Q1 2024 Product Update – New Features & Improvement

Lupl is used to manage thousands of matters – our product team works in three-week sprints, enabling us to swiftly implement impactful modifications based on user feedback, solidifying Lupl’s position as the leading task and project management solution for law firms.

This post highlights some of the biggest features and improvements we added this past quarter.

Support for iManage Cloud

Documents are key to all legal work – they are the work product for all practices. To efficiently and effectively manage work, it is critical to connect what needs to be done (tasks) with how it’s done (documents).

Lupl already has native integrations with NetDocuments and iManage to allow users to view, organize, and take action on matter documents from the same place where they organize tasks and workstreams.

We are excited to announce a major extension of Lupl’s existing DMS integration features, starting first for iManage Cloud customers and based on several months of input from end users, IT Security, and Innovation teams at law firms globally.

This new feature will enable users inside law firms to seamlessly access DMS workspaces, folders, and files without leaving Lupl. When working with external users, this new feature can be used in addition to the existing ways of connecting to your DMS – creating a shared folder in your DMS workspace and a two-way sync for easy file sharing.

What’s new? 

This new development greatly expands what we can offer with Lupl: 

1. Support for iManage Cloud: iManage supports over 4,000 customers across six continents, and over 60% of iManage customers now work in iManage Cloud. In addition to supporting those customers deployed on-prem, we now officially support iManage Cloud customers.  
2. Seamless access to DMS files and folders through Lupl. Every Lupl matter can be connected to a workspace in the firm’s DMS, and authenticated users can easily view and access the entirety of the connected DMS workspace from within Lupl. This provides visibility of all corresponding folders and files and access to native DMS functionality (such as comparison and checkout) without needing to leave Lupl. This significantly reduces context-switching and provides a real-time view of documents alongside matter status and progress. 
3. Open in Microsoft Word. The system allows users to open their files directly in Microsoft Word (as well as other applications such as Excel and PowerPoint), providing a more seamless drafting and editing experience. 
4. Share DMS files into Lupl. No more clunky download/upload steps – users can now add a file directly from their connected DMS workspace into Lupl. So, whether it’s sharing a file with a colleague in the Channel or linking to a file to track deal status in a Transaction Documents Workstream, it’s much easier to bring documents into Lupl. 
5. The current version, every time. Users can share documents as attachments or dynamic links, ensuring that everyone accesses the latest version, not the out-of-date version attached to email threads. 
6. Absolute version control; DMS remains the system of record. The system gives users complete control over versions by enabling them to save documents from Lupl directly into the DMS, either as a new document or the latest version of an existing document. This also helps to ensure that the DMS remains the system of record for the matter. 
7. Assign Tasks on Documents. Documents can be added directly to checklists, task lists, or project plans – so the work to be done and the work product sit side-by-side. 
8. Absolute respect for permissions and ethical walls. This update leverages user authentication, ensuring that the underlying permissions from the DMS are automatically respected in Lupl, with no exceptions. 

If you have any questions or would like to learn more, contact the Lupl team to schedule a demo.

The Lupl Outlook Add-In 

Most work starts and ends in Outlook. Lawyers’ Inbox may be the most used application, and any time an action requires the user to navigate away from Outlook, it involves context switching, distraction, and a break in the flow state.  

Lupl already had a novel method to allow users to easily bring relevant emails into matters within Lupl, providing a shared inbox for teams (without the hassle of yet another inbox to manage!). One of the most requested features has been the ability to interact with Lupl directly from within Outlook. Now you can.  

With the new Lupl for Outlook add-in, users can:  

1. Create Tasks from an Email. Easily create tasks in Lupl without needing to leave your inbox.  
2. Set Due Dates and add Notes. Set the due date and add relevant notes for additional context or instruction.  
3. Add Email Attachment(s) to the Task. Link to any attachments that are part of the email to the task. 
4. Add to Calendar. Lupl already provides rich reminders, but sometimes, you want to have one in your Outlook calendar. You can now add the task deadline to your own Outlook calendar.  

The Outlook add-in is available today for all existing and new Lupl customers.

Workstream updates

Workstreams is an all-in-one solution that makes planning, organizing, and delivering legal matters a breeze. Workstreams offers unparalleled flexibility and scalability, from intuitive building blocks for scoping out projects to a comprehensive toolkit that includes Checklists, Step Plans, and more.

We’ve made a lot of updates that add new functionality and provide significant quality-of-life improvements.

Bulk Actions in Workstreams and Documents

So many users choose Lupl to manage work, moving away from using Excel Trackers or Word tables because they want to work in a dynamic environment. Managing dates, assignees, and other properties for individual items has always been easy in Lupl. However, users have been requesting the ability to update these items in bulk. Bulk updating of workstream items is now possible in Lupl.

The bulk actions feature allows Lupl users to select multiple items and modify their properties, including adding/subtracting days from their assigned dates. As a result, you can now:

1. Easily update due dates or deadlines as case or deal dates shift;
2.  Mass assign work to an individual or multiple users;
3.  Bulk assign tasks to different users, making management of tasks easy if a user is out of the office; and,
4.  Edit priority flags en masse as importance shifts.

Easier to find items within Workstreams

At Lupl, we understand that finding information quickly is crucial for efficient work management. Whether you’re a new user or a power user with numerous active matters, each with hundreds of items across workstreams, we’ve got you covered. We’ve enhanced our search functionality to provide a better user experience, making it easier for you to find, group, and filter workstream items. Now, finding what you need is just a few clicks away.

Find

Our global search function in the top menu could already search within documents and messages associated with matters you are a member of.

Now, it’s possible to search for specific Workstream Items as well, AND you can focus your search on a particular matter or across all your matters in Lupl.

Group & Filter

Managing complex matters and coordinating multifaceted projects requires a platform that makes managing work easier. This is what the Group and Filter Workstream feature is designed to do.

Users can segment your vast array of tasks and projects into neatly organized Groups based on the assignee, approver, priority, or other criteria. This simplifies navigation and ensures that every team member can access the information they need and when they need it.

Additionally, we have extended this capability further into Filtering, enabling you to sift through your workload with unparalleled precision. Do you need to see only open tasks or those for a specific team or stage? The filter option makes this possible, displaying only the most relevant information and significantly reducing clutter and distraction.

This targeted approach to task and project management boosts productivity and minimizes the risk of oversight, ensuring that critical deadlines are met and client expectations are exceeded.

Export Options for Workstreams

While Lupl facilitates collaboration among internal and external users through its intuitive interface, we understand the necessity of integrating traditional sharing methods into our modern workflow.

With the newly expanded export capabilities, users gain the flexibility to share workstream updates within Lupl and through familiar formats, such as Excel Workbooks.

Previously, exporting individual workstreams provided a valuable tool for detailed analysis and reporting. Our latest update takes this functionality a step further by enabling you to export the contents of all workstreams into a single Excel Workbook with just one click.

This is especially advantageous for sharing status updates with clients, offering a clear, concise, and customizable overview of project progress in a format that is both familiar and easily accessible.

Additionally, this bridges the gap between digital task management and traditional reporting methods, ensuring that you can meet client expectations for communication without compromising the efficiency and clarity that Lupl provides.

Lupl AI

Lupl’s AI saves users time by scoping matters automatically. In Q1, we have expanded the rollout of our AI LPM features, which allow users to:

• Scope smarter with AI from a simple text prompt (e.g., pasted from a Term Sheet or Engagement Letter); and,
• Build out matters from email simply by forwarding the thread to Lupl AI.

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Want to dive deeper? Book a personalized demo with our team to get a detailed walkthrough.