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Level Up Lupl – Febuary 2025

Ab Saraswat

Ab Saraswat

A screenshot of Lupl's Dashboards and Automations features. On the left, a dashboard displays task management metrics, including total open tasks, unassigned tasks, a pie chart of tasks by assignee, and a workload forecast bar graph. On the right, the Automations interface shows "Popular Recipes" for automating workflows, such as recurring tasks, weekly status updates, and task dependencies, along with assigned automation notifications. The interface has a clean, structured layout with categorized automation options.
In this article

    Welcome to this month’s Level Up Lupl newsletter!

    Each month, we share the latest updates, tips, and insights to help you get the most out of Lupl. This February, explore new features like Dashboards and Workflow Automation, learn how to import your lists from other platforms, and get tips on addressing the root of resistance.

    Want to get this straight to your inbox? Subscribe on the right to receive future newsletters by email.

    What’s New in Lupl

    A screenshot of Lupl's Dashboards and Automations features. On the left, a dashboard displays task management metrics, including total open tasks, unassigned tasks, a pie chart of tasks by assignee, and a workload forecast bar graph. On the right, the Automations interface shows "Popular Recipes" for automating workflows, such as recurring tasks, weekly status updates, and task dependencies, along with assigned automation notifications. The interface has a clean, structured layout with categorized automation options.

    We’re starting the year with some exciting new features, including:

    📊 Matter Dashboards
    🔗 Workflow Automation


    🗂️ Kanban Boards
    🏠 Re-Designed Features Page

    … and more!

    You can see a detailed breakdown of Lupl’s new features in our Q1 2025 Product Update.      

    Speak with our team to learn more or schedule a features demo.

    Feature Focus

    A comparison of an Excel spreadsheet and Lupl’s Workstreams interface. The top-left section shows an Excel sheet titled “Issues & Hurdles,” containing a list of issues with categories, priorities, statuses, and resolution plans. The bottom-right section displays the same data imported into Lupl’s Workstreams in a structured table format, with color-coded categories and priorities, along with options to filter, sort, and group data. This highlights Lupl’s capability to seamlessly import and organize structured data from spreadsheets into collaborative workstreams.

    Can I use my existing checklists or task trackers in Lupl, or do I need to start from scratch?

    You’ve worked hard to stay organized—no need to start over!

    With Lupl, you can repurpose your existing checklists, charts, and trackers by importing them directly into a Lupl workstream. It’s fast, efficient, and gets you up and running without missing a beat.

    Resources to Get You Started:

    Did You Know?

    This feature also allows you to import work from other tools like Monday or Smartsheet.

    Here’s how:

    1. Export your lists or projects from your current tool as an Excel worksheet.
    2. Upload the Excel to Lupl, and your work is ready to go.

    Change Management Corner

    A modern, open-concept office space featuring a large round table surrounded by red and green swivel chairs. The workspace includes additional seating areas with lounge chairs, small tables, and potted plants, creating a collaborative and inviting atmosphere. Glass walls and an upper-level balcony with more workspaces contribute to the open and airy design. The color scheme blends warm and cool tones, emphasizing a dynamic and flexible work environment.

    Change starts with understanding.

    For many legal professionals, asking for help with task management can feel like admitting they can’t handle their workload. Transparency and templatizing processes, while meant to reduce stress, can sometimes heighten anxiety if they’re seen as tools to demand more work in the same amount of time. 

    Take a moment to reflect:

    • Framing the Benefit: Are your team members seeing task management improvements as ways to reduce stress and decision fatigue rather than just a way to increase their output?
    • Management’s Role: Is leadership open to feedback and ready to address concerns about workflows?
    • Emotional Awareness: Has your team considered the emotional side of change? Addressing the “why” behind resistance is often the key to smoother transitions.

    Thoughtful implementation is the key to making task management changes feel like a support system—not an added ask. Build trust by showing your team that these tools are here to help.

     Looking for rollout tips or training Materials? Speak with our success team and we will connect you with the right resources.  

    Mental Health Minute

    A playful, cartoon-style illustration of a traditional balance scale with two smiling, laughing emoji-like faces—one yellow and one teal—sitting in each tray. The scale is slightly tilted, but both faces appear joyful and content. The background features soft pastel colors, with a window letting in light, creating a cheerful and lighthearted atmosphere.

    Research shows that laughter boosts motivation, eases burnout, and builds confidence by increasing dopamine and serotonin levels in the brain. This release of tension promotes more creative thinking, leading to better problem-solving and greater satisfaction.

    Quick Tip: Google the “I am not a Cat” video.

    A banner with a teal gradient background displaying the text "Legal Events We're Excited About" in bold white letters. On the left side, there is an illustrated calendar icon with a grid layout, featuring checkmarks indicating scheduled events. The design is clean and professional, emphasizing upcoming legal industry events.

    Legal Week 2025

    Legalweek is a cornerstone of the legal tech conference scene, recognized as a must-attend event for industry insights, education, and networking. It delivers actionable takeaways through expert-led sessions and provides legal professionals with a firsthand look at the latest innovations shaping the market.

    Reply to this email if you’d like to meet in NYC.

    🇺🇸 New York City | March 24 – 27, 2025

    In this article

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      # 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

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