When it comes to choosing legal calendaring and docketing software there are probably a lot of questions you have.
In this article we go over everything you need to know in order to find legal calendaring or docketing software; from what it is, to what to look for, to pros and cons, and whether to go with standalone vs part of a larger system.
Put simply, legal calendaring and docketing software is a type of software designed to help law firms and legal professionals manage their calendars and court deadlines. This is done by taking important dates and deadlines from the lawyer or firm's “dockets” and mapping them on a calendaring software for law firms to ensure tasks are completed on time with no deadlines missed.
However, to fully understand what legal calendaring and docketing software is, you first have to understand what docketing is, who does it, and why it’s important?
Docketing is the process of recording and managing legal cases, including the deadlines and important events associated with each case. These dates and events may include things like scheduled court appearances, filing deadlines, discovery deadlines, and other key milestones related to the case.
In a law firm or legal department, docketing is typically performed by a dedicated docketing specialist or paralegal who is responsible for managing the docketing system. Depending on the firm the docketing process may be very manual with deadlines tracked using a spreadsheet or it could be automated using calendaring/docketing software.
Proper docketing management is extremely important in the legal field because missed deadlines can have severe consequences, such as losing a case or facing various penalties.
In summary, a docket contains a list of all important dates a lawyer needs to be aware of; docketing is the process of keeping track of those important dates; and legal calendaring and docketing software is a software that automates this process by putting these dates on a digital calendar and sending relevant reminders.
Some of the most important (or key) features that you should evaluate when looking at legal calendaring and docketing software, include:
Having the ability to set and highlight upcoming deadlines is one of the most important features of calendaring and docketing software. Your software should allow users to enter deadlines for various tasks like filing motions or completing discovery, and set alerts and notifications when those deadlines are coming up.
It should be able to automatically calculate deadlines based on relevant court rules and other regulations, reducing the risk of errors and missed deadlines. For example, if discovery is typically due 35 days after the initial court date, rules could be set to automatically add a calendar entry for “complete discovery” at that time.
Law firm calendaring/docketing software is usually only part of a broader case management solution. However in the event the software is standalone, it should be able to integrate seamlessly with other legal software used by the firm. This way all relevant information can be accessed across systems.
Not all lawyers or law firms are the same, which is why it is important for the software to allow customizable calendars and deadlines specific to the needs and preferences of each user.
The software should be easy to use, with an intuitive interface that allows users to quickly enter and view deadlines and other important information.
Calendaring software should provide robust reporting and analytics capabilities, allowing users to track progress, identify trends, and identify areas for improvement. For example, if you are frequently missing (or near missing) deadlines for discovery, audit trails through reporting might help identify why.
Needless to say, security and compliance is of the utmost importance in the legal field. As such your calendaring and docketing software should not only comply with relevant data security and privacy regulations, but go above and beyond to protect the confidential information of your clients.
Maybe you want to have the completion of new client intake forms automatically schedule a first client meeting 1 week later. This is typically done using a workflow custom to your needs.
Note: This is by no means an exhaustive list of features and capabilities for legal docketing and calendaring software, but some of the most important or common ones.
Implementing legal calendaring and docketing software for your law office might offer numerous advantages, but there are also some negatives or limitations that should be considered before deciding if it is right for your practice.
To help with that we have compiled a list of some of the pros and cons:
Some pros of implementing legal calendaring and docketing software:
Using software to automate the process of calendaring and docketing reduces the risk of human error and can help to ensure more accurate deadline management. This can also save time by automatically calculating various deadlines based on court rules and other regulations so the work does not have to be done manually.
Manually tracking deadlines can be tedious manual work. Having a software that provides notifications and reminders for upcoming deadlines, helps legal professionals stay organized, save time, and makes sure important tasks and deadlines are not missed.
A lot of legal calendaring software integrate with other legal tools and systems (including practice management software and case management software). This allows for seamless transfer of data between systems as well as collaboration among team members who might work from different systems.
All case-related and docket information, such as: deadlines, court dates, and important events, can be stored in one centralized location. Making it much easier to access and review information quickly, and simplifying overall case management.
Having workflows (a way to customize how the software is used) allows customization to be made in order to match firm specific workflows and requirements. This can make the calendaring/docketing software adaptable to different practices and individual preferences.
Some cons of implementing legal calendaring and docketing software:
Implementing a new calendaring software requires users to take the time needed to familiarize themselves with the features and functionality, this learning curve can be pretty steep especially for less tech savvy users. So keep in mind that like with any new system training and adjustment periods may be needed.
Prices for these software tends to have a fixed cost as well as a per user cost. Depending on which provider you choose and the size of your firm, there may be a significant upfront cost or ongoing subscription fees associated with implementing and using the software.
Using calendaring software can save time and headaches when it works. Like most software, you can run into technical issues, software updates, or even outages that can temporarily disrupt access to your docketing system. Look for software with uptime guarantees and perhaps have backup plans in place to mitigate potential issues caused by service disruptions.
While some software may offer customization options, these can take time and if you need to hire someone to set them up there might be additional cost. Also, since it is not an in-house system there can still be limitations in adapting the system to any highly specialized or unique calendaring requirements.
Whenever you are storing sensitive case-related information in a software system you have to account for security. Law firms have to ensure that the software provider maintains robust security measures and follows data protection regulations like GDPR, HIPAA compliance, SOC2 or whatever else is legally required.
In summary, legal calendaring and docketing software provide a lot of benefits to firms in terms of efficiency, accuracy, and organization. However, if you choose the wrong software or do not carefully evaluate your options, you might end up getting more of a hassle than help.
This really depends on your firm.
If you already have a practice management software system in place that has a built in docketing or calendaring function, we would recommend trying it out to see if it meets your needs. If it doesn’t then a standalone or add-on system might be needed
If you do not already have a practice management system in place or your system does not handle docketing. Then it tends to be cheaper to go with a standalone option.
