Case kanban: see your firm’s stages and bottlenecks on one screen

A list of 400 cases doesn't answer the question every manager asks each week: where are things stuck? A kanban board answers in seconds.

What kanban means in legal practice

It's a board divided into columns that represent stages, and each case is a card that moves from one column to the next. An example workflow for litigation:

1. Initial analysis and documents;
2. Complaint being drafted;
3. Filed / awaiting service;
4. Discovery (answer, reply, evidence);
5. Hearing;
6. Judgment / appeal;
7. Enforcement;
8. Closed.

What the board reveals

• Bottlenecks: an overcrowded column shows where work is stalled;
• Workload per lawyer: filtering by owner shows who is overloaded;
• Priorities: cards with upcoming deadlines or high value stand out.

Good practices

• Keep few columns: too many stages make the board unreadable;
• Update the card as soon as the stage changes;
• Use filters by practice area, client, court and owner;
• Review the board in a short weekly meeting.

Kanban and funnel are not the same

The case kanban shows the legal work; the sales funnel shows prospective clients. Mixing them confuses the team — ideally you have both, each in its place.

How IntegraLegal solves this

IntegraLegal has a visual case kanban with case number, type of action, court, district, stage and status, and you drag cards between stages. The CRM has its own separate sales funnel. Reports show the distribution by stage and by owner, without spreadsheets.

See your whole caseload on one screen: try it free for 7 days.

Read also

• Case workflow: standardize stages and never skip a step
• 8 metrics every law firm should track
• The partner’s weekly routine: 5 reports worth more than meetings

Notice: this content is for information only. It does not replace a lawyer's analysis of the specific case. Always check the legislation, case law and rules in force on the date of your consultation.