Using Excel Data Models to Track Litigation Metrics

For law firms and legal departments, timely and accurate litigation metrics drive better strategy, budgeting, and client reporting. Microsoft 365 puts a powerful analytics stack at your fingertips—no separate BI platform required. In this practical guide, you’ll learn how to build an Excel Data Model (Power Query + Power Pivot) that consolidates case data from SharePoint, calculates KPIs with DAX, and refreshes on a schedule using Power Automate. The result: a credible, repeatable metrics dashboard your attorneys actually use.

Table of Contents

• Why Excel Data Models Fit Litigation Operations
• Plan Your Metrics and Data Sources
• Hands-On Tutorial: Build a Litigation Metrics Data Model in Excel
• Automate Updates with Power Automate and Office Scripts
• Governance, Security, and Data Quality
• Advanced Tips for Legal Analytics
• Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
• Conclusion and Next Steps

Why Excel Data Models Fit Litigation Operations

Excel’s Data Model combines Power Query (data ingestion/cleanup) and Power Pivot (relationships, measures) to create a robust analytical layer. For legal teams, it offers the sweet spot between accessibility, governance, and analytical power—especially when your data lives in SharePoint or OneDrive.

Data Sources (SharePoint lists: Cases, Hearings, Time/Billing)
             │
             ▼
      Excel Power Query
     (clean + standardize)
             │
             ▼
      Excel Data Model
   (relationships + DAX)
             │
             ▼
   PivotTables + Slicers
   (attorney self-service)
             │
             ▼
  Share via Teams/SharePoint
  + automated refresh alerts
  

Plan Your Metrics and Data Sources

A strong model starts with clear definitions and data owners. Align stakeholders (litigation leads, finance, practice operations) and document what “good” looks like for each metric.

Core litigation metrics to consider

• Active caseload by matter type, jurisdiction, and attorney
• Cycle time: days from filing to disposition
• Hearing/appearance volume and outcomes
• Win rate: plaintiff/defense outcomes
• Budget-to-actual fees by phase
• Aging matters and upcoming deadlines

Best practice: Lock definitions before building. Document metric formulas, date logic (e.g., business days vs. calendar days), and fields of record. Store this in a SharePoint page alongside your dashboard for transparency.

Hands-On Tutorial: Build a Litigation Metrics Data Model in Excel

In this tutorial, you’ll connect SharePoint lists to Excel, model relationships, create DAX measures for litigation KPIs, and build a usable dashboard with PivotTables and slicers.

Prerequisites

• Microsoft 365 with Excel for desktop and Excel for the web
• SharePoint site with lists: Cases, Hearings, TimeBilling, Budgets (sample schema below)
• Permissions to read these lists and a Document Library for storing the workbook

Sample SharePoint list fields

• Cases: CaseID (text), MatterName, MatterType, Client, LeadAttorney, FilingDate, DispositionDate, Outcome, Status
• Hearings: HearingID, CaseID, HearingDate, Result
• TimeBilling: TimeEntryID, CaseID, WorkDate, Hours, Fees
• Budgets: CaseID, BudgetAmount

Step 1: Connect Excel to SharePoint with Power Query

1. Open Excel (desktop). Go to Data > Get Data > From Online Services > From SharePoint Online List.
2. Enter the SharePoint site URL (not the list URL). Click OK and authenticate if prompted.
3. Select the “Cases” list. Click Transform Data to open Power Query.
4. Clean columns:
   • Rename columns for consistency (e.g., CaseID exactly matches across lists).
   • Ensure date columns are Date type; fees are Decimal Number; hours are Decimal Number.
   • Filter out test or closed archive items if they don’t belong in reporting.
5. Click Close & Load To… and choose “Only Create Connection” and check “Add this data to the Data Model.”
6. Repeat for Hearings, TimeBilling, and Budgets lists, ensuring each loads into the Data Model.

Step 2: Define relationships in the Data Model

1. Go to Data > Manage Data Model (Power Pivot window opens).
2. Switch to Diagram View. Drag Cases[CaseID] to Hearings[CaseID], TimeBilling[CaseID], and Budgets[CaseID].
3. Confirm one-to-many relationships (Cases = one; Hearings/TimeBilling = many).

Step 3: Create DAX measures for KPIs

In Power Pivot, create measures to standardize your calculations:

• Open Cases table, then Home > Calculations > New Measure.

Examples you can adapt:

• Active Cases: Active Cases := COUNTROWS(FILTER(Cases, Cases[Status] = "Open"))
• Average Cycle Time (days): Avg Cycle Days := AVERAGEX(FILTER(Cases, NOT(ISBLANK(Cases[DispositionDate]))), DATEDIFF(Cases[FilingDate], Cases[DispositionDate], DAY))
• Win Rate (define favorable outcomes for your practice): Win Rate := DIVIDE(CALCULATE(COUNTROWS(Cases), Cases[Outcome] IN {"Won","Settled Favorably"}), CALCULATE(COUNTROWS(Cases), NOT(ISBLANK(Cases[Outcome]))))
• Total Fees: Total Fees := SUM(TimeBilling[Fees])
• Budget Variance %: Budget Var % := DIVIDE([Total Fees] - SUM(Budgets[BudgetAmount]), SUM(Budgets[BudgetAmount]))

Step 4: Build PivotTables and slicers

1. Return to Excel. Insert > PivotTable > From Data Model.
2. Create a “Caseload Overview” PivotTable:
   • Rows: MatterType, LeadAttorney
   • Values: Active Cases, Avg Cycle Days, Win Rate
3. Insert slicers for Client, Status, and MatterType (Insert > Slicer).
4. Add a timeline for FilingDate (Insert > Timeline) for period analysis.
5. Format values (percentages and whole numbers) and add PivotTable Styles for readability.

Step 5: Publish to SharePoint and share in Teams

1. Save the workbook in a secure SharePoint Document Library (e.g., a Practice Operations site).
2. In Teams, add a tab in your Litigation channel: Choose “Document Library” or “SharePoint” and link the workbook.
3. Set channel permissions and SharePoint access to ensure only authorized attorneys/staff can view.

Tip: Keep your workbook lean. Don’t import unnecessary columns, and avoid duplicative measures. Use a “Definitions” sheet to explain KPIs so attorneys can trust and interpret results quickly.

Automate Updates with Power Automate and Office Scripts

Refreshing the Data Model ensures attorneys always see current KPIs. You can automate this using a scheduled Power Automate flow that runs an Office Script to refresh data connections in a workbook stored in SharePoint.

What you’ll build

• A nightly scheduled flow that refreshes your Excel Data Model
• A Teams notification to the Litigation channel with a link to the updated dashboard

Prerequisites

• Workbook stored in SharePoint or OneDrive for Business
• Excel for the web to record an Office Script
• Permissions to create flows in Power Automate

Part A: Create the Office Script (Excel for the web)

1. Open the workbook in Excel for the web.
2. Automate tab > New Script. Replace contents with a simple refresh routine:
   • Use a script that refreshes all data connections and recalculates.
3. Save as “RefreshDataModel”.

Example script logic (for reference when creating the script):

• Refresh all connections: workbook.refreshAllDataConnections();
• Recalculate workbook: workbook.getApplication().calculate();

Part B: Build the scheduled flow (Power Automate)

1. In Power Automate, select Create > Scheduled cloud flow. Set it to run nightly (e.g., 2:00 AM).
2. Add a step: Excel Online (Business) > Run script.
   • Location: SharePoint Site
   • Document Library: Your library
   • File: Browse to the workbook
   • Script: RefreshDataModel
3. Add a Teams action: Post a message in a chat or channel.
   • Team: Litigation
   • Channel: Metrics
   • Message: “The Litigation Metrics Dashboard has been refreshed. View: [SharePoint link]”
4. Save and test. Verify that the workbook refreshes and the message posts successfully.

Note: If your model depends on SharePoint list updates, ensure your lists are updated before the refresh time (e.g., enforce list rules or reminders for paralegals to complete updates by 6 PM).

Governance, Security, and Data Quality

Legal data requires careful governance. Use Microsoft 365’s built-in controls to prevent leakage and maintain reliability.

Security and access

• Use SharePoint permissions: Break inheritance on the dashboard library if needed.
• Leverage sensitivity labels to apply encryption and restrict external sharing.
• Store client/matter identifiers rather than full PII where possible.

Data quality

• Validate required fields in SharePoint lists (e.g., FilingDate, Outcome).
• Standardize choice fields (Outcomes, MatterType) to prevent “near duplicates.”
• Implement list rules or Power Automate reminders for stale records.

Change control

• Version your workbook and use a change log in a SharePoint page.
• Announce metric definition changes in Teams with effective dates.

Advanced Tips for Legal Analytics

• Calendar Table: Add a dedicated calendar table (via Power Query) for robust time intelligence (YTD, QTD, rolling 90 days) with relationships to FilingDate and DispositionDate.
• What-if Analysis: Use Data > What-If Analysis to model fee rate changes or expected settlement probabilities.
• Drill-through Sheets: Pair high-level KPIs with a detail sheet that uses the same slicers to show matter-level rows for auditability.
• Alerts: Create Teams alerts when specific thresholds are exceeded (e.g., Budget Var % > 20%)—trigger via Power Automate on SharePoint list changes.
• Power BI Bridge: When you outgrow Excel, publish the same SharePoint lists to Power BI for cross-practice dashboards and mobile access while keeping Excel as an analyst sandbox.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

• Mixing data types: Dates stored as text or inconsistent CaseID formats break relationships. Normalize in Power Query.
• Overcomplicated measures: Keep DAX readable. Start simple, validate with sample cases, then iterate.
• Manual refresh dependency: Implement a scheduled refresh flow early to reduce stale data and trust gaps.
• Too many slicers: Focus on the filters attorneys care about (Client, MatterType, Attorney). Excessive slicers cause confusion.
• Security oversights: Don’t rely on workbook tabs for access control. Use SharePoint permissions and sensitivity labels.

Conclusion and Next Steps

Excel Data Models, backed by SharePoint and Power Automate, give legal teams a governed, approachable way to track litigation KPIs—from caseload and cycle time to budget variance and win rate. By standardizing definitions, automating refresh, and sharing securely in Teams, you’ll deliver metrics attorneys trust and use. Start small with core lists and a handful of measures, validate with stakeholders, and iterate toward a firm-wide litigation analytics practice.

Want expert guidance on bringing Microsoft 365 automation into your firm’s legal workflows? Reach out to A.I. Solutions today for tailored support and training.