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Q3 2023 Product Update

Morgan Hedges

Morgan Hedges

In this article

    The Lupl Team has been diligently working on refining our platform to elevate user experience and broaden its applications. We are thrilled to share the advancements made in our recent development cycles and are eager to unveil a host of new features and enhancements.

    The Lupl product team works in 3-week sprints, enabling us to swiftly implement impactful modifications based on user feedback, solidifying Lupl’s position as the leading legal project management software for law firms.

    In this post, we provide a detailed overview of the key recent enhancements, organized by feature categories.

    Legal Project Management

    Lupl has made significant updates that assist and streamline the process of managing legal matters. In our mission to make your legal work as efficient as possible, we’ve introduced two new features that will significantly streamline the process of managing daily activities, and capturing and collating knowledge.

    First, we’ve added Lupl Workstreams: an all-in-one solution designed to make planning, organizing, and delivering your legal matters a breeze. From intuitive building blocks for scoping out projects to a comprehensive toolkit that includes Checklists, Step Plans, and more, Workstreams offers unparalleled flexibility and scalability.

    Kickstart your projects effortlessly with Lupl Workstreams. Whether you’re starting from scratch or leveraging past projects, our intuitive building blocks and templates help you outline the scope, budget, and work plan with ease. No more guesswork—just a clear roadmap for your legal matters.

    With Lupl Workstreams, you can easily export your project details to Word or Excel in a single click. This makes it effortless to share your work with clients and stakeholders, whether they’re on the Lupl platform or not.

    Lupl Workstreams are the ultimate LPM tool.

    Second, Meet Lupl Forms, our latest feature designed to simplify complex legal workflows. Born out of real-world challenges, Forms is a no-code form builder that automates the capture of essential information. Say goodbye to endless email threads and manual Excel tracking; with just a few clicks, you can customize, generate, and send out Forms that integrate seamlessly into your Workstreams.

    Lupl Forms aren’t just about data capture; they’re about making your life easier across various use cases—from matter intake and regulatory projects to approvals and client feedback. The best part? Form responses land directly in your Workstream, neatly organized, and respondents don’t even need to be on the Lupl platform.

    These new features are part of our ongoing commitment to making Lupl the most user-friendly and efficient legal project management software for legal professionals and lawyers. We’re confident that they will make your work even more efficient and look forward to hearing your feedback.

    LuplAI and vLPM [Beta]

    Say goodbye to the administrative hassle that often takes up half of your legal work. While many tools focus on AI for drafting and research, LuplAI tackles the other 50%—the planning and scoping of your matters. Starting a new project is as easy as forwarding an email to your firm’s unique matter creation address in Lupl. Our AI will automatically generate a scope of work, steps plan, and even a budget (coming soon), while also auto-filing your documents.

    With LuplAI, you’re getting a partner that adapts to your needs. Create a new matter with a simple text prompt and receive a comprehensive plan in under a minute. Customize LuplAI to fit your specific area of law, jurisdiction, or even connect your preferred AI model. Embed your firm’s unique requirements into matter opening and closing checklists for a truly tailored experience.

    Finally, we understand the importance of security and compliance in the legal industry. Rest assured, LuplAI is built to meet your firm’s stringent security standards. Your input will never be used to train the model, and all operations are subject to our robust SOC 2 and ISO-aligned controls. Interested in taking our Virtual LPM (vLPM) for a test drive? Contact success@lupl.com to request beta access.

    Integrated Knowledge with Templates

    In our quest to simplify the management and execution of administrative tasks for lawyers and legal professionals, Lupl is very excited to announce a new evolution in our Templates feature.

    The vast majority of valuable insights in legal matters often do not get captured for future use, leaving legal teams to reinvent the wheel at the start of every new matter. We’re on a mission to change that with our suite of new features collectively known as “Integrated Knowledge.” From cloning a Matter to building a matter using Lupl Templates, importing Workstreams and even saving existing Matters as Templates, we’ve got you covered.

    Our Integrated Knowledge features are designed to make your legal practice more efficient and adaptable. From contract negotiations to dispute resolution, real estate deals to regulatory matters, you can effortlessly tap into the expertise you need from inception to completion. Eliminate the need for starting from scratch and tailor your legal practice to suit your needs.

    UI Improvements & Enhanced Views

    We’re excited to announce some major updates to our user interface that are designed to make your experience on Lupl more intuitive and efficient. Gone is the old left-hand menu; say hello to our sleek new top menu bar. This change not only modernizes the look but also streamlines navigation, making it easier for you to find what you’re looking for.

    We’ve revamped the Matters view to include more user-friendly ways to sort your matters and track their progress. Now you can quickly identify the status of each matter at a glance. But that’s not all—we’ve also updated the Matter Views themselves to include Workstream and Forms views. These enhancements allow you to effortlessly dive into any matter and stay focused, ensuring that you have all the information you need right at your fingertips.

    Security & Compliance

    Lupl has recently achieved two prestigious international security certifications—ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2. This dual certification not only underscores Lupl’s commitment to safeguarding client data but also offers an added layer of protection, ensuring robust systems for risk mitigation and business continuity. At Lupl, we recognize that achieving data security is an ongoing process, not a final goal. While earning certifications marks significant progress, the real value lies in the enduring dedication that drives these achievements. As we keep innovating in the legal tech space, you can be confident that our steadfast commitment to ensuring your security, building trust, and fostering your success will never waver.

    Research and Upcoming Features

    As always, in the weeks ahead, we will continue to unveil a series of exciting new features as part of our comprehensive roadmap. Our commitment is to enrich the LPM experience, for lawyers, legal project managers, and legal professionals. These enhancements are designed to help you and your team manage matters more effectively and deliver the best possible outcomes for your clients.

    We’d love to hear your thoughts on these new features and improvements, or if you have a feature request or feedback, please don’t hesitate to share with us. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to enhance and expand Lupl’s capabilities.

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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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