article-time-estimate-icon

3 minute read

Why Lupl is All You Need for Legal Task Management

Ab Saraswat

Ab Saraswat

Shot of two mature businessmen discussing paperwork in a corporate office
In this article

    Did you know 48% of legal departments claim that improving processes and workflows is a top priority?1

    And did you also know that task management is central to achieving faster, more effective workflows? After all, what is a workflow if not a series of tasks to be done? Good task management works because it:

    • Ensures that the right tasks are given to the right people at the right time.
    • Provides team-wide visibility into what needs doing and when.
    • Enables legal teams to provide clear and reliable delivery times for clients.

    So how do you go about improving your task management processes? The answer, of course, is with the right tech. The problem is, with so many options to choose from, how do you know which tech is “right”?

    With only 14% of law firms stating that technology is driving efficiency and productivity to the level they believe is possible,2 it’s clear that many lawyers are missing out on the tech they need to drive better processes and achieve better results.

    There are plenty of legal task management software platforms out there. Many of them cover task management and nothing else, making them just another tool to pile on top of all the others you already use. Then there are those that don’t prioritize task management enough.

    The challenge for IT directors is to improve their tech stack – and that means adopting technology that not only revolutionizes task management for lawyers but also transforms other parts of the legal matter process.

    In other words, that means Lupl. And in this article, we’ll explain why.

    Task Management Done Your Way

    Legal task management isn’t just a fancy term for giving people stuff to do. It’s a critical process that ensures that legal matters run smoothly and that the people responsible for making them a success have everything they need.

    There isn’t a single gold-standard way to distribute responsibility. In reality, every legal firm has its own unique approach to matter management. Lupl recognizes this, allowing you to:

    • Assign people not just to specific matters, but also to specific tasks within those matters.
    • Assign multiple people to a single task.
    • Link tasks together with documents – this ensures that lawyers have easy access to the information they need while providing transparency for team members.
    • Assign reviews and auto-chase people for input.

    And all this functionality is available in one place. So no more switching between multiple different apps. No more wasted hours searching for the information you need to do the job.

    As Ling Ling Luo, founding partner of Luo Ling LLC, has learned, Lupl helps you get stuff done faster and smarter: “We have to micromanage lots of little tasks. Lupl is great for assigning tasks to team members.”

    So what does this all mean for your law firm? Well, the better your task management processes, the better the outcomes of your legal matters – and the faster you’ll be able to deliver results for your clients.

    In a world where 82% of law firms believe that client expectations around service delivery speed have increased in the last two years,3 the importance of getting task management right cannot be understated. Lupl is how you meet – and exceed – your clients’ expectations.

    Further reading: For a deeper dive into legal project management and how technology can streamline and enhance it, check out our article: What You Don’t Know About Legal Matter Management in 2023.

    Educating the Team

    Legal matter management can be a daunting process for junior legal professionals. To compound this issue, without the right tech, it can be difficult for senior lawyers to effectively support younger staff members.

    Once again, Lupl can help. Our task management user interface (UI) lets junior lawyers know exactly where they stand in the matter process – and exactly what they need to do next.

    For senior lawyers, Lupl is a great way to track the progress of young lawyers, monitor their work, and provide the support they need to progress. For example, by linking tasks to documents, senior lawyers can provide helpful training materials for their understudies.

    Further reading: We’re always looking for ways to enhance Lupl’s features and unlock powerful new use cases. To learn more about the latest additions to our groundbreaking legal project management software, read our Q1 2023 Product Update.

    Not Just a Task Management Platform

    Lupl transforms the legal task management process, making it simpler, more transparent, and more customizable.

    But Lupl is much more than a task management platform. It transforms the entire ecosystem of your firm.

    Take access to information, for example. Locating the legal documents, research, and papers that lawyers need to move forward with a matter can be a major barrier to productivity. With Lupl, you can collate and store all the information you need in one place, allowing you to:

    • Provide easy access to information for your team members at all times.
    • Remove efficiency bottlenecks.
    • Eliminate information silos.

    When it comes to legal tech, Lupl has a “bring your own system” approach. Integrations and APIs allow you to connect platforms that were previously scattered all over the place. For example, you can connect Lupl to tools like WhatsApp, Clio, Literata, and DocuSign, allowing for seamless workflows across multiple tools.

    So instead of jumping from one platform to the next and back again, you can access your entire tech stack via one central hub – Lupl. You have everything you need in one place: tools, documents, tasks, statuses, and messaging. Your legal team can work in a way that suits them, without shaking up their entire work process.

    If you’d like to see how Lupl could transform your legal tasks management processes and beyond, book a free demo today.

    Everything that matters in one place, with Lupl.

    1  The increasing importance of legal operations to legal departments.

    2  The Future Shape of Law Firm IT.

    3 The Future Shape of Law Firm IT.

    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....