Court deadlines, a costs budget, and disclosure that has to be right
Litigation runs on dates the court sets and costs you have to justify. Writford keeps the directions on the matter, the counsel fees on the bill, and the work in progress visible before it becomes a costs argument.
What does litigation case management software need to do?
It needs to hold court directions as dates the firm owns, record counsel and expert fees against the matter with the right VAT treatment, and show unbilled work in progress early enough to matter. Writford keeps all of it on the matter file.
- How are court directions tracked?
- As key dates on the matter, owned by the firm rather than a personal calendar, and synced both ways with Outlook.
- How are counsel's fees recorded?
- As disbursements on the matter with the chambers, the fee note reference, the date and the VAT treatment recorded when incurred, flowing onto the bill grouped and totalled.
- Can I see unbilled time on a case?
- Yes. Work in progress is shown by matter and by fee earner with an age on each entry, so you can see what has been sitting unbilled and for how long.
- Does the research stay with the case?
- Yes. A researched answer can be saved to the matter with its citations intact, so the authority behind a piece of advice is still on the file at trial.
- Can a supervisor see what is stuck?
- Yes. A firm-wide task and matter view shows what is moving and what is not, without asking each fee earner.
Directions the firm holds, not the fee earner
A directions order sets dates the court will not move. They live on the matter and sync to Outlook, so a hearing or a filing deadline is not sitting in one person's diary while they are on leave.
Counsel and experts, recorded as you incur them
Brief fees, advices, expert reports and court fees are disbursements on the matter with their supplier, date and VAT treatment recorded at the time, so they reach the bill grouped rather than reconstructed from email.
WIP before it becomes a costs argument
Unbilled time is visible by matter and by fee earner with an age on it. Work that has been sitting unbilled for months is harder to justify, and easier to fix while it is still recent.
The papers and the research in one place
Documents, correspondence, notes and the cited research behind a piece of advice all sit on the matter, so preparing for a hearing does not start with a search.