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Where Lupl Matters… Corporate Due Diligence

India Preston

India Preston

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    What is it?

    Corporate Due Diligence (DD) takes place in the early stages of buying a company. It is led by the lawyers acting on behalf of the buyer of or investor in a company. The process involves an investigation into the target company by reviewing the legal, financial and commercial risks of the acquisition. It may involve the review of thousands of documents, which need to be sorted, searched, reviewed and coded.

    Who are the key legal players?

    Typically, a Senior Associate in the Corporate department of a law firm will manage the DD process. Specialist input will be required from 5-10 other practice groups at the firm, and possibly also external SMEs, so it requires a huge amount of coordination and project management.

    For example:

    • Employment team: may need to review management contracts to ensure the senior team won’t exit immediately after the sale.
    • Commercial team: will want to review termination clauses of key customer contracts to guarantee the company’s revenue.
    • Data Protection team: will want to review the company’s compliance with regulations such as GDPR.
    • Real Estate: may need to review the terms of the company’s lease(s).

    What is the key deliverable?

    The output is a DD report for the buyer/investor client, which flags all the key legal risks relating to the target company. This report is used to assess the valuation of the company, identify any unknowns and flag any dealbreakers. The Corporate Senior Associate is often responsible for producing this report.

    What problems exist with it today?

    • Ever-changing landscape: as timelines and commercial terms shift, plans, budgets and timeframes need to be managed for the review – with little supporting tech.
    • Multiple resources to manage: it can be tricky to manage several teams, each made up of multiple individuals with other deadlines and deliverables on their plate. 
    • Document management: each team is responsible for completing their specialist area of the DD report. It can be a challenge to manage version control, and ensure that specific tasks relating to areas of the document are being completed on time and by the right people.  
    • Progress tracking: tracking progress against key deadlines is often managed using individuals’ calendars, spreadsheets and email. There is little visibility of progress and therefore little accountability when there are delays. 
    • Communication: communication channels are often siloed within teams, rather than across them. When communication breaks down, deadlines slip and frustration increases.

    How can Lupl help?

    The legal tech stack that supports DD currently targets:

    1. document collection and storage (ie data rooms), 
    2. the document review process (eg platforms such as Relativity, Kira), and
    3. transaction management and closing checklists (eg Litera Transact, Legatics). 

    However, the review process is a large-scale project management piece and there is little out there to support this side of things. That’s where Lupl can help:

    Task Management and Pins: 

    • Centralized task management of all key dates and deadlines. This allows the Corporate Team to manage the progress and other teams to know what needs to happen and when.
    • Pin applications and resources, including the data room link, so that less time is wasted trying to get access.

    Matter Templates:

    • Standardized processes with matter templates to save time and reduce risk. 

    Document Collaboration:

    • Real time access to the latest draft of the DD report by all parties.
    • Document editing, automatically syncing all changes back to the internal document management system, if connected. 
    • Version control, so everyone is working on the same version of the report. 
    • Linked tasks and documents, boosting productivity and visibility of progress.

    Communication:

    • Instant, accessible communication channel with the entire matter team, breaking down internal silos and boosting efficiency.
    • Easy to manage expectations and changes as the requirements of the DD shift alongside the wider negotiations.
    • Automatically generated matter email address, so that Lupl can be the central source of truth to all communications relating to the review. 
    • Everybody has visibility of who is doing what and how it’s going. 

    Lessons learned:

    With each DD, lessons learned can be captured in the matter and used to update company matter templates to improve the process for next time.

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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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