article-time-estimate-icon

2 minute read

How Dentons Enhances Legal Project Management with Lupl

Ab Saraswat

Ab Saraswat

In this article

    As the world’s largest law firm, Dentons is no stranger to complex, multi-faceted legal matters that require meticulous management and coordination. To stay at the forefront of innovation and client service, Dentons’ UK and Middle East offices have adopted Lupl as their go-to platform for Legal Project Management (LPM), propelling their practice into a new era of efficiency.

    James Arnold, Head of Legal Project Management at Dentons UK and Middle East, shared his experience working with Lupl during the Strategic Knowledge & Innovation Legal Leaders’ Summit (SKILLS) Showcase.

    The content in this post, including quotations herein, is based on the presentation titled “Counter Intuitive Collaboration – A Fresh Take on Tech Adoption,” which was aired on January 18, 2024, during the Strategic Knowledge & Innovation Legal Leaders’ Summit (SKILLS) Showcase. A recording of the original presentation is included above.

    Simply Meeting Users’ Needs

    In an industry where tools often come laden with features that can obscure rather than clarify, Lupl’s simplicity, and end-user-first design, offers a breath of fresh air. James, explains how Lupl’s clear purpose immediately resonated with them:

    “Too many platforms that we’ve seen in the market try and do too much, and they try and cover too many bases, and they don’t necessarily get it 100 percent right in all those use cases. So, what we found in Lupl is that it had one message, one clear purpose, and it did it really well.”

    This focus on doing one thing exceptionally well has made Lupl an easy choice for Dentons’ sophisticated needs.

    A Collaborative Journey

    The process began with a strategic collaboration between Dentons’ innovation team and Lupl. Together, they identified specific challenges within large teams working under tight deadlines—such as task tracking and transparency during complex transactions—to tailor a solution that truly fits.

    James reflects on this partnership:

    “We worked really closely with Lupl, to shape what that looks like. And actually, working with a startup has really helped with that… we worked really closely with India and the team to develop what the use cases might be and to shape what the product is now.”

    Strategic Rollout Focused on Real Needs

    To ensure successful adoption across various practice groups at Dentons, James emphasized the importance of identifying sponsors from both leadership levels down to lawyers involved in day-to-day operations. Through targeted training sessions complemented by broader divisional meetings, they cast a wide net before diving deeper into specific use cases tailored to each team’s unique challenges.

    “Getting sponsors au fait with Lupl and getting them up to speed with it and actually using them as a voice is really powerful and something that we’ve very much leaned on.”

    Following a comprehensive process-mapping workshop in their banking and finance practice, Dentons identified Lupl as the optimal solution to enhance team communication and provide transparent oversight of tasks.

    Embracing Innovation for Future Success

    For firms like Dentons looking towards the future of LPM practices—where cutting through complexity is key—embracing Lupl can make all the difference. James Arnold’s forward-thinking approach serves as an inspiration for others aiming to enhance efficiency without losing sight of client needs or compromising security standards.

    Looking for more? Learn how Cooley reduced email by 75% using Lupl, and how CMS leverages Lupls to manage matters across its 70+ offices.

    No more getting lost in emails, Excel spreadsheets, and Word tables. Keep track of everything easily and in real-time, effortlessly with Lupl!

    In this article

      More legal tech insights we think you'll love

      The cost of over-dependence on AI

      AI saves us time, boosts productivity, and lets us do...

      # Lupl Workstream Design Principles: A Practical Guide to Legal Project Management for Lawyers Legal project management works when your setup is simple, ownership is clear, and statuses are unambiguous. This guide shows how to turn existing processes and checklists into a lean, reliable Workstream. Lupl is the legal project management platform for law firms, making it easy and intuitive to apply these principles. It also supports moving your work from Excel, Word tables, or if you are transitioning from Microsoft Planner, Smartsheet, or Monday. You will learn what belongs in a Workstream, a Task, or a Step, and which columns to use. If you want practical project management for lawyers, start here. **Excerpt:** Legal project management works when ownership, dates, and statuses are clear. This guide shows lawyers how to turn checklists into Lupl Workstreams with the right columns, Tasks, and Steps. Use it to standardize project management for lawyers, reduce follow ups, and move matters to done. --- ## How to organize your work with Workstreams, Tasks, and Steps Workstreams, Tasks, and Steps are three different types of objects in Lupl. They form a simple hierarchy. Workstreams contain Tasks. Tasks may contain optional Steps. This hierarchy aligns with standard project management. In project management, you break work into projects, deliverables, and subtasks. Lupl adapts this for lawyers by using Workstreams, Tasks, and Steps. This makes it easier to map legal processes to a structure that teams can track and manage. * **Workstream.** Use when you have many similar or related items to track over time. Think of the Workstream as the table. * Examples: closing checklist, court deadlines, pretrial preparation, regulatory obligations, due diligence, local counsel management. * **Task.** A high level unit of legal work. A key deliverable with an owner and a due date. Tasks are the rows. * Examples: File motion. Prepare Shareholder Agreement. Submit Q3 report. * **Step.** An optional short checklist inside a single Task. Steps roll up to the parent Task. * Examples: Draft. QC. Partner review. E file. Serve. ### Quick test * If it can be overdue by itself, make it a Task. * If it only helps complete a Task, make it a Step. * If you need different columns or owners, create a separate Workstream. --- ## Do you need to track everything in Lupl Not every detail needs to be tracked in a project management system. The principle is to capture what drives accountability and progress. In Lupl, that means focusing on deliverables, not every micro action. * Use the level of detail you would bring to a weekly team meeting agenda. * Position Tasks as key deliverables. Treat Steps as optional micro tasks to show progress. * Example: You need client instructions. Do not add a Task for "Email client to request a call." Just make the call. If the client approves a key deliverable on the call, mark that item Approved in Lupl so the team has visibility. --- ## Start with the Core 5 columns Columns are the backbone of a Workstream. They define what information is tracked for each Task. In project management terms, these are your core metadata fields. They keep everyone aligned without overcomplicating the table. Keep the table narrow. You can add later. These five work across most legal project management use cases. 1. **Title.** Start with a verb. Example: File answer to complaint. 2. **Status.** Five to seven clear choices. Example: Not started, In progress, For review, For approval, Done. 3. **Assignee.** One named owner per row. If you add multiple assignees for collaboration, still name a primary owner. 4. **Due date.** One date per row. 5. **Type or Category.** Show different kinds of work in one table. Example: Filing, Discovery, Signature, Approval. **Priority.** Add only if you actively triage by priority each week. If added, keep it simple: High, Medium, Low. --- ## Add up to three Helper columns Lupl includes a set of pre made columns you can use out of the box. These allow you to customize Workstreams around different phases or stages of a matter. They also let you map how you already track transactional work, litigation, or other processes. Helper columns are optional fields that add context. In task management, these are similar to tags or attributes you use to sort and filter work. The key is to only add what you will update and use. Pick only what you will use. Stop when you reach three. * Party or Counterparty * Jurisdiction or Court * Phase * Approver * Approval, status or yes or no * Signature status * Risk, RAG * Amount or Number * External ID or Client ID * Document or Link * Docket number * Client entity **Guidance** * For Task Workstreams, prefer Approver, Approval, Risk. The rest are more common in Custom Workstreams. * Aim for eight columns or fewer in your main table. Put detail in the Task description, attachments, or Steps. --- ## Simple rules that keep your table clean Consistency is critical in project management. A cluttered or inconsistent table slows teams down. These rules ensure your Workstream remains usable and clear. * Only add a column people will update during the matter. If it never changes, set a default at the Workstream level or set a default value in the column. * Only add a column you will sort or filter on. If you will not use it to find or group work, leave it out. * If a value changes inside one Task, use Steps. Steps show progress without widening the table. * Keep columns short and structured. Use Description for brief context or instructions. Use Task comments for discussion and decisions. Link to work product in your DMS as the source of truth. * One accountable owner per Task and one due date. You can add collaborators, but always name a primary owner who moves the Task. If different people or dates apply to different parts, split into separate Tasks or capture the handoff as Steps. * Add automations after you lock the design. Finalize columns and status definitions first. Then add simple reminders and escalations that read those fields. --- ## Status hygiene that everyone understands Status is the single most important column in project management. It tells the team where the work stands. Too many options cause confusion. Too few cause misalignment. In Lupl, keep it simple and consistent. * Five to seven statuses are enough. * Use one review gate, For review or For approval. Use both only if your process needs two gates. * One terminal status, Done. This is the end state of the Task. Use Archived only if you report on it or need it for retention workflows. --- ## When to split into multiple Workstreams In project management, it is best practice to separate workstreams when workflows, owners, or audiences diverge. Lupl makes this easy by letting you create multiple Workstreams for one matter. Create a new Workstream if any of the following are true. * You need a different set of columns for a chunk of work. * Ownership or cadence is different, for example daily docketing vs monthly reporting. * The audience or confidentiality needs are different. **Signal** * If half your rows leave several columns blank, you are mixing processes. Split the table. --- ## Decision tree, three quick questions Use this quick framework to decide where an item belongs. This is the same principle used in task management software, adapted for legal workflows. 1. Is this a list of similar items over time, or a discrete phase of the matter * Yes. Create a Workstream. 2. Can it be overdue by itself, and does it need an owner * Yes. Create a Task. 3. Is it a step to finish a Task and not tracked on its own * Yes. Create a Step. --- ## Common mistakes to avoid Many project management failures come from overdesigning or misusing the structure. Avoid these mistakes to keep your Workstreams lean and effective. * Wide tables with many optional columns. Keep it to eight or fewer. * Two columns for the same idea, for example Status and Phase that overlap. Merge or define clearly. * More than one approval gate when one would do. It slows work and confuses owners. * Mixing unrelated processes in one table, for example signatures and invoice approvals. --- ## Build your first Workstream Building a Workstream is like setting up a project board. Keep it light, pilot it, then refine. Lupl is designed to let you do this quickly without heavy admin work. 1. Write the Workstream purpose in one sentence. 2. Add the Core 5 columns. 3. Add at most three Helpers you will use. 4. Define clear Status meanings in plain words. 5. Set defaults for any value that repeats on most rows, for example Jurisdiction. 6. Add two light automations, a due soon reminder and an overdue nudge. 7. Pilot for one week and adjust. --- ## Where this fits in legal project management Use these principles to standardize project management for lawyers across matters. Keep structures consistent. Reuse column sets and status definitions. Your team will find work faster, reduce follow ups, and close loops on time. --- ### On page SEO helpers * Suggested title tag. Lupl Workstream Design Principles, Practical Legal Project Management for Lawyers * Suggested meta description. Learn how to design lean Lupl Workstreams for legal project management. Get clear rules for Tasks, Steps, statuses, and columns to run matters with confidence. * Suggested URL slug. legal-project-management-for-lawyers-workstream-design

      Lupl Workstream Design Principles: A Practical Guide to Legal Project Management for Lawyers

      Learn why large‑firm lawyers are ditching Excel checklists for dynamic,...

      Do AI Agents Have An Identity? Notes from InfoSec Discussions

      Agentic AI is in its early phases but advancing fast....