In LexOS, Departments are more than just organizational labels—they are the architectural walls that secure your firm's data. A lawyer assigned to the Litigation department cannot view files in Corporate Mergers unless explicitly granted a Temporary Access Key by a Partner.
Furthermore, every legal discipline requires different intake data. A real estate transaction requires different data points than a criminal defense trial. LexOS allows you to build custom, dynamic case intake forms for every single department.
Here is how to set up your firm's operational structure.
Step 1: Enter the Department Builder
As a SAN / Principal Partner or Practice Manager, navigate to the main sidebar on the left side of your dashboard. Locate the Case Management group and click on Departments & Case Types.
This data table will display all active departments in your firm's Vault. To create a new one, click the New Department button at the top right of the table.
Step 2: Define Department Details
The creation portal is split into two primary sections. In the first section, Department Details, you will establish the department's core identity.
- Name: Enter the official title of the practice area (e.g., Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Intellectual Property, Corporate Finance).
- Slug: As you type the name, LexOS will automatically generate a URL-safe "slug" (e.g., litigation-dispute-resolution). This is used by the system's backend routing and should generally be left exactly as auto-generated.
Step 3: The Case Form Builder (Custom Intake Fields)
This is where you define the mandatory data requirements for any case opened within this department. Instead of a rigid, one-size-fits-all form, LexOS lets you dictate exactly what your lawyers must input when taking on a new matter.
Under the Case Form Builder section, click Add New Field to begin building your department's custom intake requirements.
For each custom data point, you must define:
- Label: What is the specific question or data point? (e.g., Court Jurisdiction, Property Value, Patent Registration Number, Date of Incident).
- Type: Select the data format from the dropdown menu to ensure accurate data entry. Available options include:
- Text: Standard short-form answers.
- Long Text: Paragraphs or extensive details (e.g., Incident Description).
- Date: Triggers a calendar picker for strict date tracking.
- Number: Restricts input to numerical digits.
- Money: Automatically formats the input as NGN (Naira) currency for financial values.
- Required Toggle: Flip this switch to the "On" position if this field is mandatory. A lawyer will not be able to save the case file until this specific data is provided.
You can add as many custom fields as the department requires.
Step 4: Finalize and Deploy
Once your custom form schema is complete, click Create at the bottom of the page.
The department is immediately deployed. It will now appear as an option when provisioning new staff, and the custom intake fields will automatically generate whenever a lawyer in this department clicks "Open New Case."
Editing Existing Departments
Law firm requirements evolve. If you ever need to add a new mandatory field to an existing department's intake form, simply return to the Departments & Case Types directory, click the Edit icon next to the department name, and add the new field to the Case Form Builder.