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News You Can Use – September 2023

Ab Saraswat

Ab Saraswat

Lupl's News You Can Use
In this article

    Stay updated with the latest trends and developments in this month's "news you can use." Here's what you will find inside:

    • Lupl product updates
    • How Lupl customers are using the platform (use cases)
    • IRL/URL - some of the best content we found around the web last month

    Editors note:

    Welcome to the September edition of our monthly newsletter! As we bid farewell to the summer season, Lupl is thrilled to unveil our most monumental feature update to date! While the legal industry as a whole may be slow to embrace new technology, individuals are increasingly embracing emerging tech on a daily basis. The perspective on legal tech within our industry is rapidly evolving, sparking a rise in demand for tools and platforms that simplify and enhance the management of legal matters in a more intuitive manner.

    The overwhelming enthusiasm and curiosity surrounding our upcoming features at ILTACON 2023 showcased the perfect alignment of Lupl to meet this emerging demand. For the past two years, we have diligently listened to our valued users and the legal community, refining our features to effectively tackle the real-world challenges that lawyers and legal professionals encounter daily.

    Read on explore the trends above in more detail, and learn how Lupl is being leveraged to elevate the client experience 👇🏼.

    What's New in Lupl

    Our team has been hard at work to improve your experience with Lupl, and make getting work done frictionless. Behind the scenes, our development team is busy putting the finishing touches on our Fall Release. Want more info right now? We got you!

    📽️ Missed us at ILTACON? Check out this short video to learn more about how we are changing the future of managing legal work.

    🍿 Book your demo today! Let our expert sales team guide you through a personalized tour of Lupl's cutting-edge features and an exclusive preview of what's on the horizon.

    🚀 Join our Early Adopter Program. We are always looking for legal tech enthusiasts who want to test our new features and help us evolve our platform to meet the changing needs of our users. Is that you??

    Speak with our Sales team to learn more.

    Discover How Your Peers are Utilizing Lupl

    Harness the power of Lupl to enhance your practice, unlocking higher levels of efficiency, client satisfaction, and profitability for your law firm. Our dedicated Success team has meticulously curated a comprehensive list of over 80 use cases spanning across various legal practices. Each month, we showcase a different use case to inspire and empower your practice.

    Lupl can be used to support a client during a competition regulatory investigation, providing a boost to collaboration and teamwork, improved efficiency & profitability, enhanced visibility and an elevated client experience, which positions the firm to win more work.

    How it works:

    • Use Lupl as a shared workspace to track and support investigations.
    • Centralize storage of key documents, including correspondence with authorities, synced to your DMS.
    • Allow clients to directly upload relevant documents and materials into shared folders.
    • Implement Lupl Matter Templates as playbooks for supporting clients during regulatory investigations.
    • Collaborate on draft responses to authorities.

    Have a use case you want to share? We would love to hear it. Check out our new Use Case Library and submit yours today!

    📣 Calling all Early Adopters! 📣

    There is still time to join our beta program for an exciting new feature coming to Lupl this fall - Create with Lupl AI!

    This innovative feature has been designed to streamline the process of creating new matters, harnessing the power of AI. As we finalize it's development, we are thrilled to extend an exclusive opportunity to our users to join our beta testing program. If you are an early adopter who revels in exploring cutting-edge features and providing invaluable feedback, this is your time to shine! To register your interest in the beta program, email our Sales team.

    We value your involvement and eagerly anticipate enhancing Lupl with your valuable contribution!

    IRL/URL

    A collection of interesting finds across the web (URL), and updates on where to meet with the Lupl team in real life (IRL).

    • AI Update: Regulation Discussion Ramps Up, Google’s Watermark Experiment. Our take - The article provides an update on discussions surrounding AI regulation, with a focus on Google's recent watermark experiment. It highlights the increasing attention given to regulating artificial intelligence technologies. The article mentions Google's experiment involving watermarks on AI-generated images, which aimed to address concerns about deepfake content. This experiment aimed to make it easier to identify AI-generated images, contributing to the efforts to tackle misinformation and manipulated content. The article also points out that discussions on AI regulation are becoming more prominent and necessary, given the potential risks and ethical considerations tied to AI technologies. It emphasizes that Google's experiment illustrates the ongoing exploration of solutions to the challenges posed by AI-generated content and the broader need for regulations that balance innovation with safeguards against potential misuse.
    • Canadian Legal Tech Companies CiteRight and Jurisage to Merge. Our take - Hot off the presses! CiteRight and Jurisage, announced yesterday a merger between the two companies, aimed at combining the strengths of both to enhance their offerings in the space. CiteRight specializes in legal document analysis and citation software, while Jurisage focuses on providing legal research tools. The merger is expected to create a more comprehensive and integrated platform for legal professionals, enabling them to efficiently manage legal documents, perform research, and streamline their workflows. The article highlights the strategic rationale behind the merger and the potential benefits it can bring to the legal tech landscape in Canada.
    • Revolving Doors: Paul Hastings continues infrastructure hiring spree as White & Case strengthens debt finance practice. Our take - With so many significant developments happening all over the legal industry, it's hard to keep up. This article focuses on the law firm side, in particular, infrastructure hiring at Paul Hastings and the strengthening of White & Case's debt finance practice. These strategic moves within prominent law firms underscore the evolving landscape and potential areas of collaboration for legal tech professionals. As law firms expand their practice areas, the demand for technology-driven solutions could present opportunities for innovation, efficiency enhancement, and tailored services. Staying attuned to these shifts and engaging with firms like Paul Hastings and White & Case could facilitate meaningful partnerships and solution development that align with the changing needs of the legal field.
    • In the World of Legal Tech, Tomorrowland is Here: Observations from ILTACON. Our take - We had to throw in one more ILTACON recap! This article explores the evolving landscape of legal technology, ignited by the pandemic and persisting through the hybrid nature of work today, and underscores its rising impact on the legal profession. It reiterates the necessity for legal professionals to adapt to changing dynamics due to emerging technologies and evolving client expectations. The piece highlights trends like AI, automation, and data analytics, illustrating their potential to reshape legal processes and client interactions. It also emphasizes that embracing these innovations is crucial for staying competitive, meeting modern legal practice demands, and delivering enhanced value to clients.
    Upcoming legal events that Lupl will be participating in

    Why Be a Candle When You Can Be a Lighthouse: Illuminating the Path with LPM

    Embrace the opportunity to gain valuable insights in our enlightening webinar about Legal Project Management (LPM). This informative session aims to empower you to transition from being a small flicker in the extensive legal field to a lighthouse, leading the way with efficient and effective management approaches.

    💻 Online | September 12, 2023 | 11 AM EST / 4PM BST

    TechLaw.Fest 2023

    Lupl is a proud partner of the Singapore Law Academy and the Ministry of Law, Singapore. Lupl is thrilled to once again exhibit at TechLawFest this September. Hear from subject matter experts and join the global conversation about current legal trends around the world.

    🇸🇬 Singapore | September 21-22, 2023

    IBA Paris 2023

    Lupl is excited to announce its participation in the annual IBA conference once again this year. The event will take place at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, France. Come see us at Booth 15, where you will have a chance to get a first look at Lupl's newest features and snag some Lupl swag to take home with you!

    🇫🇷 Paris | October 29 - November 2, 2023

    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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