LawServa · LawServa: Legal Practice Manual
Matter Approvals in LawServa lets a partner accept a new file onto the firm's books before it opens. Under the anti-money laundering regime the firm, not the individual fee earner, takes on the client, so LawServa keeps a named, dated record of who accepted each file, who refused it and why. It is used by partners who decide, by fee earners who open files, and by compliance and accounts staff who need to see what is waiting.
Matter Approvals does not repeat the conflict check. The conflict search answers whether the firm may act at all. Matter Approvals answers a different question: does a partner accept this client, this work and this fee basis. Each decision names the conflict search it relied on.
| Option | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Off. Files open immediately, as before. | New files open straight away. Nothing new arrives in the queue. |
| Only files that trip an AML trigger wait for a partner. | A new file waits only if its client meets a high risk trigger (see below). |
| Every new file waits for a partner. | Every new open file waits for a partner. |
A file opened directly as closed or on hold is a record of something that already happened, so it never waits.
Under the high risk option, a file waits if any of these is true of the client:
While a file is waiting, a Waiting for a partner banner shows on the matter with who sent it, when, and why it is held.
The banner and the queue both show the work in progress already on the file, so nothing sits unapproved and quietly costing.
When the policy requires it, a new file goes into the queue automatically the moment it is opened. You do not need to do anything else.
If a file was refused and has since been corrected:
A file waiting for more than 5 days is flagged in red, and the foot of the list states how many files are waiting and how many are older than that.
| Column | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Waiting | When the file was sent up and how many days it has waited. |
| Matter | Matter number, title, client and practice area. The number opens the file. |
| Why It Is Held | The client's due diligence position, High risk and PEP markers, and the conflict search outcome, including any names not yet searched. |
| Work in Progress | Unbilled time plus disbursements already paid out. |
| Asked By | Who sent the file up. |
If some files are hidden from you by a confidentiality wall, the screen says how many it did not list.
The file's dialog brings together everything a partner needs before deciding.
To decide:
If you cannot decide on a file, the dialog tells you why and, where possible, names who can accept it. If nobody is set up to accept it, ask a partner to put a reporting line in place.
Only the person who sent the file up can take the request back.
| Step | Meaning | File Afterwards |
|---|---|---|
| Sent for approval | The file was sent to the partners. | Waiting, not billable |
| Approved | A partner accepted the file. | Open, billable |
| Rejected | A partner refused the file, with a reason. | On hold |
| Withdrawn by the person who asked | The requester took the request back. | On hold |
Each decision also freezes the client's due diligence position, risk rating and the work in progress at that moment, so you can later see what the partner knew when they decided.
Press Acceptance Record in the file's dialog or on any row under Already Decided to download an A4 PDF. It contains:
Yes. Time and disbursements can be recorded as normal. The file simply cannot be billed until a partner accepts it.
The person who sent the file up can never accept it. A different partner must decide, so every acceptance has a second pair of eyes.
No. A refused file goes on hold and everything on it is kept. It can be corrected and sent up again with Send Again.
Switching the policy off stops new files arriving but does not release files already in the queue. A partner still has to accept or refuse each one.
No. Decisions cannot be edited. If the position changes, the file is sent up again and a new decision is added to its history.