User roles are crucial in ensuring that each team member has the appropriate level of access to perform their tasks efficiently. The system has several default roles.
Default User Roles
Although Lawcus allows you to create and assign user roles with varying permissions that fit into your firm culture and operations, a few are made on your account by default and you can't edit default roles.
Admin: The Admin is the account owner or administrator with the highest access and privilege level within Lawcus. This role comprehensively controls the entire system, including adding and managing user roles, handling payments, creating custom fields, and more. The Admin has complete authority over the firm's operations.
Member: The Member role is typically assigned to legal team members. Unlike the Admin role, the Member role allows for fine-grained control over the level of access granted to individual users. Members can be restricted from accessing specific areas within Lawcus, tailoring their permissions based on their responsibilities and requirements.
Client: Clients are granted limited access to Lawcus and can only interact with tasks, documents, and messages related to their assigned matters. This restricted access ensures that clients can stay informed about case progress and communicate with the legal team effectively.
Co-counsel: The co-counsel access is designed to provide some level of access to another counsel who is also representing the client on that particular matter and may not be from the same law firm. The co-counsel has limited access to see tasks and events and access files to fulfill the requirements generated in the matter regarding responsibility sharing and work management.
It's important to note that any documents uploaded or messages sent by client users via the Client Portal will be visible to everyone added to the respective matter.
Custom User Roles and Steps to Create Them
Custom roles allow you to define unique sets of permissions for users, providing even greater control over access levels and actions within the platform. Here are the steps to create a user role in Lawcus.
Click on your
Avatar Iconand selectManage your organization.Select
Roles and Permissionsfrom the menu on the left.Click
+ New Roleand enter theRole Name.Define the permissions by
Checkingthe required permissions from thePermissions listthat the users with this role will have.
If you wish to restrict the user access by IP, click on
Restrict access by IPto enter the address.Finally, click on
Create.
Overview of User Permissions
Each user in Lawcus is assigned a specific role, which comes with a set of permissions that determine the user's level of access to the system's features. As an admin or owner, you can create and assign users’ roles and edit permissions as needed. It helps you create roles with varying permission combinations to accommodate other users like Attorneys, Paralegals, Legal Assistants, Finance, Operation & Project Management, etc.
List of Permissions and Their Meanings
Currently, 18 feature permissions can be granted to each user role. Here's a list of what each permission entails:
Accounting: Permits access to accounting operations, such as managing payments, money requests, transfers, withdrawals, and deposits to and from trust and bank accounts.
Invoicing: Enables access to prepare invoices and add client payments.
Reports: Grants access to comprehensive data on firm performance, account receivables, account ledger, revenue, and work activities.
CRM-Reports: Allows access to specialized reports, such as lead conversion rate, unconverted prospects and reasons, and other CRM-related data.
Contacts: Authorizes access to view and update the client database.
Leads: Ability to handle client prospects, including monitoring lead sources, lead pipeline value evaluation, and general management of leads.
Matters: This enables the capability to create new matters and handle all matter-related tasks, including logging update notes, adding custom fields, regulating matter numbering, and conducting conflict searches.
Workflows: Gives access to build and maintain workflows to generate triggers for automating low-level administrative chores.
Intake Forms: Capability to design and modify intake forms and questionnaires to obtain information from prospects.
Document Templates: Ability to create documents based on previously-saved templates and create other document templates.
Team Activities: Grants access to comprehensive data on each team member's time, expenses, and flat fee entries.
Personal Activities: Enables team members to have extensive access to their individual time entries, expenses, and flat fees.
Tasks: Permits a team member to create and assign tasks to others.
Interactions: Authorization to monitor and record client interactions, including phone logs, email conversations, and client portal communications.
Users Management: Ability to manage users, including adding new members, defining and assigning roles, and modifying role permissions.
Email Templates: Permit access to manage Email Templates.
eSign Templates: Permit management of eSign Templates.
Team Activities: Authorization to control Team Activities.
Defining Permissions for User Roles
In Lawcus, you can define or edit permissions for existing user roles to customize access and control within your organization. Here are the steps;
Click on your
Avatar Iconand selectManage your Organizationfrom the available menu.Click on
Roles and Permissionsin the side menu. This will bring up a list of all existing user roles in your organization.To define permissions for a specific role,
tick the boxes before the featuresyou want to grant access to that role. These boxes represent the various functionalities within Lawcus, and ticking them will allow users with the selected role to access those features.If you have previously defined permissions for user roles and want to make changes, check or uncheck the boxes next to the features you wish to allow or restrict access to.
Note: As mentioned above, the permissions for Admin and Member roles are non-adjustable. This means that certain boxes (representing core functionalities) checked under these roles cannot be unticked, ensuring that they have the necessary access required to manage and operate the organization effectively. However, you can edit the permissions of other roles, such as custom roles you have created, according to your preferences.