Legalsense offers an integration with NetDocuments (netdocuments.com), a document management system used by law firms to manage legal files and other supporting documents.
With this integration, you can synchronize Legalsense Matters, Clients, and, optionally, Invoices with NetDocuments, allowing for a seamless workflow, improved efficiency, and administration.
This article explains how to integrate Legalsense with NetDocuments, facilitating streamlined document management and matter linking. It also explains how to use additional integration features that will enhance your workflow.
If you are setting up the integration for the first time, check out the “Enhanced Integration Features” chapter. This will help you seamlessly set up the basic integration and the additional features in a single step.
Tip! If you are unfamiliar with NetDocuments, please consider jumping to the Glossary at the bottom of the page first. |
Table of Contents
Set Up NetDocuments Integration
Before you begin, it is essential to have the following prerequisites fulfilled:
- Active account on Legalsense with Administrator privileges
- Active account on NetDocuments with Administrator privileges
Step 1
Contact Legalsense support to assist in enabling and configuring the NetDocuments integration. You will be requested to provide the following information to Legalsense Support.
1. Your NetDocuments repository ID
Your Repository ID can be found in the Admin Console by going to:
(1) “Admin” in the dropdown on the top right, under your name > (2) hamburger menu on the top left > (3) “Information and Settings”
Repository ID is listed as ID in the “General” section.
2. Your default Cabinet ID
To obtain this ID, copy the URL to the Cabinet of your choice. The Cabinet ID is at the end.
3. Profile attribute “Client” ID
The “Client” Profile attribute ID can be found in two places.
A list of all Profile attributes is available on the Cabinet administration page under “Configurable Document Attributes.” The IDs are listed in parentheses.
If you don’t have any Profile attributes configured, you can contact Legalsense support.
Or, you can navigate the Admin Console by going to:
(1) “Admin” in the dropdown on the top right, under your name > (2) hamburger menu on the top left > (3) “Profile attributes”
You will see a list of your custom Profile Attributes, including their IDs.
4. Profile attribute “Matter” ID
The “Matter” Profile attribute ID can be found in two places.
A list of all Profile attributes is available on the Cabinet administration page under “Configurable Document Attributes.” The IDs are listed in parentheses. For the visual explanation, please see the images above at the "Client" ID.
If you don’t have any Profile attributes configured, you can contact Legalsense support.
Alternatively, you can navigate the Admin Console by going to:
(1) “Admin” in the dropdown on the top right, under your name > (2) hamburger menu on the top left > (3) “Profile attributes”
You will see a list of your custom Profile Attributes, including their IDs.
5. Contact email address
The email address you wish to be used for correspondence regarding your integration. For example, we would contact you if NetDocuments credentials need to be updated.
Step 2
Once the feature has been enabled and the integration has been configured, you will be able to navigate to Settings > Integrations > NetDocuments and see that the configuration table is filled. You need to have Admin rights to access this page.
You must now authorize Legalsense to connect to your NetDocuments repository by clicking the “Get Authentication Code” button.
This will redirect to the consent dialog ”NetDocuments Login Authorization” (a NetDocuments URL).
Click “Allow” to connect Legalsense to your NetDocuments account.
How Does the Integration Work
The Legalsense integration with NetDocuments aims to synchronize and update Client and Matter information from Legalsense to NetDocuments.
Important! The synchronization works in one direction, from Legalsense to NetDocuments. |
If the integration is enabled and configured, you can find Clients and Matters created in Legalsense when performing searches in NetDocuments.
In NetDocuments, they call a Matter-based view of documents a “Workspace”. Essentially, a Legalsense matter corresponds to a workspace in NetDocuments.
You can see a link to the NetDocuments Workspace on the Matter page in Legalsense.
Synchronized data
Data that is synchronized by default includes:
-
Client Number - Client Key in NetDocuments
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Client Name - Client Description in NetDocuments
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Matter Number - Matter Key in NetDocuments
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Matter Name - Matter Description in NetDocuments
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Matter Type - Type in NetDocuments, which you can define in Legalsense (Settings > Lists > Matter Types), will also be synchronized with NetDocuments Matter-Workspaces - specifically, as a Profile attribute “Type“. This can be used to use different workspace templates within NetDocuments. For example, if you have a matter type 'Insolvency' and you also have this set as a workspace template in NetDocuments, this workspace template will be set in the workspace by creation. Note: This only happens when the workspace is created!
Synchronization process
Since the synchronization runs as a continuous background process, there will be minimal delays between editing a Matter or Client in Legalsense and finding it in NetDocuments.
You can observe this synchronization in Legalsense by navigating to 'Settings' - 'Integrations' - 'NetDocuments' - 'Queue'. Upon successful processing, items are moved to the “Synced” list.
Enhanced Integration Features
The integration between Legalsense and NetDocuments extends beyond essential data synchronization, offering additional features for enhanced functionality.
To use any of the features listed below, please Contact Legalsense support first.
Invoice synchronization
As an additional feature, invoices can be synced from Legalsense to NetDocuments. To enable this feature, please contact Legalsense Support.
Invoices that have been finalized within Legalsense will be synced to the corresponding Matter-Workspace in NetDocuments with support for custom document types or folder storage.
Note! An invoice related to multiple matters will be stored in each relevant Matter Workspace. |
Upon synchronization, it is possible to upload all invoices into a specific folder within a NetDocuments Cabinet. If you decide to do so, you will be asked to give Legalsense Support the name of this folder.
If you choose not to specify a folder, upon synchronization, the invoice's DocType attribute will be set to “Invoice“ to simplify document search.
Synchronized and delayed Matter closure
Archiving Clients or Matters in Legalsense can be synced with your NetDocuments environment - corresponding Clients or Matters will receive a “closed” status in NetDocuments. To enable this feature, please contact Legalsense Support.
It is also possible to delay the closing date in NetDocuments and the archiving date in Legalsense. This will create a time window during which updates in NetDocuments are still possible after archiving Clients or Matters in Legalsense.
If you wish to enable this, Legalsense Support will require you to specify the number of days for the delay.
Chinese Wall compliance
For firms with legal and notary practices, this integration supports the separation of access between practices, adhering to regulatory requirements. To enable this feature, please contact Legalsense support.
This separation can be achieved by configuring distinct cabinets for Lawyer and Notary matters, so updating the NetDocuments integration configuration with additional credentials is necessary.
Legalsense Support will request the following:
1. Lawyer Cabinet ID
To obtain this ID, go to the Cabinet that your lawyers use and copy the URL. The Cabinet ID is at the end.
For a more detailed explanation see step 1 point 2 in the article, above.
2. Lawyer "Matter" Profile attribute ID
Lawyer “Matter” Profile attribute ID can be found in two places.
A list of all Profile attributes is available on the Cabinet administration page under “Configurable Document Attributes.” The IDs are listed in parentheses.
If you don’t have any Profile attributes configured, you can contact Legalsense Support.
Or, you can navigate the Admin Console by going to:
(1) “Admin” in the dropdown on the top right, under your name > (2) hamburger menu on the top left > (3) “Profile attributes”
You will see a list of your custom Profile Attributes, including their IDs.
3. Notary Cabinet ID
To obtain this ID, copy the URL of the cabinet that notaries use. The Cabinet ID is at the end. Instructions are the same as for the Lawyer Cabinet ID.
4. Notary "Matter" Profile attribute ID
The Notary “Matter” Profile attribute ID can be found in two places.
A list of all Profile attributes is available on the Cabinet administration page under “Configurable Document Attributes.” The IDs are listed in parentheses. For a visual explanation, see the images above at Lawyer "Matter" ID.
If you don’t have any Profile attributes configured, you can contact Legalsense Support.
Alternatively, you can navigate the Admin Console by going to:
(1) “Admin” in the dropdown on the top right, under your name > (2) hamburger menu on the top left > (3) “Profile attributes”
You will see a list of your custom Profile Attributes, including their IDs.
Workspace access management
In Legalsense, managing access to a Matter is possible by selecting which users can access it. If this feature is enabled, you will be able to define “access kind” on a Matter, choosing between (1) giving access to everyone or (2) setting so that only explicitly chosen users can access the Matter.
This per-user access can also be mirrored into your NetDocuments environment.
Please contact Legalsense Support for assistance in enabling these features. When configuring the Matter-Workspace access management, you must make some choices. Please read the material below to make informed choices.
User matching
To ensure this functionality works correctly, it is essential that users in Legalsense also exist in NetDocuments. We ensure that the correct user can access the correct Matter by matching the email addresses. Therefore, these email addresses must be identical in both systems to ensure that the user in Legalsense is linked to the correct user in NetDocuments.
Important! Legalsense does not create users in NetDocuments and assumes that each Legalsense user with access to a matter also exists in NetDocuments. |
When Matters are synced, it is checked whether the users that exist in Legalsense also exist in NetDocuments. If a user is missing, we will notify the contact email address set in the configuration.
Access Control List
In NetDocuments, access to a workspace and its folders and documents is managed based on an 'Access Control List' (ACL) with the following access levels:
VESA | View, edit, share, and administer |
VES | View, edit, and share |
VE | View and edit |
VS | View and share |
V | View |
In the NetDocuments configuration within Legalsense, you have an additional setting called 'Mirror matter access'. If you wish to use this, you can enable it and then choose the 'Access Control List' level to be used for workspaces and their documents in NetDocuments.
To enforce the ACL, user groups are created in NetDocuments that define what users can access, what information they can access, and on what level.
In addition to applying the access level to your Matter-Workspaces and documents, you have to choose a workspace ACL management strategy:
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The “Replace” strategy means that the access rights specified within Legalsense will replace existing User Groups in NetDocuments.
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The “Add” strategy will preserve existing User Groups in NetDocuments and add an extra User Group that reflects the access rights defined in Legalsense.
For example,
You have enabled the Workspace access management feature in the NetDocuments integration configuration. Based on the selected users for a Matter in Legalsense, a User Group “Notaries“ is created in NetDocuments.
If the “Replace” strategy has been chosen, only members of the “Notaries“ will be granted access to the Matter-Workspace in NetDocuments.
Any other users who were given access to NetDocuments prior to synchronization and do not match the rules defined in Legalsense will be removed.
Similarly, if your ACL settings differ from the access level chosen in Legalsense, the existing settings in NetDocuments will be overridden.
With the "Replace" strategy, Legalsense becomes the primary source for defining user access to a Matter-Workspace and the documents in NetDocuments associated with a Legalsense matter.
If the “Add” strategy has been chosen, the existing user access rights and access level settings will be preserved, and the "Notaries" User Group will not override existing rules.
Custom integration
We offer customized integration options to meet your firm's unique needs, including, but not limited to, additional cabinets based on Matter type or other criteria and the automatic creation of general Matters for new Clients. Custom requests require a preliminary evaluation and may involve extra work, which will be discussed with a Legalsense consultant.
For more information or to discuss your specific integration needs, please contact Legalsense Support.
Appendix
NetDocuments glossary
NetDocuments terminology | Definition |
---|---|
Repository |
A top-level administrative entity that contains Cabinets. |
Cabinets |
A Cabinet contains documents that can be organized into folders. |
Workspaces |
A specific view of documents, in our case - A matter-based view, is called a Workspace. |
Profile attributes |
Every document has various attributes that describe or identify the document, such as Client, Matter, Author, etc. |
Custom profile attribute: |
The client Profile attribute is functionally essential for this integration. Client Key corresponds to Legalsense Client Number. |
Custom profile attribute: |
The matter Profile attribute is functionally essential for this integration. The Matter Key corresponds to the Legalsense Matter Number. |
Custom profile attribute: |
DocType Profile attribute describes document types that can be created in NetDocuments. For example, Invoice, Correspondence, etc. could be a DocType. |
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