What is Docketing?

A legal docket covers all information associated with a legal matter. This includes submitted documents, court deadlines, relevant events, filed evidence, and motions. Docketing refers to the process of calendaring this information and making sure that all time-sensitive information is clearly listed for relevant parties to be aware of. Successful docketing is about managing the calendar of deadlines associated with a docket.

Docketing via ClarraDocs

In Clarra, docketing extends across multiple sections of the platform to facilitate a reliable and cohesive workflow. When creating a new Matter, you assign “Docketing Users” who are the Users responsible for calendaring information relevant to the Matter. When adding a ClarraDocs Item, you can check the “Send to Docketing” box to send an immediate message to Docketing Users notifying them of the upload. You can also include “Docketing Notes” for the Docketing Users that describe any additional calendaring information or relevant details for them to act on.

Docketing Users receive these instantaneous notifications either within the Clarra app or via email, depending on their selected preferences. After calendaring the Item or performing any other task noted in the uploaded file or within the Docketing Notes, the user checks the “Docketing Complete” box to finalize the docketing process for the Item. This closed-loop calendaring system ensures that nothing falls through the cracks, clearly defining the responsibilities of each User and providing a means for Docketing Users to register the completion of their obligations.

Each of these steps in the process is tracked throughout Clarra, and Users can view the history of any ClarraDocs Item with the “Docketing Audit Trail Report”, accessible in the Reports section. This report indicates the date the ClarraDocs Item was sent to docketing, the User who sent it, the date docketing was completed, and the Docketing User who marked it as “complete”. This level of transparency and accountability is vital in keeping often crowded calendars up-to-date.

Additional Docketing Features

A variety of other features in Clarra further streamline the docketing process. With CalendarRules enabled, changes to Trigger Events automatically update related deadlines. If one court date changes and affects subsequent court deadlines, CalendarRules automatically makes the ensuing changes in accordance with the court rules of the selected jurisdiction. The updated dates and deadlines appear across Clarra.

You can sync your Clarra Calendar with your Google or Microsoft Outlook Calendar so that any updates made in Clarra reflect in your integrated external calendar as well. Learn how to sync Clarra with your Google or Outlook Calendar in our article here.

The ability to view all date-based information associated with a Matter on one page is another hallmark of Clarra. By selecting a Matter's Events tab, you can see all appointments, deadlines, tasks, and associated reminders for the Matter, consolidating time-sensitive information and helping you prioritize your workflow. The filters available on the Calendar View on the Events page are equally impactful, allowing you to filter by Matter, date range, Event Type, and more.

When creating a new Event, you can set multiple reminders to ensure you’re always aware of upcoming tasks and deadlines. When transitioning responsibilities from one User to another, the ability to reassign and copy Matters and Events between Users guarantees nothing gets left behind. All of these features work together to create a safety net for the docketing process.

Customizing the Docketing Feature for Other Industries

For companies that don’t rely on legal docketing, the docketing feature can easily be configured to optimize their workflows. At its core, docketing in Clarra is an instant notification system that alerts designated Users about important information.

You can rename “Docketing” to better match how your company uses the feature. Some companies may refer to it as “Calendaring” if they primarily use it to calendar Events, while others may call it “Scheduling.”

For example, if you’ve changed Docketing to Calendaring, you can instruct Calendaring Users to perform specific actions related to the ClarraDocs Item. Consider the following scenarios:

• You upload a contract received from a Client as a new ClarraDocs Item. In the Calendaring Notes, you tell the Calendaring User to calendar the key dates and deal terms of the contract.
• You upload a document that will be presented at an upcoming meeting. In the Calendaring Notes, you tell the Calendaring User to print 15 copies of the document to be distributed at the meeting.

To rename “Docketing” across Clarra:

• Click on your Profile Icon and select “Properties” in the dropdown menu
• Go to the “Matters” tab
• Scroll to or search for “Docketing”
• Select the three dots on the right and click “Rename”
• Enter the new name, such as “Calendaring”, in “Change To”
• Press “Save” to finalize the change