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Revolutionizing Legal Project Management with Lupl

Ab Saraswat

Ab Saraswat

Revolutionizing Legal Project Management with Lupl
In this article

    In a recent ILTA Product Briefing webinar, Ab Saraswat, Chief Revenue Officer at Lupl, and India Preston, Director of Platform Solutions at Lupl, discussed the transformative potential of Lupl for Legal Project Management (LPM).

    Here are five key takeaways from their enlightening conversation.

    The Current State of Legal Project Management

    Ab kicked off the webinar by emphasizing the mounting pressure on law firms and legal professionals to deliver services with greater efficiency. He pointed out that the majority of lawyers lean on tools like Outlook, Excel, and Word tables to manage their cases. These tools, while useful, were not designed with project management in mind, leading to potential inefficiencies.

    India expanded on this point, noting that task and time management in many legal teams is often decentralized. This lack of a unified system can lead to inefficiencies and a lack of visibility, making it challenging to track progress and maintain smooth workflows. She stated, "Task and time management is typically also decentralized, so everybody works in their own way, but people still have their pen and paper checklists on their desk. They're using different tools to manage their tasks and to manage their deadlines."

    In essence, most firms do not have a dedicated LPM function. Which was highlighted in real time during a poll of attendees. Only 11% of attendees reported having an LPM function that supports the entire practice. Another 11% have Legal Project Managers supporting specific practice areas. All other attendees either have legal professionals fulfilling that function or no LPM function at all.

    Lupl Poll Results: Only 11% of attendees reported having an LPM function that supports the entire practice.

    The Challenges of Legal Work

    Legal work often involves a significant amount of manual labor, including copying and pasting from precedents and templates. This process can be not only time-consuming but also prone to errors. Furthermore, clients are increasingly demanding more visibility and control over their cases. However, this level of transparency often remains under the legal team's control, leading to potential communication gaps.

    Communication in legal work is often spread across multiple channels, making it difficult to keep track of all the moving parts of a case. This fragmentation can lead to confusion, miscommunication, and inefficiencies, underscoring the need for a more centralized and streamlined communication system.

    The Solution: Lupl

    Lupl is a powerful SaaS solution that provides every lawyer with simple, easy-to-use legal project management functionality. It provides matter teams with a central single workspace to access, manage, and deliver positive outcomes to clients. Designed to work seamlessly alongside the tools lawyers and legal professionals already use, Lupl reduces the friction to get started, making it an accessible and user-friendly solution.

    The Benefits of Lupl

    Lupl streamlines all of your collaboration efforts into one matter-centric workspace. It offers simple cross-team task management, centralized document access, and robust knowledge management support. By significantly reducing the time spent by lawyers and managers searching for information, documents, and answers, Lupl enhances productivity and efficiency.

    Moreover, Lupl provides visibility for matter partners, matter managers, and clients, without requiring additional effort. This transparency can lead to improved communication, better client relationships, and more efficient workflows.

    The Future of Lupl

    Ab and India concluded the webinar by discussing the future of Lupl, specifically our upcoming feature release. This new release, they explained, is set to take Lupl's capabilities to the next level, further revolutionizing legal project management.

    The upcoming release, this October, will offer enhanced customization options, allowing legal teams to tailor Lupl's functionalities to their specific needs. This means that Lupl will not only be a tool but a personalized solution that adapts to the unique workflows of each legal team.

    In addition, the feature release will simplify information collection, making it easier for lawyers and legal professionals to gather and manage data. This will further streamline workflows and enhance efficiency, saving valuable time and resources.

    Moreover, the power of AI will be harnessed to facilitate much of our new feature lineup. While AI is a powerful tool, Ab and India emphasized the importance of a strong foundational system. They assured that Lupl is committed to maintaining its robust foundation while integrating AI to enhance user experience and functionality.

    Lupl is revolutionizing the way legal project management is done, making it more efficient, organized, and transparent. Lupl is not just a tool; it's a solution designed with the modern needs of lawyers and legal professionals.

    Get a sneak peek of Lupl's biggest feature release ever with a live demo at ILTACON 2023.

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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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