Creating and Closing a Case
I'm starting a new engagement — what actually happens when I create a case, and how do I mark one as done?
Only Case Name Is Required
Cases → New Case opens a single page — everything on it saves at once, there's no multi-step wizard. Case Name is the only required field. Case Number, Court/Jurisdiction, Engagement Type (Plaintiff, Defense, or Neutral), and Engagement Date are all optional and can be filled in later from the edit page.
A PHI warning sits above the form as a reminder: use case numbers and party names only — never patient names or protected health information. Status defaults to Active on a new case; the other options are Pending and Closed.
Rates Inherit From Your Defaults
The Billing Rates for This Case section pre-fills from the per-activity default rates set in Settings → Rates — you're not starting from zero on every case. If you've already set defaults, this section starts collapsed with a Customize rates for this case → link; expand it to override any rate just for this engagement, or leave it alone to bill at your standard rates. You can also add a brand-new activity type inline without leaving the form.
Below that, optional sections let you flag the case as split-billed among multiple payers by default, record a payment you've already received (as an advance or a retainer — see Recording Payments & Case Credit for the difference), and add retaining and opposing attorneys.
Closing a Case Is Just a Status Change
There's no dedicated “close this case” button, and no delete option for a real case — status is the only lifecycle control. Change it either on the edit form, or faster: click the colored status pill next to the case name on the case's own detail page.
Closing a case doesn't hide it, lock it, or block new time entries against it — Cases still shows closed cases by default unless you filter the list to a specific status, and every action on the case detail page (Log Time, Generate Invoice, Add Expense) keeps working exactly as before. The one real effect: the case dropdown on the direct Log Time page (reached from the sidebar or Time Log) only lists active cases, so a closed case won't appear there. If you instead click Log Time from the closed case's own detail page, the case is already selected behind the scenes even though the dropdown shows a blank placeholder — submitting still logs against the right case.