Law Ruler Web/Desktop App - Version History (Changelog) – Law Ruler Software, LLC

🚀 😎 Welcome to the Law Ruler changelog for the Web/Desktop browser version!

About the Change Log

New product feature releases are marked with 🆕
Maintenance releases that are primarily system updates and/or fixes are marked with 🛠️

This screen will be used to share ongoing changes made inside of Law Ruler as they are published. If you have any feature requests to make Law Ruler even better, then please let us know!
We love feature requests! ❤️ Click here to 🙋 Submit a Feature Request

Coming Soon🔮

Coming Soon! The New Law Ruler Look and Feel! Our new version is coming and it will feature different user journeys for different user roles and a greatly improved user interface.
Coming Soon! Client portal features in the Law Ruler mobile app
Coming Soon! Bank Account Transaction Report/Trust Report! Run a report or export results of bank transactions per account and client. However, this feature requires admin or export user permissions so if you need to export contacts and do not see the option, then please ask your administrator to give you access.
Coming Soon! Time Entries Report! Run a report or export results of time entries. However, this feature requires admin or export user permissions so if you need to export contacts and do not see the option, then please ask your administrator to give you access.
Coming Soon! Partial Settlements for contingency settlements! Easily disburse one or more settlements from each settlement recovery/deposit. This feature allows you to include or exclude attorney's fees as needed.
Coming Soon! Payment Requests for distribution of money held in the trust account to create payment requests. This feature allows you to include or exclude attorney's fees as needed.
Coming Soon!

Now Available!

The Law Ruler Mobile App for Apple iOS and Google Android 📱 - Download the cross-platform mobile app. Now available in the Apple and Google App Stores for mobile phones and tablets. Learn more

Version 3.5.3.2 - Released 7/20/2021

Bank Account Transaction Report/Trust Report - Run a report or export results of bank transactions per account and client. Use it as a Trust Report or to review bank transactions on the case ledger for any accounts that you would like. This feature requires admin or export user permissions so if you need to export contacts and do not see the option, then please ask your administrator to give you access.
Export Related Contacts button in the Contacts screen that will include all related contacts/parties on leads/cases in the export. This feature requires admin or export user permissions so if you need to export contacts and do not see the option, then please ask your administrator to give you access.
Credit Notes / Write-Off feature in invoices. If you need to write off part of the entire open balance of an invoice and have a paper trail for it, then add a Credit Note. You can do this by clicking the dropdown in the bottom right corner of each invoice and select "Add Credit Note"
Added a mobile browser detect screen that will offer to download the mobile app version of Law Ruler for each session.
Added conditional logic within dropdown options and picklists to hide/show certain options based on decision tree conditions.
Added a fix in document templates for the priority of certain fields.
Added additional handling for deleting additional/contacts parties for non-contingency cases.
UI updates to buttons and the hovering toolbar on the lead/case page. Removed hover effect.
Upgraded various opt-in/opt-out features.
Resolved an issue in the HelloSign API with changes to signers in e-sign templates.
Resolved an issue in the Import Wizard regarding the import of the lead attorney field in leads.

Version 3.5.x - Major Release - New Features - Released 7/9/2021

📆 A New and Improved Law Ruler Calendar! Enjoy a more modern design and better UI!
🗺️ New! Auto-look up addresses and places with a Google Maps integration inside of contacts in Law Ruler in the calendar and in contact addresses
⚙️ A New and Improved Mail/Calendar integration with Outlook/Exchange (EWS) - review the Office 365 > Azure Active Directory setup tutorial for IT administrators. This was updated on 6/29/21 so if you will need to add some things if completed with prior instructions.
A New Mail/Calendar integration with Google/Gmail, AOL, Apple iCloud, Yahoo, and more!
💲 Payment Plan and Installment Billing for Invoices - start letting your clients pay you with a payment plan and installment billing the way they want. LawPay-ready. Also, check out the new payment plan notification and settings screen in Setup > Invoice Reminders/Payment Plans
Billing History and Collections Report - view all open balances on your invoices across all cases or check out the billing history for your cases.
🗄️ Contact mail merge codes for document templates based on case role - start using our enhanced mail merge/mass mailing feature for document automation with over 1,000 new mail merge codes to choose from. Check out the document automation tutorial
Added Key Dates to the Import Wizard feature to allow importing into Key Date fields.
Updated the Google Graph Visualization API for legacy Law Ruler reports that were showing 'undefined' messages in certain graphic elements.
Various performance and other fixes

Version 3.4.4 - New Features - Released 6/04/2021

New! Undo Completed Tasks - added a new icon to allow completed tasks to be placed back into the open task status in case you need to reactivate any tasks if you closed them by accident.

Version 3.4.3 - New Features - Released 5/28/2021 Happy Memorial Day 🦅 🎖️ 🙏

📝 New! Print Notes to PDF inside of leads/intakes/cases. You may not print a single note or all notes to a PDF file and download them inside of each lead/case.
📧 New! Print Emails to PDF inside of leads/intakes/cases. You may not print a single email or all emails to a PDF file and download them inside of each lead/case.
💡 New! Custom Fields added to the Mail Merge Widget throughout the Law Ruler system. All places where mail merge codes are able to be added will now feature an upgraded widget for ease of use that has both default and custom fields (all case types). Check it out!
Added an editable Invoice Description textbox to the invoice screen for internal use. This does not print on customer invoices and is invisible to customers.
Added Case Billing Type (Contingency, Flat, Fee, Hourly, etc) to the inbox and custom reports.
Added Case Summary field to all new lead notification email templates.
Upgraded the Outlook/Exchange API version to resolve some issues with Calendar Sharing.
Various UI/UX improvements.
Resolved an issue with document attachments in Vendors.

Version 3.4 - New Features - Released 5/20/2021

Added Lead/Case created date to the inbox and custom reports.
Moved User Settings and the logout button into the user dropdown menu. Click on your username in the top right corner to open the user dropdown menu.
Added support for user avatars and initials for each user.
More improvements for milestones inside of leads/cases.
The Global Search bar was moved to the left side of the screen on top as an improvement.
Additional improvements for UTM Ad_Campaign to Set Ad Campaign and Case Type for new leads created via API.
Added a switch to turn on/off the guided tutorial in user settings and manage users.
Removed Law Ruler branding from the Signed E-Sign Email Template.
Improved UI/UX for opt-out messages in emails sent via Law Ruler.
Removed the 'Close' button in the Contingency Settlement worksheet due to it being blocked by the latest Chrome update. This button was a duplicate. You can close the screen in other places.

Version 3.3.8.5 - New Features - Released 5/14/2021

🕮 New! Added a guided tutorial for users to easily learn/onboard the Law Ruler system.
Added a new feature to allow UTM Ad_Campaign to Set Ad Campaign and Case Type for new leads created via API.
Settlement and QBO Sync Updates:
- Adding a Settlement Disbursement screen as an audit trail after settlements are disbursed.
- Adding additional handling for the LR > QuickBooks Online integration to create a customer invoice for all recovered soft costs and attorney fees for Our Firm for each settlement. All third-party costs will be created in QBO as vendors/vendor bills when a settlement is processed.
- Adding better handling for managing cost entry of Contingency settlements with a new Cost Type in Law Ruler expenses for Soft Costs - Hold for Settlement. This will allow your team to create soft costs that do not trigger a billing event in the QuickBooks Online sync until after the settlement is disbursed.
- Disabled certain expense cost types depending on the Case Billing Type for improved UX. In Contingency settlements, the "Soft Cost" expense cost type is disabled. In Hourly/Flat Fee cases, the settlement-related expense cost types are disabled.
Added Lead Created Date and Case Created Date to the Inbox/Custom Report exports.
Improved handling of CallRail rules for duplicate checking in API posts from the integration.
Various improvements for milestones inside of leads/cases.
Resolved an issue with End Date not being considered during invoicing in cases.

Version 3.3.8.1 - New Features - Released 4/30/2021

Key Dates in the Custom Reports and Inbox - Add Key Dates to any of your Inbox or Custom Report layouts from the Available Default Fields menu in the inbox layout/custom report builder.
Improved handling of Milestone template edits in the Milestone and Key Date features
Added handling for Deleting Subordinate items for Key Dates Tasks and Regular Tasks (Subtasks, Task Reminders, Events related to Tasks)
Added an Export Contacts feature in the Contacts screen for exporting contacts.
Improved handling for business contacts in the Import Wizard.

Version 3.3.7.6 - Maintenance - Released 4/23/2021

Improved handling of mail merge codes for Key Dates in e-sign, document templates, automation.
Improvements with Key Date versioning to maintain different versions of Key Date templates in leads/cases as well as changes to Key Date templates.
Unification of mail merge codes across handlers for default fields, custom fields, and key dates.
Resolved an issue with attachments not copying when automation was copied.
Resolved a javascript issue with inbox filters/layout changes that were affecting Inbox exports.
Resolved an issue in the Send Referral attachment feature for uncategorized API files.
Resolved an issue with the Appointlet API related to unassigned case type events.

Version 3.3.7.1 - New Features - Released 4/9/2021

Pin/Unpin Tasks! Get ready to "Pin" and "Unpin" important tasks. With pinning, you can highlight any important tasks that need to be on top for your team to see at all times. Any pinned tasks will always appear at the top of the tasks screen for any leads/cases.
Pin/Unpin Emails! Get ready to "Pin" and "Unpin" important emails. With pinning, you can highlight any important emails that need to be on top for your team to see at all times. Any pinned emails will always appear at the top of the emails screen for any leads/cases.
The Note Search feature is now optimized and better than ever.
Performance optimization and user interface (UX) improvements for Milestones and Tasks.
Resolved a concern with Milestone steps not progressing within certain templates.
Added a feature to allow the import of Key Dates in the Import Wizard.
Added more handling for sanitizing junk data when importing Contacts in the Import Wizard.
Added better handling for multiple browser tabs for the Twilio API.
Added better handling for transferring calls with the Twilio API.
Added more logging for voice/messaging/AI tasks with the Twilio API.
Added logging of initial SMS text message if a lead is created via SMS text from the Twilio API.
Added additional security to limit the Bank Transactions screen to accounting and admin users only.
Added additional handling for showing/hiding case form fields in the online forms.
Additional improvements with Key Dates in E-Sign and Document Templates.
Additional security improvements for encoding unsafe user input.
Additional improvements in the Inbox for searching and filtering.
Additional improvements to prevent users from deleting e-sign templates that are in current use in automation campaigns.
Additional improvements in the email status delivery feature with the Mailgun API.

Version 3.3.5 - New Features - Released 3/23/2021

Pin/Unpin Notes! Get ready to "Pin" and "Unpin" important notes. With pinning, you can highlight any important notes that need to be on top for your team to see at all times. Any pinned notes will always appear at the top of the Notes screen for any leads/cases. Also, the notes screen is now optimized with new sort filters and pagination for faster loading time.
Updated Medical Records Screen! With this update, your Law Ruler system will include two options for the ordering and tracking of medical records that both output to the Law Ruler Medical Records Report.
- Self-Ordering (Default) - This option is for tracking purposes only and does not place orders. You would use this option if your firm places their own orders directly with medical providers, outside of the Law Ruler system. It does allow your staff to input the order details for tracking purposes.
- Seamless Medical Record Ordering and Retrieval via National Record Retrieval - This option uses the integration with a leading medical record retrieval provider, National Record Retrieval (also searched as “NRR”). This integration allows your firm to order and receive medical records directly from your Law Ruler system without ever leaving.
Added better memory optimization for Google Chrome browser tabs, especially for power users with many Law Ruler tabs of the Smart Dialer and Text Messaging consoles open in Chrome.
Resolved an issue with legacy Lead Email in Instant Email Campaigns --- uses Contact Email now
Added additional handling for Cases in the MailGun API for email automation.
Added a new field to the Contacts screen for Marital Status and Gender. Previously it was a custom field but not visible on the contacts screen.
Added filters on the Manage Tags screen for filtering out deactivated tags.
Added IP Address logging for all inbound API posts.
Added handling in the Law Ruler API for accepting Status updates via API. If the case type is set as unassigned on 1st post (no case type added) + on 2nd post-it requires lead ID if no case type + status is passed to protect clients with multiple cases from data concerns.
Improved handling for exporting of Yes/No data in the custom/inbox reports.
Added additional handling for sending files to National Record Retrieval via API.

Version 3.3.4.3 - New Features - Released 3/12/2021

Tags via API! Add tags to any Lead/Case. Use the new API parameter "Tags" For multiple, separate with commas: Tags = New, Level 1, High Value.
More Detailed Logging in the Smart Dialer - better handling of abandoned, missed, and decline call logging to provide more transparency as to agent/caller actions.
Version update of the Spire third-party document creation library.
Performance improvement for high volumes of tasks for users/groups.
Increased session time for browser sessions in IIS.
Resolved a concern with task filters on the Inbox and Agenda screens.
Resolved a concern in the Import Wizard for processing of data for genders.

Version 3.3.4 - New Features - Released 3/3/2021

Inbox status colors are now limited to the status dropdown and no longer color code the entire row. Also, the inbox dropdowns are now more bubbly.
Inbox filter layouts are now easier to use and allow duplicate names to be created.
Improvement in the Law Ruler API to allow Lead Assignee to be both created and updated.

Version 3.3.3.7 - New Features - Releasing 2/26/2021

New! Campaign Automation now allows campaigns to be sent on behalf of any synched Outlook email address.
Updates to layouts in the Inbox to allow filter changes.
Security improvements in the Newsfeed feature.
Performance and other optimizations to the Medical Records Report.
Additional improvements to the Agenda feature.
Improvements to certain popup screens for smaller resolutions.

Version 3.3.3 - New Features - Releasing 2/19/2021

The New Agenda Screen! And a more focused Inbox experience! The Inbox home screen is now separated into two different user journeys: Introducing the Agenda screen, which shows each user's tasks, events, and the newsfeed for attorneys and paralegals in a dedicated screen. The new inbox only shows leads and cases to be the ultimate distraction-free tool for intake and case managers.
The Events screen! The new Agenda screen now shows a dedicated display of calendar events to allow users to focus on what needs to be done each day in their law firm calendars for court and other events on the same screen as Tasks and the Newsfeed. Check it out!
Customizable Greeting Messages and Hold Music in the Law Ruler Smart Dialer! By default, a phone ringing sound is now included as the default greeting mp3 to play for new callers. Callers are more likely to stay on the line if they hear a phone ring which generally indicates that their call will be answered live.
Improvements in the Smart Dialer for better handling of queue calls near queue time expiration.
Improvements in the Call Transfer feature in the Smart Dialer for chain call transfers.
Optimizations in the Document Management System
Increased handling for power users with many browser tabs open in Law Ruler.
Various performance increases and improvements with the Newsfeed and Tasks screens.
Improvements to the Call Center Agent Metrics Report for displaying agent busy time, offline time, and available times to clearly illustrate agent productivity,

Version 3.3.2.2 - New Features - Releasing 2/11/2021

The Call Center Agent Metrics Report 📋 - This new call center agent report will show you how each agent is performing and open up training opportunities. This is only visible for firms with the call center Smart Dialer enabled. To get access to the dialer, ask your account manager or support.
Updated the HelloSign API library to the newest e-sign version for better scaling on mobile devices.
Optimized the third-party plugin used in custom reports to increase performance.
Resolved a visual issue with custom report layouts during export.
Added more control of milestone configuration for existing or new clients.
Resolved issues with a third-party affiliate integration creating phantom duplicates on the inbox.
Resolved time zone issues with Key Dates.
Improved performance in the text messaging screen.
Improved performance with copy lead/case.
Implemented the new Law Ruler brand logo throughout the system.

Version 3.3 - New Features - Releasing 1/22/2021

NEW! Law Ruler Sonar - Customizable Analytics and Dashboards 📊- A major new feature in Law Ruler where each firm can organize their own home screen Dashboard to visualize and track Key Performance Metrics (KPIs) to make data-backed decisions with our beautiful graphs and charts. Powered by Tableau, the market leader in data visualization tools. Take your data on the go or view it from your desktop. For more information, please review the Sonar Dashboards Tutorial.
NEW! Enhanced Task Management w/ Key Date Customization for Litigation & Docketing 📆- A new case management feature in Law Ruler for advanced capabilities with tasks and key dates for litigation, docketing, and calendaring. Now, you will be able to create decision-tree logic with milestone tasks with customizable key dates inside of each case, create key date templates by practice area to standardize litigation, and also to create multiple task/docket reminders via text message and/or email. For more information, please review the Key Dates, System Categories and Litigation/Docketing Tutorial.
NEW! Setup Screen for System Categories and Key Dates - A new screen where you will be able to edit note categories, task categories, key dates, and billing categories. Customize your Law Ruler categories however you would like 😊 Click on Setup > System Categories & Key Dates
NEW! Created New API Enhancements for sharing data and documents between Law Ruler systems.
Removed the account requirement in expenses when adding vendor payments since some vendor payments happen directly from insurance companies to clients, outside of law firm accounts.
Added enhanced export features in the Law Ruler Settlement Wizard to export/print settlements.
Resolved an issue with photos sent via text messages not going into cases/matters.
Resolved a visual issue with certain case notes not displaying in cases/matters.
Resolved a visual issue with the Smart Dialer status while on-call.
Resolved a visual issue in the Text Messages screen with many images.

Version 3.1.9.2a - Maintenance - Released 01/20/2021

Patch for Google Chrome Version 88 - Hotfix to resolve screen display issues resulting from the newest Google Chrome Version 88 that was released on January 20th, 2020.

Version 3.1.8 - New Features - Releasing 12/18/2020

Automation Snooze on Weekends - now, you can decide which days of the week to send automated texts/emails/calls/tasks. You can now snooze automation on certain days of the week. The automation will wait in a holding queue and then deliver the next allowed day.
Newsfeed: Added additional history types for better reporting for calls and the Smart Dialer. Also, we backfilled history for calls prior to this new feature. HistoryTypes added:
Call - Missed Queue Call, Call - Inbound, Call - Declined Inbound Call,

Call - Missed Outbound Call, Call - Outbound, Call - Recycled Outbound Call,
Call - Call Outcome Status Changed
Added group filters to the inbox and custom report builder.
Resolved an issue with picklists and conditional logic automation triggers in the Law Ruler API.
Resolved an issue with internal-only form fields not staying invisible in the online form.
Resolved an issue with call center agent status not reverting to the default status after certain calls.

Version 3.17x - New Features - Releasing 12/4/2020

E-Mail Statistics Version 2.0 📧 📈- real-time updates of email campaigns are now available. Send your email blast campaigns or status-driven automation and see the results right away. Additional metrics are now available for open, sent, bounced, and unsubscribes to provide more visibility into your email campaigns.
Warm Transfer Feature in Smart Dialer Version 2.0 ☎️ - this new and improved feature will now make it easier for your agents to create conference calls during warm transfers and to do an unlimited number of warm transfer attempts to connect a call. For example, if agent 1 tries to do a warm transfer to recipient 1, and they do not answer then now, then agent 1 can try another recipient, rinse and repeat as many times as needed, or even try to connect to the same recipient multiple times. However, after the call has been transferred to a different agent then no more forwarding is available since the conference call loop has been closed.
Custom Phone Numbers by Case Type in Smart Dialer Version 2.0 #️⃣ - Now, you can set 1 or more phone numbers for each Case Type in the Law Ruler Smart Dialer. This provides several benefits including:
- creating numbers for each Case Type, and
- diversifying your outbound dialing numbers which lower the chances that the wireless phone carriers could put spam traps on your firm's phone numbers. Based on new industrywide phone carrier intel; doing a large volume of calls from one number could make your firm more prone to be flagged. Diversifying your outbound dialer numbers is a good mitigation tactic.
Added more Prefixes to be used with contact and client names
Resolved an issue with calendar event notes not syncing with Outlook calendar events
Increased the default width of the Case Name field in the inbox screen
Added better time formatting for durations in the Call Report
Added additional handling for Excel exports in the inbox for larger data sizes

Version 3.14 - New Features

Screen Builder 📋 - the top of the lead/intake and case pages are now customizable by practice area and there are separate forms for either leads or cases or keep them together. You decide. :)
- You can design the screen to have the fields that are most important to your firm on top for easy access.
- Now, you can now decide which Custom Form fields will be in either the intake form or case form or in both.
- You can even have fields on the top of the screen that are not in the intake or case forms, or vice versa, and mix and match.
- This effectively allows your firm to bifurcate the intake forms and custom fields by each practice area and have different layouts in the lead/intake and case screens.

Version 3.10-3.13 - New Features - Published 10/15/2020 - 11/8/2020

🆕 Intuit QuickBooks Online Sync - We released our 1-Way Sync with QuickBooks Online Sync for accounting information between Law Ruler > QuickBooks Online (QBO). For details on implementing QBO, please contact Law Ruler Support to activate this feature at no cost.
🆕 Notes Feature Improvements - We did a cosmetic uplift of the add/edit notes feature and also added functionality to send notes with an attached document from the Law Ruler document system or to attach a document from your device. Now you can tag/mention users and include a document with your notes!
🆕 Multiple Addresses for Contacts - We added support for multiple addresses inside of each contact. You can now designate which is the primary address and select address types.
Added support for non-Microsoft guest users in the Microsoft Office 365 integration. If you share a document with a non-Microsoft user, they can get a 24-hour PIN code to edit documents as a guest editor for outside emails such as Gmail.
Added functionality for documents sent via API to be visible in the Newsfeed.
Added integration support for larger Office 365 documents over 4 MB.
Various improvements in the form builder.
Various additional improvements and fixes for the Law Ruler core.
Various improvements in the document system - added a recycle bin for deleted file recovery, multiple file downloading, filters, filters now save automatically and also we added anti-clutter features for any logo files from email signatures that do not need to be displayed that were cluttering the view in the DMS.

Version 3.0.1.29 - New Features - Published 10/6/2020

🆕 Microsoft Office 365 Suite Integration - Edit Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents inside of the Law Ruler cloud, without the need to download and re-upload documents to edit them, effectively limiting redundancies in your organization’s workflow. Multiple co-authors, document sharing, commenting, AI-powered dictation that works. Learn More
Various additional improvements and fixes for the Law Ruler core and the document system.

Version 3.0.1.24 - New Features - Published During September 15-30, 2020

🆕 Intake Performance Summary Report - enjoy a new, modern intake report to manage your firm's new client acquisition process. Review and discover trends of which leads and intakes are successful and unlock powerful analytics to grow your firm.
🆕 Law Ruler Advanced Document Management System - We added our new Advanced Document Management System (DMS) that in Law Ruler to allow advanced document management across all leads, intakes, and cases. This will allow access to easily search and manage documents for all leads/cases/intakes in 1 single screen.
🆕 Document Report in the Document Management System - Search and Take Inventory Across Entire Dockets. Run Filters and Export a Document Report on-demand at any time to quickly identify if any there are any clients with document deficiencies in any docket at any time.
Perfect as a pre-filing/pre-trial assessment tool.
Improved E-Mail Campaign Photo Embedding - Easier and more streamlined interface for embedding images inside of automated, email blast, and test campaigns. Now, you can copy and paste photos directly into campaigns without having to worry about uploading the images first.
- Additional capabilities for second signer e-sign agreements for the HelloSign API
Improved notifications for milestone tasks with better handling for user role changes after tasks are assigned to different users or groups.
Improvements to the user management screen.
Improvements to SOL Date reminders.
Various additional improvements and fixes for the Law Ruler core and the document system.

Version 2.9.6.8a - Published on 8/11/2020 🛠️

CallRail API - improvements for additional scenarios for how CallRail sends data after their recent product updates
LawPay API - improvements to prevent duplication

Version 2.9.6.2 - Published on 8/08/2020 - New Feature Release! 🎉

🆕 New Compose E-Mail Editor v2.0 - The Law Ruler Compose E-Mail feature has been completely renovated with our release of v2.0 of our new, E-Mail Editor. ✉️
Article: Compose E-Mail Editor v2.0 - E-Mail Sync and User Tutorial
- Cleaner, Modern, Easy-to-Use E-Mail Editor v2.0 User Interface
- Copy and Paste images/graphics directly into emails (without having to upload images)
- Allows 1 or More Outlook/Exchange E-Mail Accounts to be paired per user. Before it was 1 only.
- Allows 1 or More E-Mail Signatures for multiple E-Mail Accounts.
- New Toolbar for Easy Editing of Emails
- Attach Files/Documents from inside each Lead/Intake/Case Documents or from your computer
- Easy E-Mail Address Picker - Select from all of the contacts and assigned users on each lead/intake/case to easily send e-mails. Or, you may type in additional emails, and press enter or comma to manually add new recipients.
🆕 The Law Ruler Newsfeed - The Recent Activities Feature is now the "Newsfeed" and is a WHOLE LOT MORE than ever imagined. It instantly allows you many new report features for notes, documents, and more. Be creative! Be the eye in the sky at your firm. See all and know all! 👀
Article: The Law Ruler Newsfeed – See Everything at Your Firm Every Day - Tutorial
- Added dozens of newsfeed filters to customize your newsfeed for the various role(s) at the firm. More coming soon! If you want to see documents, invoices, emails, notes, etc, it's there now!
- Each user can save their own default filters for the Newsfeed for a better experience
- Export Newsfeed - An Export to Excel feature is added to the Newsfeed. This opens up the reporting experience considerably. Dozens of reports can be made at a moment's glance by filtering the newsfeed by notes, documents, emails, etc at any time and easily exported.
  - Even more filters and options to the Recent Activities screen are coming soon!
HelloSign E-Sign API Version Upgrade - Upgraded the HelloSign Embedded API version to v2.0 for Sign Now and Direct to Contract signature requests.
Centralized All Contact Information into Contacts - Evolutional change to lead vs case data - If a lead/intake has been made a case with Law Ruler Cases, then it will now fully merge with the case and the lead/intake is no longer stored or visible in the User Interface (UI) Removed all duplicative contact fields from the lead object and centralized into the Contacts object.
Additional performance improvements in the Smart Dialer - more are coming...

Version 2.9.5.4 - Published on 7/11/2020

User Note Tagging added to the Law Ruler Smart Dialer callbox. Now, you can tag other users on notes while inside of the Smart Dialer.
Resolved an issue with Previews of Custom Reports in the Custom Report Builder.
Easier to use filters on the Automation screen.
Added Safari browser support for downloading referral documents that are shared with other firms.
Improvements to the ATO/CP integration for syncing documents for ATO/CP matters.
Additional performance optimizations and other fixed under the hood.

Version 2.9.4 - Published on 6/27/2020

🆕 Reply Button for Notes Tagging - As a collaboration feature in Law Ruler, each user can press the "@" key and tag 1 or more users when adding a note in Law Ruler. This posts a note to the intake/case, and also sends an email to the users that were tagged. Now, we have a Reply Button inside of the notes that will allow the recipients to post a note reply back to whomever they would like, without having to sign in to reply. Mobile device friendly.
Corrected an issue with the Send Referral feature where status was not updating after referrals were accepted or declined.
Added more handling in the CallRail integration for the scenario where callsource=keyword we need to set the lead provider/marketing source of the new lead as the source_name field.
Removed the ability for non-accounting users to add vendors from inside of the Add Expense screen. Only users with the user permission of accounting or admin rights should have rights.

Version 2.9.1 - Published on 6/13/2020

🆕 Contingency Settlement Wizard with E-Sign Closing Statements. Our new Contingency Billing and Settlement features are now available for personal injury and mass tort firms.
For more details, please review our feature details on our website.
For support and the Settlement Wizard user guide, please review this article on our Support Forum
🆕 Create Calendar Events from Tasks - now, any manual or milestone task can automatically create a calendar event in either the Law Ruler calendar or any paired Outlook/Exchange calendar.
🆕 Additional Document Automations - now, any automation can have the signed e-sign PDF, Export CSV, or Intake PDf attached to it for use with Zapier and other third-party integration tools.
🆕 Automate Attorney, Paralegal, and Case Manager Assignments in Automations - now, you can automatically set the Attorney, Paralegal, and Case Manager for each case type in the automation. Go to the Workflow tab in any automation and add your preferences
🆕 Billing Category Customizations - there is a new screen where you can customize the billing/expense categories for your firm. For admin users, click on Setup > Billing Categories.
Added security in the Inbox/Custom Report Layout Builder to disallow non-admin users from editing layouts for all users, and special character handling.
Added additional options for lead source in the Call Report
Added additional handling to prevent duplicate filenames from the NRR Medical Records API

Version 2.8.9.13 - Published 5/30/2020 & Cloud Infrastructure Maintenance 🛠️

🆕 Text E-Sign Improvements for Sprint Wireless Numbers - The Text E-Sign feature will now send the e-sign URL in a separate text message for all recipients. There was an issue for Sprint Wireless users specifically, so we worked with HelloSign to make this change. Thus, the content will be in one text, and the actual e-sign link will be in a separate text message. This should resolve any HelloSign issues with 404 errors when Sprint network users open links for text e-signs.
🆕 Additional Handling for CallRail Keyword Tracking Data - The recent changes made by CallRail to their product in March were affecting our integration in some scenarios and some data was missing. Additional handling was implemented to improve the data provided by CallRail for new scenarios as a result of their product update.
🆕 User Interface UI/UX Improvements - The Inbox and Lead/Case screens will now include optimization for smaller screens for the new norm of having a virtual workforce.
Self Service Password Rest Changes - the self-service password reset feature will now allow any user to unlock their user account via email for excessive failed password attempts. All you need to do is use the reset password link that is emailed and you can unlock your own account.
E-Sign Report Improvements - the E-Sign Report has additional columns to allow e-signs sent inside of Cases to be seen, additional pagination, and more meaningful data available now.
Multi-Select Transfer Lead/Case in the Inbox - added a new screen and optimizations
New and Improved Email Templates - implemented new email templates for the signed e-sign and reset password email notifications.
Fixes to the Call Volume Report for single-day reports.
Added "Case Created Date" to the Custom Report and Inbox Layouts.
Additional performance optimizations and other fixed under the hood.

Version 2.8.9.11 - Published 5/17/2020

🆕 Added a Task Report - Exports to Excel that can be run at any time from the All Tasks screen. Use this to see all open or completed tasks for all or specific users. You can access this screen by clicking the number of tasks in the left-blue sidebar "Tasks" option. Then click the Export button.
Added additional handling and resiliency for Microsoft Word intake document printing in the Send Referral feature.
Additional performance optimizations and other fixed under the hood

Version 2.8.9.9 - Published 5/12/2020

🆕 More Task Features added for better user experience
- Added sort filters in the tasks screen
- Added checkboxes to allow for the display of incomplete and/or completed tasks
- Simplified the My Tasks daily agenda on the Inbox to only show the tasks for the signed-in user
- Added a red warning icon for overdue/late tasks. Back by popular demand from our users! 😇
Status Report changes from the last update were reverted by popular demand from our users! ☑️
The creation of document folders for business type contacts was added
Additional performance optimizations and other fixed under the hood

Version 2.8.8.23a - Published 5/2/2020

🆕 NEW and Improved Task screens for better user experience - added support for multiple task assignees and a new user interface. Even more task improvements coming soon...
🆕 NEW Dashboard Report v2.0 - this report is now renamed the Lead Conversion Dashboard.
- There is a new Excel report available named "Conversion Statistics" that may be downloaded to show how each case type filtered is doing for your firm. Compare case types head-to-head!
- Includes new, additional metrics such as Total Leads, Lead Conversion %, Sent E-Signs (date e-sign signed), Signed E-Signs (date e-sign sent).
- All scheduled Lead Conversion Reports will include both the Dashboard Charts PDF and the new Conversion Metrics Excel files
Various fixes and improvements to the printable intake forms in the Law Ruler user interface and in the online forms
Optimizations to allow handling for scale for lead/marketing sources throughout the app
Additional performance optimizations and other fixed under the hood

Version 2.8.8.1v - Published 4/18/2020

🆕 NEW! Performance optimizations to increase the performance of longer intake/case forms and decision tree logic
🆕 NEW! The Email Marketing feature now allows mass sending of HelloSign e-sign links from instant email campaigns. Also, it includes faster statistics on instant email campaigns.
🆕 NEW! Improved optimizations and performance enhancements to the Inbox and Custom Report screens
Refactored the CallRail API integration to use the newest CallRail changes that CallRail published a few weeks ago. Marketing sources should report even better now from CallRail.
Updated the document library to allow Excel export of more than 255 columns for larger exports of the Inbox and Custom Reports.
Dialer/Call Center - added increased handling for automated resolution of stuck tasks
Network updates to the Law Ruler cloud for performance enhancements within the data center.
Various fixes and performance improvements including improved call report data, better handling of content that is downloaded from the Office 365/Exchange email integration for leads/intakes and cases, and additional buffering to handle downloading of call recordings with more resilience during Twilio latency due to COVID-19. Also, it includes a fix for user permissions for edit in the documents tab to allow rename and moving of files with user rights for edit file permissions and resolved a bug with the uploads not going into the selected folder.
Resolution of a rule for scheduled groups using the proper timezone for scheduling.

Version 2.8.7.11y - Published 4/4/2020 🛠️ Maintenance

Network updates to the Law Ruler cloud for performance enhancements within the data center.
Cloud OS system and security updates for Windows Server and Microsoft SQL.
Various fixes and performance improvements including HelloSign API, Import Tags into cases/matters, and patches for the real-time 2-way texting feature.

Version 2.8.7.11n - Published 3/25/2020 🛠️ Maintenance

Various fixes and improvements including: Adding automation emails to the MS Outlook email integration, fix for online intake forms, multipart headers in the API for attached files, CallRail API - better handling for duplicate checking and name recognition, minor fix to the Dashboard Report PDF version for labels.

Version 2.8.7.11 - Published 3/12/2020

🆕 NEW! Real-time 2-Way Text Messaging conversations in Law Ruler. The "Text Messages" screen on the left menu bar will now show text messages in real-time and allow you to read and reply in one central texting app. For more details, watch our new Text Messages training video
🆕 NEW! HelloSign is now available for Embedded E-Sign on Website Contact Forms and Landing Pages. For more details, please review the E-Sign Automation support article
🆕 NEW! In the Law Ruler open API, you can now send Pick List field information. For more details, please review the Law Ruler API guide
Various fixes and improvements to the intake/case forms
Update to the HelloSign API to use a newer version of HelloSign for sending e-signs and the e-sign template builder

Version 2.8.3.0 - Published 2/3/2020

🆕 NEW! The Import Wizard now allows Importing and Updates for Cases/Matters
- Importing of Cases is now available
- Updating of Case information is now available
- Conversion of Leads/Intakes to Case is now available in bulk in the Import Wizard
🆕 NEW! Case Roles for the Primary Contact on Leads/Intakes/Cases
- In prior versions of Law Ruler, the Primary Contact was always set to a Case Role of Client and could not be changed. Now, with this release, the Primary Contact of any Lead/Intake/Case can be set to any Case Role in such as Caller, Deceased, Spouse, Heir, Minor-Child, Representative, and more. Don't worry, it will always default to Client for ease of use, unless you change it.
🆕 NEW! Additional fields in the Contacts screen, Mail Merge Codes, and API for each Contact in your Law Ruler system.
- County > this now appears in the Contact Information tab in each Lead/Intake/Case
- Deceased (Living Status) > Always know at a quick glance if a client is deceased. If the Primary Contact is deceased, then this now appears in the Contact Information tab in each Lead/Intake/Case in a red box
- Bankrupt (Bankruptcy Status) > Never miss noticing if a client is going through a Bankruptcy. If the Primary Contact is bankrupt, then this now appears in the Contact Information tab in each Lead/Intake/Case in a blue box
- When to Contact > this now appears in the Contact Information tab in each Lead/Intake/Case
- Where to Contact > this now appears in the Contact Information tab in each Lead/Intake/Case
🆕 NEW! EverFlow Affiliate Partner Integration
- For firms that use EverFlow for affiliate partner tracking on lead conversions, Law Ruler now has an integration with EverFlow. Please review our EverFlow Integration Tutorial.
Online intake/case forms in cases are now available.
Custom Reports now allow separation of data by Leads/Intakes or Cases for exported data.
Performance optimization changes to the Inbox results - This will only display up to 50 results per page. If more results are needed, please use the Reports > Custom Report, which has no limit to results and no pagination.
Performance optimization of the Status Report in Law Ruler
SMS Text Message replies are now compatible with Groups and will send any inbound SMS Text Reply messages to all group members. Previously, they sent to the primary group assignee only.
Various fixes and improvements to the Law Ruler Import Wizard

Version 2.8.1.10 - Published 1/12/2020 - The First Release of 2020 🎉

🆕 NEW! Automation for Sending E-Signs based on Law Ruler Status for HelloSign
- You can select a particular e-sign document per case type and the e-sign can send out automatically when a specified Law Ruler Status is reached in any lead/intake.
  - Sends the e-sign out via text message and email as usual without someone having to press "Send E-Sign" inside of each intake/case manually.
  - Please review the "Document Automation" tab inside of Law Ruler Automation Campaigns.
🆕 NEW! Automation for Adding/Sending Referrals to Other Firms (Co-Counsel/Litigation)
- You can select 1 or more "referral firms" for each case type and the automation will add the firm(s) to any lead/case that is included in the automation when triggered.
  - Adds the stored Firm % to each intake/case
  - Sends the configured referral to the firm automatically
    This is triggered when a specified Law Ruler Status is reached in any lead/intake. Please review the "Recipients" tab inside of Law Ruler Automation Campaigns.
🆕 NEW! InstaPage Integration for Landing Pages and Google Keyword Tracking
- Law Ruler has a readily available landing page instruction guide here: InstaPage integration
🆕 NEW! Five9 Call Center Software Integration
- Although Law Ruler has its own call center dialer, we have integrated with the Five9 software dialer upon request of some of our clients. This integration is custom and requires consulting to fully configure due to the complexity of the Five9 setup. Please review: Five9 Integration
🆕 NEW! Automation for Creating Needles Intakes Sheets via API into Needles v4.x
- Law Ruler has developed an automated way to insert completed intakes into Needles v4.x based on setting up of each individual Law Ruler Case Type > Needles Matter Code.
- Currently, to send intake sheets to Needles case management, users have to press "Create Needles Intake" manually for each lead/intake. Please review: Needles 4.x Automation
Various fixes and improvements throughout the system

Version 2.7.1.2 - Published on 12/19/2019 🎄 Holiday Release

🆕 NEW! Features and Updates to our Softphone Dialer / Call Center v2.0 for Elite Users
- New look and feel - sharper graphics in the Dialer window
- Added the local time of the Client that you are calling, in their local Time Zone - this way you know what time it is where the person you are calling is located at all times!
- Added the Client's Local Time to the Inbox and Custom Reports to allow filtering by Time Zone to schedule calls at the most optimal time of day
- Added a Hold button during calls
- Added the Status field so you can see the Status of the client before making a call
- Added the Source field so you can see the Marketing Source/Campaign of each client
- Added the Case Type field so you can see the Case Type/Docket for each client
🆕 NEW! Added a Notification System for Failed API Posts for New Leads/Intakes/Cases that fail so you can react immediately if a vendor is having issues posting to your Law Ruler system. Add 1 or more email addresses in the Third-Party API Integration screen to get notified if posts fail.
🆕 NEW! Features in the Import Wizard to allow importing cases, case notes, custom data
Added more functionality for UTBMS billing codes to Time Entries and Expenses
Various fixes and improvements throughout the system
Resolved an issue with the GoShippo.com API due to changes made by GoShippo

Version 2.7.0.1 - Published on 11/23/2019 🛠️

Updates to our Call Report to resolve time zone issues
Updated tracking of email opens/views/clicks from our email service
Fix for sending referrals to ensure the configured sender's email address is used to send referrals for each referral firm configuration
Resolved issue with date created in inbox/reports due to user groups and assignment changes
Resolved issue with the automated assignment of new leads/intakes due to user groups and assignment changes

Version 2.7 - Published on 11/21/2019 🆕

🆕 NEW! User Groups and Assignment Rotations - this feature is particularly useful for larger firms that need to automatically rotate assignments of leads/intakes/cases to specific staff members by case type. Also, you can create a group of users and assign any lead/intake/case to the group, not only 1 user. Please note: this is not a round-robin assignment.
SOL Date Report - Statute of Limitation Date - this feature now works with both leads/intakes and cases.

Version 2.6.1.20 - Published on 11/19/2019 🛠️

🆕 NEW! Inside the Dialer/Call Center Popup (Elite Users Only), there is a new feature for manually scheduled callbacks to only be available to the user/agent assigned. Also, the call priority for manually scheduled callbacks was set to 2nd priority after New Leads
SOL Date Report now reports on data for both leads and cases (previously it was leads/intake only)
Various fixes and improvements to the LawPay API integration
Various fixes and improvements to the Law Ruler Appointment Reminders and Time Zone conversions in the appointment reminders
Various fixes and improvements with the Law Ruler Cases screen to ignore the <enter> key which was causing logouts
Various fixes and improvements in the Lead/Intake screen to ignore the <enter> key which was causing logouts
Various fixes and improvements with Document Subfolders for saving of call recordings and photos that were texted to call tracking numbers

Version 2.6.0.12 - Published on 11/7/2019 🆕

🆕 New! Invoicing and Billing Features for Hourly and Flat Fee Billing. In Law Ruler, you can now turn your Time Entries and Expenses into Invoices, and share those Invoices with your clients via text message, email, or PDF. For a complete list of features and how to use them, please click here for the Hourly and Flat Fee Billing Tutorial on our Support Forum or contact our support team for further assistance.
- This feature is also very useful for contingency firms that need to seek costs from the defense on a personal injury case and thus provide an invoice for costs.
- Also, you could use this if your firm has to withdraw from a case and needs to provide an invoice for the amount of time that you spent on a case while you were representing the client.
🆕 New! LawPay Online Payments API. LawPay is the #1 Online Payments Provider for the legal industry and we are proud to integrate with them in Law Ruler. For more details on setting up LawPay inside of your Law Ruler system to accept online payments, please review the above tutorial or contact our support team for further assistance.
🆕 New! Automated Payment Reminders for Invoices. Not only can you create Invoices and send them to your clients, but you can also automate the Payment Reminders with custom content via text message and/or email. For more details on setting up Payment Reminders, click here for the Automated Payment Reminders Tutorial or contact our support team for further assistance.
🆕 New! Retainer/Trust Requests Feature. If your firm does flat fee billing and you need to get a retainer amount paid by your client, you can use our LawPay integration to send a Retainer Request. For further details, click here for the Retainer/Trust Request Tutorial or contact our support team for further assistance. Note: You will not see this feature without an active LawPay integration since it requires online payment. Otherwise, you could send your client an invoice for the flat fee and they could send you a check, cash, wire, or you could use an alternative payment system other than LawPay.
Various fixes and improvements to the Law Ruler Calendar - a full update of the entire Calendar is coming soon.
Various fixes and improvements with the Law Ruler Cases screen
Various fixes and improvements in the Lead/Intake screen
Various fixes and improvements with Document Subfolders from the last version

Version 2.6 - Published on 10/31/2019 🆕

🆕 New! Enhanced Document Screen with Document Management, Document subfolders, Document Previews in Google Docs. Also, we updated our automation for any new documents to automatically go into our default subfolders.
- Drag and Drop document management with subfolders
- You can create your own subfolders in addition to using our default subfolders
- Any signed e-sign contracts will go into the Signed Contracts folder
- Any medical records ordered will go into the Medical Records folder
- Any call recordings from our call tracking numbers will go into the Call Recordings folder
- Any photos that are texted to our call tracking numbers will go into the Photos folder
- Any document templates that you run inside of each intake/case will go into the Document Templates folder
🆕 New! Various Improvements to Case Referral feature: Added Referral Status for each firm, changed the referral email to include a downloadable link (not an attached zip file), added Accept and Decline buttons for better referral tracking
- You are now able to set the files/data that you want to export for each Referral Firm
- You are now able to customize the email sent to each Referral Firm
- There are now 3 buttons in the Referral Emails to:
  - Download Referral - this logs the date/time that the Referral Firm downloaded the referral data
  - Accept - this logs the date/time that the Referral Firm accepts the referral, and updates the Referral Status to Accepted in Law Ruler
  - Decline - this logs the date/time that the Referral Firm declined the referral, and updates the Referral Status to Declined in Law Ruler
Various fixes and improvements with the Law Ruler Cases screen
Various fixes and improvements with the Lead/Intake screen

Version 2.5.7.5 - Published on 10/18/2019 🆕

🆕 New! Our Calendar Event Tracker! Now, you can start tracking metrics of which clients are responsible and show up to meetings on time and which ones cancel, no show, or are late frequently. Use our new "Event Status" field and start today!

Version 2.5.7.4 - Published on 10/16/2019 🛠️

Various fixes and improvements with the Law Ruler Cases screen
Various fixes and improvements with the Lead/Intake screen
Added UTM Form/Keyword Data for Marketing into our CallRail integration for their new feature for tracking of form submissions
Added Medical Record Ordering in the Law Ruler Cases screen
Changed the Law Ruler Contact Center Dialer to not require clearing the Chrome browser local storage anymore if closed improperly
Added tracking of internet/session issues for the client-side browser if the client's internet goes down
Various updates to Call Tracking Phone Number Rules for Forwarding Calls on a Schedule

Version 2.5.3 - Published on 9/20/2019 🛠️

Better user experience in the Time Entries screen. Law Ruler will now automatically popup the Time Entry for editing when the timer is stopped from anywhere in the system
Changes to the Law Ruler Contact Center (the Dialer v2.0) for inbound and outbound calls to route based on user permissions for case type, source, assigned. Example: If a user only has access to certain case types, then they will only receive calls for the assigned case types. Previously, it was all calls for all users
In the E-Sign Settings screen, you may now use spaces in the E-Sign template names
Custom integration with Crocodile Software
Various fixes and improvements with the Law Ruler Cases screen
Various fixes and improvements with Firms/Fee Split handling in the Lead/Intake screen

Version 2.41 - Published on 9/9/2019 🆕

🆕 NEW! Changes to the Third-Party Report Builder to improve the look and feel of our scheduled reports. This should also resolve any delivery issues.
🆕 NEW! Integration with the GoShippo API for FedEx, UPS, and USPS to allow sending of mailed documents directly from an intake or case in Law Ruler (Please note, this requires setting up an account with goshippo.com and adding the token inside of Setup>Global Settings>Shipping Settings)
- Review this article on our Support Forum about Using the GoShippo.com API with Law Ruler.
Various fixes and improvements in the Custom Report Builder

Version 2.4 - Published on 8/15/2019 🆕

🆕 NEW! Login screen v2.0 with an improved password reset feature and added brute force protection
🆕 NEW! Import Wizard now supports importing of Contacts without creating a lead/intake/case
Additional handling and optimizations for custom fields and the inbox that use the custom reports engine
Added more redundancy and quality improvements in the Law Ruler Contact Center (the Dialer v2.0) including Warm Transfer and Blind Transfer of Calls, Conference Calling feature, and Hold/Mute button.
Added additional logging and handling in the Law Ruler Contact Center (the Dialer v2.0) for inbound, outbound and recycled tasks
Various fixes and cosmetic improvements in the Dashboard and Marketing ROI Reports

Version 2.3.8.9.5 🆕

🆕 NEW! Added native video message capability and compression in email campaigns for MMS (Multimedia Messages) sent to mobile devices (phones, tablets, etc) This allows videos and images to show/play without needing to be clicked on
Resolved intermittent issue with add note button in the inbox
Additional performance optimizations and fixes to custom reports, inbox exports, and inbox speed
Added more handling for exceptions in DNI
Added special characters in names handling in the global search
Added real-time queue metrics to the Contact Center/Dialer v2.0 for Inbound, Outbound, and Queue reporting
Additional changes to SSD vendor integration and XML export
Various other fixes and improvements

All version history prior to the above thread has been archived.

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