In this article:
Matter header
1 - The Matter name and LawVu ID
Edit the matter name by clicking on it and typing a new name. The LawVu ID is generated by LawVu and cannot be changed.
2 - Status Updates
These let you send quick messages between the matter owner and matter manager in regard to the 'status' of the matter. From this interface, you can see any current update as well as post a new update by clicking the 'plus' icon or request an update from the other party by clicking the 'request update' icon. To know more about matter status updates, click here.
3 - Actions
When there is a task that requires someone to take an important action, you can set an "Action" for that specific matter.
To learn more about the 'Actions' concept - click through to this article.
4- Matter owner and Matter manager
This panel lets you see and set the relevant matter owner/manager. These two roles are key concepts inside LawVu - to learn more about them click through this article.
5 - Current state and the matter menu.
Matter state - A matter can go through various states in its lifecycle. Typically matters start out in an 'Active' state and can move into 'Scoping / Review' states if a scope is applied. When a matter is complete it will be in a 'Complete' state. Learn more about matter states by clicking here.
Matter menu—if you have the appropriate access, this menu will appear for you. From here, you can change the state of the matter, duplicate it, view the scope history for the matter (if a scope has been applied), export it (so you can save a local copy to your DMS), or delete it.
Matter details
The matter details area forms the base of the information around the matter.
1 - Matter info
This area contains fundamental information about the matter, such as its type, the team it has been assigned to, who created it, the linked matters, etc.
It also contains the matter's email address. The matter members can use this to create a new conversation on a matter. This conversation will allow recipients to reply to an email thread, even if they are not named on the matter.
To know more about using the matter email address, click here.
2 - The Matter Details area
This area lets you record information specific to the 'type' of this matter. All the data in this area are called 'custom fields' (or custom attributes). These fields will be specific to the type of matter and any custom requirements set up by your organization.
Tasks
Tasks provide the building blocks for project management of your matters within LawVu. You can also reuse them by saving them as 'Task templates'. Learn more about Tasks by clicking here.
Link contracts
Legal matters are often linked to other matters or contracts that extend from them. Linking matters and contracts together in LawVu can clearly identify a matter's connection to other information stored in the platform.
To know more about linking contracts to matters, click here.
Files
Every matter in LawVu has a dedicated 'Files' tab, which contains the files loaded against the matter.
You can easily drag and drop files within the LawVu files area to organize them into folders. Files can be sent via email, previewed in the browser, signed (via one of our signing integrations), or compared (via Litera Compare).
Learn more about files here.
Members and Security tab
The 'Members' area lists everyone currently working on the matter and shows their relevant role within that matter.
If you have Full Matter Access, you can access the Members tab and add new members, change people's roles in this matter, or remove people from the matter.
The 'Access' control area lets you decide who can access this matter if they need to - it also allows you to determine if the matter should be 'Restricted'.
'Membership' differs from 'Access' - you can learn about these key concepts here.
Time entries
By recording your time in LawVu, you can document the duration spent working on specific matters.
To utilize the time entries feature, ensure you have permission to enable "Record time entries" in your profile. If you don't have this permission, please contact one of the LawVu administrators in your organization to have it enabled.
To learn more about how to add time entries to a matter, click here.
Invoices
As work progresses on a matter, this is where you can see any invoices that have been uploaded against it.
Your legal service provider normally adds invoices, and you can find instructions for adding invoices here.
Activity
Everything that happens on matters is recorded in an activity log, so you can review it if you need to. Check out this article for more information: Search your history logs in LawVu
You can export the activity logs into an Excel file if necessary.
Conversations
LawVu is about collaboration, so we've tried to make capturing all the conversations related to matters easy.
Every matter contains a 'General' conversation, which allows you to capture the discussion of the matter's details and scope.
You can create new conversations at any time.
Learn more about conversations in this article.