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Creating and Managing Clients in LeanLaw

How to create, edit, search, and manage clients in LeanLaw — including client details, contact info, QuickBooks sync, and best practices for firm-wide consistency.

Every matter in LeanLaw belongs to a client. This guide covers how to create new clients, edit existing client records, and keep your client list organized across your firm.

📋 Who can do this: Any user with Operator, Principal, or Firm Manager access can create and edit clients. Timekeepers can view clients on their matters but cannot create or edit client records.

 

Creating a New Client

  1. Click Clients in the top navigation bar.
  2. Click the green New Client button in the upper right.
  3. Fill in the client fields (see reference table below).
  4. Click Save to create the client.

You'll be prompted to create a new Matter. Follow the steps in this article: Creating and Managing Matters in LeanLaw.


 

Field

Description / Notes

Company

The business or organization name, if applicable.

Client ID

Auto-generated by LeanLaw (e.g., 26-0010) depending on settings. Can be customized if needed.

Contact

Individual contact name, broken into Title, First, Middle, Last, and Suffix fields.

Display Name

Required. Combines the Client ID and a name field. This is how the client appears throughout LeanLaw and on invoices — use your firm's standard naming convention.

Email

Used for invoice delivery. Multiple emails can be entered separated by commas.

Email CC

Additional recipients to copy on invoices. Multiple emails can be entered separated by commas.

Phone / Cell / Fax / Other

Optional contact numbers. Appear in the client record only.

Invoicing Address

Billing address for the client. Includes street, city, state/province, ZIP/postal code, and country. Appears on invoices if your template includes it.

 

⚠️ Naming convention matters: LeanLaw syncs client names directly to QuickBooks Online. If a client already exists in QuickBooks Online, use the exact same spelling to prevent creating duplicate customer records. 

 

Editing an Existing Client

  1. Click Clients in the top navigation.
  2. Locate the client using the search bar or by scrolling the list.
  3. Click the client's name to open their profile.
  4. Click Edit to modify any client details.
  5. Click Save when done. Changes sync to QuickBooks Online automatically.

📋 Note: Changing a client's name in LeanLaw will update the name in QuickBooks Online. If you manage the client name from QuickBooks Online, changes may override LeanLaw on next sync. Maintain names in one system to avoid conflicts.

 

Searching and Filtering Clients

Use the search bar at the top of the Clients tab to find clients by name. The client list supports:

  • Name search (partial matches supported)
  • Filtering by active vs. archived status
  • Sorting by client name or date created

Best Practices

  • Decide on a firm-wide naming convention before creating clients — renaming later affects QuickBooks Online sync.
  • Add a contact email for every client to enable invoice email delivery.
  • Use the Notes field for internal context that shouldn't appear on invoices.
  • Periodically review the client list and archive inactive clients to keep the list manageable.