Matter Task List

I recently joined a litigation team with a lot of moving parts.

My role: primary client contact + project manager.

First thing I did? Meet with the team and figure out what everyone was working on.

Next? Confirm + docket pending deadlines.

And then? Put it all in the matter task list.

Below, you'll see a sample matter task list. I use these on almost every file.

It helps the team keep track of all the moving parts and deadlines, as well as what has been completed (see, those items aren't deleted, they're moved to the "completed tasks" section--in case you need to revisit them, but also because it feels good to see your work to date).

I also use this as an agenda to guide team meetings, or, for those meetings that can be emails, as a reminder in weekly or regular team updates.

Finally: this ensures delegation. It helps the team think through who can do what, who is doing what, and see it all written out.

It is a simple form--and eventually I'll experiment with something like Microsoft's Planner tool, but, until then, this works.

How do you track the moving parts on your active matters?

❤️✌️🔥