LawServa
Documents, Correspondence and Safe Custody
Documents, Correspondence and Safe Custody in LawServa keep everything a file holds: scanned and uploaded documents with full-text search, a library of templates and precedents, a log of letters, calls and meetings, the firm's inbound and sent email, and a register of original deeds, titles and wills kept in the strong room. Clerks, secretaries and fee earners use these screens daily.
Before You Start
Viewing documents needs the document view permission. The email trays need the mail view permission. Safe Custody needs its own permission, usually given to the clerk who keeps the strong room.
Filing a Document
- Open the matter, or choose Documents under Files.
- Press File Document. The File a Document dialog opens.
- Choose the file to upload and the kind of document.
- Press File It.
LawServa reads the text of the document so it can be found later. To take a document off a file, press Remove Document; removed documents can still be listed by choosing Including removed under Show.
Searching Documents
On Documents, type in Search and press Filter. Results are grouped By Name and Inside Documents, so you can find a document by a phrase in its contents even if you do not remember its name. Narrow the list with Kind.
Templates and Precedents
Templates and Precedents is a tab of Documents. It lists both kinds together and says which each one is:
- a template is a stored file you copy and edit
- a precedent is written in LawServa with merge fields, so it can fill in a matter's own details such as the client name, property and case number
Search across both in one box. Precedents keep their versions, and a precedent can be assembled for a matter to produce a ready letter or document.
Letters, Calls and Meetings
Choose Correspondence under Files. The first tab, Letters, is the log of letters sent and received, calls and meetings on each file. Physical post and email are kept apart on purpose.
Inbound Email
The Inbound Email tab is the tray where email sent to your firm's LawServa address arrives. LawServa suggests which matter each message belongs to, and a person confirms it with File It. A message is only filed automatically where the sender matches exactly one matter.
Sent Email
The Sent Email tab keeps every message sent in the firm's name from any screen, with its text and attachments. Press Compose to write a new message, or open a message and use Reply, Reply All, Forward or Send Again.
Safe Custody
Choose Safe Custody under Files to record original documents held for clients.
- Press Book In and complete Book an Original In.
- Use Check Out when an original leaves the strong room and Check In when it returns.
- Print a label for the packet, and a receipt for the client.
Every movement is kept, so the register shows where each original is and who has it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can LawServa Search Inside Scanned PDFs?
LawServa searches the text it can extract from each document. A scan with no readable text may only be found by its name.
Is a Removed Document Deleted?
No. A removed document is hidden from the normal list and can still be shown with Including removed.
Why Did an Email Not File Itself?
LawServa only files automatically when the sender matches exactly one matter. Otherwise a person decides, to avoid filing on the wrong file.
What Is the Difference Between a Template and a Precedent?
A template is a stored file. A precedent is authored in LawServa with merge fields that fill in from the matter.