Deadlines

A matter deadline is more than a date on a calendar. It has a type, due date, assigned Team Member and parent matter. The workflow calls for counsel to verify the court or contract source before the deadline is created. An accepted deadline action also leaves an operation receipt and a dated matter event. Those connected records help the owner explain where the date came from and what happened after it was entered.

For a filing matter, counsel checks the court notice and confirms the due date. The Matter Owner records a Filing deadline and assigns the responsible team member. A matter event places the dated action on the timeline. When the filing is complete, the completion date and court receipt can be recorded on the deadline. The owner can then distinguish a due item from one backed by completion evidence.

• Assignment. The deadline record connects each due date to a matter and an owner.
• Timeline. The matter timeline records a dated hearing, filing, review, decision or communication against the matter.
• Receipt. The operation receipt records the accepted action, expected revision and result state.

Agree who verifies the source for each deadline type and how that verification reaches the owner. Choose a naming convention for deadline types that staff can apply consistently. Decide whether the deadline owner is the lawyer responsible for the event or the person who will perform the filing task. The team should also agree when to record the completion date and what counts as a court receipt.

If a calendar or docketing service is in use, decide which system supplies the source date and which reference will be retained on the matter. Review the time zones on organization and Team Member records before the first live cycle. A date without a named source or owner is difficult to defend when the underlying court notice changes.

Start with an engaged matter and a verified court notice. Ask the Matter Owner to create the deadline and assign the Team Member who will act. Check the date, type and parent matter in the deadlines view. Then locate the dated matter event and operation receipt. Another reviewer should be able to identify the owner and the accepted action from those records.

Next, complete the action and enter the completion date with the court receipt. Revisit the due list to confirm the entry can be distinguished from outstanding work. Rehearse an amended notice too: review the changed source, keep the earlier action explainable and add the successor evidence through the correction path. A calendar reminder alone should not become the only record of the change.

• Deadlines due — Due dates with their matter, owner and completion evidence.
• My deadlines — Dates assigned to the current owner.

See deadlines and events and correction and reconciliation.