumb is to use the following:

Emails & Communication

This folder should contain all emails to and from clients and third parties, and should also include any attendance notes. It’s easier to use subfolders such as:

• Client Communication

• Other Side Communication

• Attendance Notes

• Barrister Communication

These subfolders will vary dependant on the case and how you work – for example if there is a key meeting or event in the matter that racked up loads of communication, you’re best having a folder for that.

This way, when you’re trying to find an email – which looks overwhelming on Leap because all of them have the same matter title you gave it when opening the file! – you’ll know where to go and save time.

Finance

An important one and if you have a finance team, you’ll be their favourite if you use this.

This is where you can store all your invoices and it makes it easier to keep track – brownie points for having a folder for disbursement invoices and legal fee invoices.

I’d also recommend a folder for Actioned Fee Notes if you’re instructing a barrister – so you can keep track of those that have been raised for payment.

Compliance

We knew this one would be in here… This is where you keep everything compliance wise (clues on the tin), including your client engagement pack, your conflict checks, your risk assessment, and your ID and AML checks, and any other compliance tasks you need to complete.

Make sure you create subfolders for all of the above to make it less overwhelming.

Archived

We’ll come back to the Archived folder in more detail below…

2. Make the Most Out of LEAP’s Template Feature

This allows you to create template documents that you can use again and again, and LEAP automatically generates the matter ID and client name, so you’re saving loads of time.

Good documents for this include your terms of business, the client care letter and any further documents you issue to clients including client information forms etc.

3. Use a Naming Convention which Includes the Matter ID

When opening new matters, make sure you follow the same format so you can easily keep track. After naming the matter and once the matter ID has been generated, make sure you go back to the name you chose and add in the reference, so it’d read like:

ELH/12345 – Purchase of 100 Acre Wood

The matter number being there is extremely important, because this will now appear in all email correspondence – especially handy if you have multiple matters for the same client.  

4. Use LEAP’s Filter Function

LEAP automatically shows you all matters for your firm – so if you have multiple people working alongside you with a different caseload, you’re also going to be overwhelmed by the sight of their files as an option to click on, which can actually be avoided.

Click on the filter icon on the top right hand side of the screen, and you can select from the following to filter the matters displayed to you:

• Current Matters

• My Current Matters

• Recently Viewed/Edited

• Matters with Receivable Balance

• Matters with Trust Funds

• Matters with Unbilled Time & Fees

My favourite is ‘My Current Matters’, because you get to see just your own caseload – overwhelm gone instantly. But, if you’re working on only a handful for the day, you can also select ‘Recently Viewed/Edited’.

The ‘Matters with Unbilled Time & Fees’ filter comes in handy when it’s time for you to bill – so you can get a quick list of clients you know you need to invoice.

5. Identify Old Drafts and Move Them to the Archived Folder

Especially in law, we have so many rounds of revisions on documents, it can be really hard to keep up with the final version – the only one that really matters. This leaves the door wide open for the wrong document being used, which we can’t always catch ourselves if the revisions are minimal.

To avoid this, make sure you always label each version as Version 1, 2 etc, and move each old version to the Archived folder. That way, you’ll only have the most recent version available to you, avoiding the chance of mixing up documents.

Not only is this tip good for tackling overwhelm, it also keeps you on side of GDPR, because you won’t be storing data for longer than necessary, as you’ve already started the deletion process before the file is even closed.

6. Set Up a Recurring Clean-Up Reminder

One spring clean per year sadly is not enough to keep your files in shape – don’t shoot the messenger! Make sure you set up a monthly or quarterly reminder for you to review and tidy up your files.

This is tempting to skip, but if not followed you’re more likely to fall back into old habits and lose billable time to lack of productivity from messy and unorganised files.

Conclusion

If you’d like support on making your LEAP matters squeaky clean, please get in touch for a free consultation call here – we have our mops at the ready! Or if you prefer, contact us at info@jamvirtualsupport.co.uk