More than one customer has needed additional core-date fields in matter records to interact with the contract management notification system. So after conferring with some of our users who use the functionality the most we increased the number from 2 to 10.


This is in addition to the core date fields like date opened, date closed, etc.


These dates will be available in addition to the dates outlined in the blog entry Matter Contract Management Screen of Nov. 10, 2009.


These dates will also interact with the matter calendar. When you add a new matter record the date will be added by default. Changing the dates in the edit screen will also update the matter calendars so they are included with the standard nightly notifications, on the main application screen calendar and on your My Daily screen.


These dates will also be popular with those who use LAWTRAC matters to manage projects.

The contract management notification message is made-up of four sections.


In the diagram, the items marked with the letter A are set-up in the Administration section governing the module. These are the opening and closing paragraphs containing general instructions.


Area B displays the "past" events. Things that either may not have yet been accomplished or those items in which the legal department has yet to update the matter record.


Past events are followed by area C or the 'future' events.


The number of days back for the past events and the number of days forward for future events are both items set forth in the Administration section.


Not only does the notification include the dates and matter name and number, but include instructions specific to that matter. Those instructions are entered within the Matter Record when you are setting up the notifications.


Note that the notice(s) also include the other "Key Personnel" who received the same notification as well as contact information for the individuals in the legal department who will be updating the matter record.


The goal of the message is to allow for good communication between those who receive the email and the legal department. The lay-out is designed to act almost as a 'checklist', each matter receiving it's own "box" separating one matter from the others.

The contract notification module keys off of the five key date fields within a matter (or in this case, contract) record.


The date fields can be captioned with any words you feel are best to describe what the dates are for. This is set-up in your application administration module.


To add additional flexibility, you can select which dates are to be used on a matter-by-matter basis.


The screen shot (A) shows the fields in the matter record and (B) the admin screen where you set the captions for the date fields.