Centralizing Case Management Using SharePoint Lists and Power Apps
Legal teams are under pressure to handle more matters with fewer resources—without compromising ethics, confidentiality, or client service. Centralizing case management in Microsoft 365 with SharePoint Lists and Power Apps delivers the structured data, automation, and collaboration attorneys need. This guide explains how to design a scalable case hub, implement it step by step, and govern it for compliance, while improving attorney experience and operational visibility.
Table of Contents
- Why Centralize Case Management in Microsoft 365
- Solution Architecture: Lists, Power Apps, Teams, and Automate
- Designing Your Matter Data Model
- Security, Ethics, and Compliance Controls
- Hands-On Tutorial: Build a Case Management Hub
- Automate Deadlines, Approvals, and Compliance Tasks
- Integrations for Attorney Collaboration
- Change Management and Adoption
- Metrics, Reporting, and Accountability
- Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
- Conclusion and Next Steps
Why Centralize Case Management in Microsoft 365
Most firms and legal departments juggle emails, spreadsheets, shared drives, and outdated databases. The result is fragmented information, weak visibility into deadlines, and unnecessary risk. Centralizing case management in Microsoft 365 provides a secure, integrated foundation that attorneys already use daily.
| Legacy Sprawl | Centralized in Microsoft 365 |
|---|---|
| Information scattered across inboxes, drives, and point tools | Single source of truth in SharePoint List with related libraries |
| Manual status checks and reminders | Automated alerts, escalations, and dashboards |
| Inconsistent matter intake and fields | Standardized fields and validation in a Power App |
| Difficult audit trail and compliance tracking | Version history, retention labels, and eDiscovery-ready |
| Low adoption due to clunky UX | Attorney-friendly mobile and desktop app experiences |
Best practice: Treat your case hub as a product, not a project. Define a backlog, assign an internal product owner, and iterate monthly with attorney feedback. Continuous improvement beats a one-time rollout.
Solution Architecture: Lists, Power Apps, Teams, and Automate
Your core building blocks live inside Microsoft 365, which reduces cost and accelerates adoption:
- SharePoint Lists for the matter registry and related sublists (deadlines, tasks, conflicts, contacts).
- Power Apps for a guided, validated interface to create and update matters from desktop and mobile.
- Power Automate for workflows: intake routing, approvals, deadline reminders, and escalations.
- Microsoft Teams for matter-centric collaboration, conversations, and file channels.
- SharePoint Libraries for documents with metadata, version control, and retention policies.
- Microsoft Purview for sensitivity labels, DLP, records retention, and eDiscovery.
Attorney/Intake → Power App (validated form) → SharePoint List (Matter record) → Automated Routing (Power Automate) → Teams Channel & Document Library Provisioning → Ongoing Updates (Power App) → Alerts & Deadlines (Power Automate) → Reporting & Audits (List Views/Power BI/Purview)
Designing Your Matter Data Model
A clear data model ensures consistency and reporting accuracy. Start with a core Matter list and add related lists as needed.
Core Matter Fields
| Field | Type | Purpose | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matter ID | Calculated or Text | Unique identifier for the matter | Consider format like FY-AREA-#### |
| Client Name | Text or Lookup | Primary client association | Optional lookup to a Clients list |
| Matter Title | Text | Short descriptive title | Used as display column |
| Practice Area | Choice | Categorization for routing and reports | E.g., Litigation, Employment, IP |
| Responsible Attorney | Person | Accountable owner | Supports email mentions and assignments |
| Team Members | Person (multi) | Collaborators on the matter | Used to filter personal views |
| Status | Choice | Lifecycle state | Intake, Active, On Hold, Closed |
| Risk Level | Choice | Operational risk indicator | Low, Medium, High with color formatting |
| Open Date / Close Date | Date | Lifecycle milestones | Use for SLA calculations |
| Confidentiality Label | Choice or Sensitivity | Security classification | Align with Purview labels |
| Key Deadlines | Lookup | Related list of deadlines | Supports reminders and calendars |
Related Lists
- Deadlines: Due Date, Description, Matter Lookup, Assigned To, Criticality.
- Tasks: Task Title, Matter Lookup, Owner, Due Date, Status.
- Contacts: Contact Name, Organization, Role (Client/Counterparty/Counsel), Matter Lookup.
- Time Entries (optional): Date, Hours, Attorney, Phase, Matter Lookup.
Design tip: Limit free-text fields. Use Choice, Lookup, and Person types to standardize data and power accurate reports. Add required fields for intake to prevent incomplete matters from entering the system.
Security, Ethics, and Compliance Controls
Client confidentiality and regulatory requirements demand controls that are easy to use and difficult to bypass:
- Access Scoping: Build your site in a dedicated SharePoint site with private Teams channels per matter for sensitive cases.
- Sensitivity Labels: Apply “Confidential – Client Matter” to matter libraries to enforce encryption and external sharing restrictions.
- Data Loss Prevention: Use Purview DLP to detect patterns (PII, PHI) and block risky sharing or downloads.
- Retention & Records: Assign retention labels (e.g., 7 years after closure) and disposition reviews for defensible deletion.
- Conditional Access & MFA: Require MFA, compliant devices, and block legacy protocols for access to the case hub.
- eDiscovery: Use Purview eDiscovery to hold and export matters; map Matter ID in your search queries.
- Audit Trail: Enable versioning and monitor Unified Audit Logs for sensitive actions.
Hands-On Tutorial: Build a Case Management Hub
This step-by-step guide creates a production-ready foundation that you can enhance over time.
Part A: Create the Matter Registry (SharePoint List)
- In SharePoint, create a new team site (e.g., “Legal Case Hub”).
- From Site Contents, select “New > List” and choose “Blank list.” Name it “Matters.”
- Add columns:
- Matter ID (Text), Matter Title (Text), Client Name (Text), Practice Area (Choice), Responsible Attorney (Person), Team Members (Person, multiple), Status (Choice), Risk Level (Choice), Open Date (Date), Close Date (Date), Confidentiality Label (Choice).
- Configure column formatting:
- Color-code Status and Risk Level for quick scanning.
- Make Matter Title and Responsible Attorney required.
- Create personal and public views:
- “My Matters” filtered by Team Members contains [Me].
- “Open Matters by Practice Area” grouped by Practice Area.
- “High-Risk” filtered where Risk Level = High.
Part B: Build a Matter Intake and Update App (Power Apps)
- In the Matters list, select “Integrate > Power Apps > Create an app,” name it “Matter Manager.”
- Power Apps generates a 3-screen app (Browse, Details, Edit). In the Edit form:
- Reorder fields: Matter Title, Client Name, Practice Area, Responsible Attorney, Team Members, Status, Risk Level, Open Date.
- Set Status default to “Intake,” Open Date default to Today().
- Lock Matter ID if you plan to auto-generate it via flow.
- Add validation:
- Make Client Name and Responsible Attorney required.
- Use visible hints for Ethics/Conflicts if your process requires pre-clearance.
- Optimize UX:
- Add a prominent “Create Matter” button on the Browse screen.
- Provide filters for Status and Practice Area.
- Publish and share:
- Share the app with your legal team security group as “User.”
- Pin the app as a tab in Teams for quick access.
Part C: Provision a Team Channel and Library per Matter (Optional, Recommended)
- Create a document library template with standard folders (e.g., Pleadings, Correspondence, Discovery, Research).
- Use a Power Automate flow (see next section) to:
- On new Matter, create a folder named “[Matter ID] – [Matter Title].”
- Apply sensitivity label and retention label to the folder/library.
- Optionally, create a private channel in the “Legal” Team named with the Matter ID.
Automate Deadlines, Approvals, and Compliance Tasks
Automation reduces missed deadlines and improves accountability.
Flow 1: Auto-Generate Matter ID and Notify the Team
- In Power Automate, create a cloud flow: trigger “When an item is created” on the Matters list.
- Add “Compose” to build an ID like concat(formatDateTime(utcNow(), ‘yy’), ‘-‘, triggerOutputs()?[‘body/PracticeArea’], ‘-‘, pad(variables(‘Counter’),4)).
- Update the item with the generated Matter ID; set Status to “Active” after approval (optional).
- Post a message to Teams (legal ops channel) with a link to the matter.
- Send a confirmation email to the Responsible Attorney with key fields.
Flow 2: Deadline Reminders and Escalations
- Create a Deadlines list with a Matter Lookup, Due Date, Assigned To, Criticality.
- Scheduled flow runs daily:
- Filter items due in the next 7 days or overdue.
- Send Teams chat or email reminder to Assigned To with matter link.
- If Criticality = High and overdue > 3 days, notify Responsible Attorney and Legal Ops.
Flow 3: Retention and Closure Checklist
- Trigger “When an item is modified” where Status changes to “Closed.”
- Create a closure task list item:
- Confirm final billing/time entries, apply retention label, archive workspace.
- Apply a “Closed Matter – Retain 7 Years” label to the matter folder and documents.
- Post a Teams message summarizing closure and next steps.
Workflow tip: Keep flows modular. One flow per business outcome (ID creation, alerts, closure). Smaller flows are easier to test, secure, and update without breaking the system.
Integrations for Attorney Collaboration
Make the hub the easiest place to work so attorneys naturally adopt it.
- Outlook: Use “Save to SharePoint” add-ins or drag-and-drop to matter folders; add Matter ID to subject lines via Quick Steps.
- Teams: Pin the Power App and Matter views as tabs; use channel posts for decisions and @mentions for accountability.
- Planner/To Do: Create a plan per matter or per practice area; link Planner tasks to the Matter ID and deadlines.
- OneDrive/SharePoint: Require saving to the matter library; prohibit local-only storage via policy for sensitive content.
- Power BI: Build dashboards showing open matters, cycle time, workload by attorney, and approaching deadlines.
| Role | Primary Responsibilities | Key Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Responsible Attorney | Own matter outcomes, approve intake, oversee deadlines | Power App, Teams channel, Outlook |
| Paralegal | Update records, manage documents, track tasks/deadlines | SharePoint list views, Deadlines list, Planner |
| Legal Operations | Governance, automation, metrics, enhancements | Power Automate, Power BI, Purview |
| IT/M365 Admin | Security, retention, access control, provisioning | Azure AD, Purview, SharePoint Admin |
Change Management and Adoption
Technology succeeds when people trust it. Build confidence with intentional rollout.
- Pilot first: Start with one practice area (e.g., Employment). Gather feedback and refine forms and views.
- Training: Offer role-based sessions: 30-minute attorney overview, 60-minute paralegal deep dive, 30-minute admin governance.
- Support: Create a “How To” page in the SharePoint site with 2–3 minute screen captures and a feedback form.
- Standards: Publish a matter naming and filing convention; automate as much as feasible.
- Incentives: Share monthly dashboard wins (reduced cycle time, fewer missed deadlines) to reinforce adoption.
Adoption insight: Attorneys adopt tools that save time during live work. Embed the app where they already are (Teams and Outlook), reduce clicks, and automate document scaffolding.
Metrics, Reporting, and Accountability
Operational transparency elevates legal’s business value. Track metrics that matter:
- Volume: New matters by month and practice area.
- Workload: Matters per attorney and paralegal; complexity mix by Risk Level.
- Timeliness: Deadlines met vs. missed; average time from intake to active; closure cycle time.
- Quality & Risk: Reopened matters, escalations, and high-risk distribution.
- Compliance: Percentage of matters with sensitivity labels and retention applied.
Implement quick wins with SharePoint list views and charts; scale to Power BI for cross-matter analytics and executive dashboards.
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
- Too many fields at intake: Collect essentials first; add advanced fields post-approval.
- Uncontrolled permissions: Use security groups and private channels for sensitive matters; avoid item-level permissions sprawl.
- Nonstandard naming: Enforce Matter ID and folder templates via automation.
- One monolithic flow: Break into smaller flows to ease troubleshooting and change control.
- Skipping governance: Document your data model, lifecycle, and change process; review quarterly.
- No exit strategy: Define closure, retention, and defensible deletion from day one.
Conclusion and Next Steps
Centralizing case management with SharePoint Lists and Power Apps delivers a secure, attorney-friendly hub that streamlines intake, standardizes data, automates deadlines, and strengthens compliance. By aligning the data model, workflows, and adoption plan, legal teams gain visibility, reduce risk, and improve client service. Start with a focused pilot, measure outcomes, and iterate. The result is a durable operational backbone that scales with your practice and the demands of modern legal work.
Want expert guidance on improving your legal practice operations with modern tools and strategies? Reach out to A.I. Solutions today for tailored support and training.
