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Controlling Matter Access and Restrictions in LeanLaw

How to control who can see and work on matters in LeanLaw — including matter-level user access, restricted matters, and best practices for protecting sensitive client data.

LeanLaw lets you control which team members can view and work on specific matters. This is important for conflict-sensitive matters, client confidentiality requirements, and limiting billing access to assigned timekeepers.

 

How Matter Access Works

Matter access in LeanLaw is determined by two settings:

Access Setting

How It Works

Include on all matters (user setting)

When enabled on a user's profile, that user can see and work on every matter in the firm — regardless of individual matter assignments. Recommended only for Principals, Operators, and Accountants.

Matter-level user assignment

Users NOT set to 'Include on all matters' can only see matters they are explicitly assigned to. This is the default for Timekeeper-role users.

 

💡 Best practice: Use 'Include on all matters' for firm-wide roles (Principal, Operator, Accountant). Assign Timekeepers to matters individually to limit their view to active, relevant matters only.

 

Assigning a User to a Specific Matter

  1. Open the matter from the Matters tab.
  2. Navigate to the Users or Team tab within the matter.
  3. Click Add User to open the user assignment panel.
  4. Search for and select the user to add.
  5. Save the assignment. The user will now see this matter in their matter list.

 

Removing a User from a Matter

  1. Open the matter and navigate to the Users/Team tab.
  2. Find the user you want to remove.
  3. Click the remove or unassign option next to their name.
  4. Save the change.

📋 Note: Removing a user from a matter does not delete their historical time entries or expenses. Past work is preserved — the user simply loses future access to the matter.

 

Restricted Matters

For matters requiring stricter confidentiality — such as matters involving firm employees, high-profile clients, or ethically screened matters — LeanLaw supports restricting matter visibility. A restricted matter is only visible to users who have been explicitly assigned to it.

In the Matter's Billing and Rates tab, enable the "Restrict access to these users" option and Save Changes.