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How to Change the Responsible Attorney on a Matter

The Responsible Attorney field in LeanLaw identifies the primary attorney accountable for a matter's client relationship and billing. This article explains how to update that assignment, what to expect when the change is made, and how it affects reporting and historical records.

 

Overview

The Responsible Attorney is the primary attorney assigned to a matter. This person is accountable for the client relationship, matter management, and billing. LeanLaw uses the Responsible Attorney field to organize matters, filter views, and populate billing reports. You can update this assignment at any time from the Matter detail page.

When to Change the Responsible Attorney

You may need to update the Responsible Attorney when:

  • An attorney leaves the firm or changes roles
  • A matter is reassigned to a different attorney
  • The original assignment was made in error
  • Responsibility for a client relationship has transferred

What You'll Need

  • An active LeanLaw account
  • Edit access to the matter you want to update
  • The name of the attorney you want to assign (they must be an active timekeeper in LeanLaw)

Steps to Change the Responsible Attorney

  1. Go to the Matters list. From the top navigation bar in LeanLaw, click Matters. This opens your full list of active matters.

  2. Find and open the matter. Use the Search Matters bar to search by matter name, client name, or matter ID. Click the matter name to open the matter detail page.

  3. Open the Matter Billing and Rates panel. Inside the matter, navigate to the Billing and Rates tab. This is where attorney assignments and other matter-level rate and user configurations are managed.

  4. Locate the new Responsible Attorney. Locate the attorney you wish to make the new Responsible Attorney and select the triple dot menu on the right side

  5. Select Make Responsible. From the menu, click Make Responsible to assign as the new Responsible Attorney.

  6. Save your changes. Click Save Changes to confirm the change. If you need to update ALL matters for this client, click the ^ option and select Save and apply these settings to all matters for this client.

The Responsible Attorney field will update immediately, and the change will be reflected across the matter view, billing, and reports.

Important Notes

Permissions are required. You must have edit access to the matter to change attorney assignments. If the Responsible field is grayed out or not editable, contact your LeanLaw firm administrator to review your permissions.

Reports update immediately. Once saved, the Matters list, billing reports, and any dashboards filtered by Responsible Attorney will reflect the updated assignment right away.

This is different from Originating Attorney. The Responsible Attorney manages the matter day-to-day. The Originating Attorney is the attorney credited with bringing in the client relationship. These are separate fields and can be updated independently.