How to Navigate a Lead/Case Record – Law Ruler Software, LLC

Inside of the Lead and Case records in your portal is where you will find all information that pertains to the lead/client. In this article, we will be looking at all of the different features and functionality that are available inside of the records. Please note that, depending on the configuration of your custom Law Ruler portal, some of the features mentioned in this article may not be available/applicable.

Intake Details

Intake Form

Key Dates

Lead Records

All records in the system are initially created as Lead records. You will be able to keep track of everything that happens and has happened with the lead from the time their record was created in the system. We recommend exploring the different tabs in the toolbar, which will be discussed in detail below.

Intake Details

When you first enter a Lead record, you will be in the Intake Details tab. This tab contains a few sections that highlight the primary details related to the record:

Type of Case Details - If an administrative user has configured any Intake/Case Form fields to display in the Intake Screen, those fields will appear at the very top of the page.
Intake Information - This section appears directly beneath the Type of Case Details. However, if no Intake/Case Form fields were added to the Intake Screen, then this will be the first section you will see at the top of the page. In this section you will find details about the lead’s case type, the marketing source that created the record, the current status, the Assignee and Owner, and more.
Contact Information - This section appears in the upper-right corner of the page and provides a basic view of the lead’s contact information (phone number, email, address, and language).

If you ever need to edit the contact information, click on the green pencil icon that appears to the right of the Primary Contact name in the upper-left corner of the page (directly above the Intake Details tab). After making changes to the Contact Card, be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the pop-up and click the "Save" button to apply your edits.
Related - If the Primary Contact of the record has been associated with another record in the portal, you will see the relationship in this section (which appears right beneath the Contact Information section). For example, if the Contact of the record has been added as the Defendant on another record, the potential conflict will be flagged.
Additional Contacts - This section allows you to associate Contacts with a record. For example, you can add an individual's spouse or insurance company to easily access their contact information. This section appears right below the Related section.
Calendar Event Tracker - This is the section you will use to schedule appointments and keep track of any calendar events for/related to this lead. It is located below the Intake Information section.

To schedule an appointment or create a new calendar event, click on the “Add Calendar Event” button in the upper-right corner of the section. In the pop-up that appears, you will be able to configure all of the details for the new calendar event. Click on the “Save” button to add the new event/appointment to the calendar.
Refer a Case - This section allows you to refer a record with only a few clicks and is located just below the Additional Contacts section. Use the dropdowns to select the firm you’d like to send the referral to and click on the “Send it” button to refer a lead/client in under a minute. Only users with the “Send Referral” user permission will be able to refer records.
Firms and Fee Splits - This section is located below the Calendar Event Tracker section and allows you to keep track of any referrals related to the record, as well as any fee splits. If a referral has been sent via the Refer a Case feature, you will see that in this section and you will also be able to track the status of the referral.

If you are adding a fee split for a co-counsel firm, you may manually add that firm to your record. Click on the “Add Firm” button in the upper-right corner of the section. In the pop-up that appears, you will be able to select the firm from the existing list of Firms in the portal. You can also override the fee share % or flat fee amount if needed. Click on the “Add Fee Share” button to link the firm to the record.

If you’d like to learn more about adding and managing Referral Firms in Law Ruler, please click here.

Just under the Intake Details sections mentioned above, there will be some additional buttons:

Make a Case - Use this button to turn a Lead record into a Case record.
Export Case - Use this button to download a folder to your computer that contains the record’s intake form (in both Word and PDF format) and also XML and CSV files with the record’s main default information. Any documents in the record will also be downloaded.
Next Record - Use this button to go to the next record that appears in the Inbox.
Previous Record - Use this button to go to the previous record that appears in the Inbox.
Transfer Record - Use this button to transfer the record to a new Assignee and/or Owner.
Create Copy - Use this button to create a new record that is a copy of the current record.
Delete Record - Use this button to delete the record and archive it.

Note: As you move around the different tabs inside of the Lead/Case records, you can always scroll up on the page to view the Intake Details.

Intake Form

Under this tab is where you will find the intake form that was configured for the case type that the record is in. For example, if the record is in the “Motor Vehicle Accident” case type, then the form that was set up for that case type will show up here. If you do not see a form appear, double-check the case type to make sure that there is a form set up for it.

In the upper-right corner of the Intake Form tab you will see some buttons:

Form Settings - Use this button to open up the Intake/Case Form Builder screen to view and/or modify the form that is set up.
Print Form - Use this button to print the intake/case form. You will be able to either print the form with any existing data or print a blank form with only the questions. You will also have the option to print the form now or add it to the Print Queue to print at a later time.
Display Form Link - Use this button to view and access the online form link for this specific record. This link will show you what the lead/client will see if you choose to send them the form to fill out online. The link can also be shared with staff members at the firm that are not Law Ruler users but would like to quickly access the intake/case form for a lead/client.
Send Form - Use this button to compose an email from inside of Law Ruler to send out the form link for this record. The form link that appears when you click on the Display Form Link button will be included in the templated email. Feel free to modify the language of the email subject and body as needed but be careful not to edit the link.

To learn more about setting up and customizing Intake/Case Forms in the portal, please click here.

Key Dates

Under this tab, you will find all Default Key Dates that have been configured for the specific case type your record is in. You can also manually add new key dates that are not part of your firm’s template. This tab will allow the firm to keep track of any important dates related to the record, as well as trigger automated tasks related to those key dates.

To learn more about Law Ruler's Key Dates feature, please click here.

Notes

Under this tab, you will be able to add new notes to the record and also view any existing notes. The search bar at the top can be used to search through the existing notes by keyword

To create a new note, click on the “Add Note” button located in the upper-right corner of the tab. A pop-up will appear for you to compose your new note. In the pop-up, you will also have the ability to select a Notes Category, attach a file, and/or apply text formatting. Click the “Save” button to add the note.

You will also have the option to record a voice memo if you wish to dictate a note instead of typing it. To do this, click on the “Record a Voice Memo” button in the upper-right corner of the tab. In the pop-up that appears, click on the “Record” button to start recording the voice memo. Click the “Stop” button once you’ve finished recording. You will be able to playback the recording and you can also delete it and re-record if needed. Once you’re happy with the voice memo recording, click the “Save Audio Clip” button to add the voice memo as a note. Any voice memo files added as a note will also be automatically added to the Documents tab of the record. To record a voice memo, you will need either a computer with a built-in microphone or an external audio device with microphone capability.

To edit an existing note, click on the green pencil icon to the right of the note. To delete an existing note, click on the red trash bin icon to the right of the note (only accounts with the Delete Rights user permission will be able to delete a note).

For notes with a file attachment, you will see a paperclip icon to the right of the note. Click on the paperclip icon to download the file.

Documents

This tab will store any documents and files related to the record.

To upload new files, hover your mouse over the “Document Options” button in the upper-right corner of the tab. You will have the option to upload files from your computer, use a Document Template, or ship/mail a Template (this option is only available for firms that use the Shippo integration). If your firm is using the Office 365 integration, you will also have the option to create a new Word document, Excel spreadsheet, or PowerPoint presentation.

To learn more about Law Ruler’s Advanced Document Management System, please click here.

Tasks

Any tasks for the record will be displayed under this tab. You can filter tasks by type, category, and completion status. There’s also a search bar that allows you to search the tasks list using keywords.

To manually create a new task, click on the “+ Add Task” button. In the pop-up that appears, be sure to fill out any fields denoted with a red asterisk * as those are required to add the task. Don’t forget to click on the “Save” button at the bottom of the pop-up to create the task.

Once you’ve finished working on a task, click on the blue checkmark icon that appears to the right of the task to mark it as completed and remove it from your task list. To edit and/or view the full details of a task, click on the green pencil icon that appears to the right of the task. To delete a task, click on the red trash bin icon.

You can also export a list of all tasks for this record by clicking on the “Export” option that appears right below the search bar.

Emails

Under this tab you will be able to view all Law Ruler emails related to the record. This will include emails that are sent to the lead/client and emails that are sent to users and individuals regarding the Lead/Case record. You can click on the email subject to view the details and content of the email that was sent/received.

If you would like to manually compose an email, click on the “Compose Email” button in the upper-right corner of the tab. A new screen will open up where you will be able to select the recipients and type up the email. Click the “Send” button at the bottom of the screen once you’re ready to send out the email. Once sent, the email will be logged in the Emails tab of the record.

If you are sending an email from outside of Law Ruler and would like for that email to be logged in the Emails tab of the record, click on the blue clipboard icon in the upper-left corner of the tab. This will copy a code that you can paste into the email you are sending. We usually recommend pasting this code near the bottom of the email and in white font, so that it is not visible to the email recipient.

Texts

In this tab, you will be able to see all text messages that have sent to the lead/client as well as the text messages received from the lead/client. You can also use this tab to manually compose texts.

If you ever have a hard time finding a text message, be sure to check the filters and the date range that are applied at the top of the tab. By default, automated messages and unread messages will not be shown.

E-Sign

Under this tab, you will be able to select any of the available e-Sign templates to send for signing. If you are using the recommended HelloSign service, under the “E-Sign Documents” section, you will see a “Select Recipients” button for each template. Click that button to confirm the recipients (by default, the system will pull in the Primary Contact’s name, phone number, and email address but you will have the option to modify this before sending out the contract). When you’re ready to send the document for signing, click on the “Send E-Sign” button.

Once an e-Sign has been sent, you can keep track of the signature request’s status under the “E-Sign Status” section. Under the “Envelope Status” column you will be able to see once the recipient has viewed the e-Sign document and when they’ve submitted a signature. All signed contracts are automatically pulled back into Law Ruler and can be found under the “Documents” tab in the Lead/Case records.

To learn more about creating e-Sign templates, please click here.

Expenses

You can use the Expenses tab to keep track of any expenses the firm incurs that are related to the Lead/Case record. You may also track any special damages or client debt incurred by your lead/client for settlement purposes in this section.

To add a new expense, click on the “Add Expense” button located in the upper-right corner of the tab. The “New Expense” screen will appear. Any fields denoted with a red asterisk * are required to be filled out. Click on the “Create Expense” button to add the new expense log.

To learn more about Law Ruler’s Expenses feature, please click here.

Records

If your firm uses the National Records Retrieval (NRR) service, you will be able to take advantage of our direct integration that can be used to request and receive medical records inside of the Law Ruler portal. Under the Records tab, fill out any of the fields denoted with a red asterisk * as they are required by NRR to submit a medical records order request. Next, you will need to select at least 1 supporting document to submit with the request (please note that this document file will need to be stored in the Documents tab of the record so that it can be added to the request).

Next, you will need to enter at least one Medical Provider to request the records from. If you need to include more than one provider, click on the “Add Provider” button.

After entering the provider(s) information, you will need to select at least one of the options in the tiles to submit the request (Order Medical Records, Order Billing Records, Order X-Rays, etc.) You may also include notes to send to the Medical Provider. Lastly, click the “Submit Order” button to send your medical records order request to NRR.

Once an order has been submitted, you will be able to keep track of the order status in the small “Medical Records Order” box that appears near the top-right of the order screen.

Audit Log

The Audit Log tab can be used to view all of the activity that has occurred in the record. You can use the Audit Log to find and keep track of any changes that occur in the record. You can use the arrows in the bottom-right corner to look through the pages of logs.

Case Records

Once a Lead record is made into a Case record, some additional tabs will appear in the toolbar that are specific to case management. All of the tabs that appear in the Lead record (mentioned above) will still appear as well.

Case Details

The Intake Details tab will become the Case Details tab. This tab includes all of the sections and features of the Intake Details tab plus an additional section for Financial Details and one for Settlement Distribution.

Financial Details - This section is located near the top of the Case Details tab and can be used to keep track of financial information regarding the case. In the top-right corner of this section you will see a light bulb icon next to “Shortcuts”. The “+ Create New” button can be used to quickly add an expense, time entry, deposit, etc. without having to leave the Case Details tab.
Settlement Distribution - This section is located at the bottom of the Case Details tab and can be used to keep track of how the final settlement amount will be distributed between the payee(s).

Case Form

The Intake Form tab will become the Case Form tab. If the fields in the intake form were configured to also display on the case form, then you will see those fields in this screen. The Case Form tab contains the same functionality as the Intake Form tab, but the form fields might be different based on the configuration settings.

To learn more about setting up Intake/Case Forms in the portal, please click here.

Time Entries

Under this tab, you can keep track of hourly billing entries. You will have the option to use the built-in timer or to manually enter in the duration of time for any time entries.

To use the built-in timer, click on the “Start Timer” button in the upper-right corner of the tab. The timer will start automatically and appear at the very top of the screen, to the left of your user account’s name. Next to the timer there will be a dropdown for you to select a billing category for the activity being timed. Feel free to work in the system as needed, the timer will not go away or disappear unless you manually stop it.

To manually add a time entry, click on the “Add Time Entry” button in the upper-right corner of the tab. The “New Time Entry” screen will appear. Fill out the information for the time entry, keeping in mind that the fields denoted with a red asterisk * are required. Click on the “Create Time Entry” button to add the new time entry.

To learn more about tracking and billing for your time using Law Ruler, please click here.

Invoices

Under this tab you will be able to generate invoices for any expenses that exist on your record to send to the client (the Primary Contact of the record).

To learn more about creating and managing Invoices, please click here.

Law Ruler also offers a Law Pay Integration that can be used with our Invoices module.

To learn more about Law Ruler’s Law Pay Integration, please click here.

Settlements

Under this tab, you will be able to add and keep track of settlements for the case.

To learn more about Law Ruler’s Contingency Settlement Wizard, please click here.

Bank Transactions

Under this tab you will be able to add and keep track of any bank transactions related to the Case. You can filter the transaction by accounts and types and you can also export an Excel file with a list of the transactions.

To add a new transaction, click on the “Add Transaction” button that appears in the upper-right corner of the tab. In the pop-up that appears, be sure to fill out all of the required fields denoted with a red asterisk * and click on the “Save” button to add the transaction.

After a bank transaction has been added, it cannot be edited. To delete a bank transaction, click on the red trash bin icon that appears to the right of the transaction. When a transaction is deleted, an opposite transaction will be created to show the voided transaction.

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