Legal User Guide for Microsoft Dynamics 365

Staff Portal

The Staff Portal is a secure internal web portal that allows legal staff to access and manage key legal work items without needing to work directly inside Microsoft Dynamics 365 for every task.

The portal provides a simplified staff-facing interface for common operational activities such as viewing matters, recording costs and expenses, creating billing events, managing tasks, tracking deadlines, and reviewing practice activity from a central dashboard.

The Staff Portal is connected to the D365 Legal Solution and uses Dynamics 365/Dataverse as the central system of record. This means records created or updated through the Staff Portal, such as billing events, expenses, tasks, and deadlines, are reflected in the underlying Dynamics 365 environment.

Signing In to the Staff Portal

Staff users can access the portal using the portal URL provided by the organisation.

To sign in:

1. Open the Staff Portal URL.

2. Click Sign in with Microsoft.

3. Authenticate using the staff member’s Microsoft work account.

4. After successful login, the user is directed to the Staff Dashboard.

Staff access is managed by the organisation’s administrator. If a staff member cannot sign in, they should contact the system administrator to confirm that their user account has been provisioned correctly.

Staff Portal Navigation

The Staff Portal includes a top navigation bar that provides access to the main portal areas.

The main navigation options are:

The navigation is designed to allow staff users to move quickly between matter management, billing, costs, and task-related activities.

Dashboard

The Dashboard provides a live overview of practice activity and key operational metrics.

It is the first page displayed after signing in and gives staff users a quick summary of current work, including active matters, expenses, billing events, open tasks, deadlines, and recent activity.

KPI Cards

At the top of the dashboard, summary cards display key practice metrics.

These cards provide a quick at-a-glance view of current workload and activity.

Time Period Selector

The dashboard includes a Time Period Selector, such as 3m, 6m, and 12m.

This selector changes the data range used in the dashboard charts, allowing staff to review activity over different time periods.

Charts

The dashboard includes visual charts to help staff understand trends and distribution across costs and billing activity.

Recent Activity

The Recent Activity section displays a chronological feed of recent updates.

This may include:

Each activity entry shows the activity type, a short description, and a timestamp.

Deadlines and Tasks on the Dashboard

The dashboard also includes panels for Upcoming Deadlines and Assigned Tasks.

These panels allow staff to quickly review important matter-related work without needing to open each matter individually.

Filtering Deadlines and Tasks

Both panels include time filter options.

Available filters may include:

A Filter by Matter dropdown may also be available. This allows staff to filter both deadlines and tasks to a specific matter.

Creating a Deadline from the Dashboard

Staff can create a new deadline directly from the dashboard.

To create a deadline:

1. Go to the Upcoming Deadlines panel.

2. Click the + button.

3. Complete the deadline form.

4. Click Create Deadline.

The deadline form includes:

Once saved, the deadline appears in the list.

Creating a Task from the Dashboard

Staff can also create a new task directly from the dashboard.

To create a task:

1. Go to the Assigned Tasks panel.

2. Click the + button.

3. Complete the task form.

4. Click Create Task.

The task form includes:

Tasks can be assigned to any available staff member, not only the current user.

Marking a Task Complete from the Dashboard

To complete a task from the dashboard:

1. Locate the task in the Assigned Tasks panel.

2. Click the checkbox beside the task.

3. Confirm the action in the confirmation dialog.

4. Click Mark Complete.

Once completed, the task is removed from the open task list.

Matters

The Matters page displays the list of legal matters available to the staff user. This area allows staff to browse, filter, and open matters for detailed review.

Browsing Matters

Matters are displayed in a table. On smaller screens, the table may switch to a card-based layout.

The matter list includes:

Staff can click a row to open the selected matter.

• Column resizing — Hover over a column border and drag to adjust its width.

• Pagination — Use the navigation controls at the bottom to move between pages (10 items per page by default).

• Mobile — On smaller screens the table switches to a card-based layout.

Filtering Matters

The Matters page includes filter controls to help staff find specific records.

Available filters may include:

Viewing a Matter

Clicking a matter opens the Matter Detail page. The detail page includes a header showing key matter information, such as:

The page may also display information cards for:

A matter description section is also displayed, where available.

Matter Detail Tabs

The Matter Detail page includes tabs that allow staff to manage records linked to the selected matter.

The Matter Detail page may also include quick action buttons such as Create Cost and Create Billing Event. When used from a matter, these actions pre-fill the selected matter in the relevant form.

Costs and Expenses

The Costs area allows staff to view, filter, create, and manage expense records.

Expenses are typically linked to matters and may include costs such as disbursements, filing fees, travel, or other matter-related expenses.

Browsing Costs

The Costs list includes:

A summary bar may appear at the top of the page showing total expenses, current page position, and the number of active filters.

Filtering and Sorting Costs

The Costs page includes filter and sort controls.

Available options may include:

Creating a Cost

To create a cost or expense:

1. Go to Costs, or open a matter and go to the Costs tab.

2. Click Create Expense.

3. Complete the form.

4. Click Save.

The expense form may include:

Required fields are validated when saving. Any validation errors are highlighted on the form.

Viewing a Cost

To view a cost, click the relevant row from the Costs list.

The Cost Detail page shows the expense information in read-only format.

Billing Events

The Billing area allows staff to record and manage billable time against matters.

Billing events are used to capture work performed, billable hours, hourly rates, and billing status.

Browsing Billing Events

The Billing Events list includes:

Billing Event Statuses

Billing event status badges help staff understand the billing lifecycle.

Filtering Billing Events

The Billing page includes filter controls to help staff find billing records.

Available filters may include:

Creating a Billing Event

To create a Billing Event:

1. Go to Billing, or open a matter and go to the Billing Events tab.

2. Click Create Billing Event.

3. Complete the form.

4. Click Save.

The billing event form may include:

AI Narrative for Billing Events

The billing event form includes an AI Narrative tool for the work description field.

This feature helps staff convert brief work notes into a more professional billing narrative.

To use AI Narrative:

1. Click AI Narrative above the description field.

2. Enter key points of the work performed, with each point on a separate line.

3. Click Generate.

4. Review the generated narrative.

5. Edit the narrative if required.

6. Click Use this to copy the narrative into the description field.

Staff can also click Regenerate to create a new version or Discard to close the panel without applying the generated text.

The description field may have a character limit, such as 2,000 characters, with a character count shown below the field.

Voice Dictation for Billing Events

The billing event form may include a Dictate button beside the description field.

This allows staff to speak their work description and have it transcribed into the text field.

To use Voice Dictation:

1. Click Dictate.

2. Speak the billing description clearly.

3. The portal transcribes the text into the description field.

4. Click Stop when finished.

5. Review and edit the text before saving.

Voice dictation is browser-dependent and may only be available in supported browsers, such as Chrome, Edge, or Safari on iOS over HTTPS.

Viewing a Billing Event

To view a billing event, click the relevant billing event row from the Billing list.

The Billing Event Detail page displays the billing event information, including the linked matter, hours, rate, amount, status, description, and assigned staff member or Bookable Resource where applicable.

Tasks

Tasks are action items that can be assigned to staff members and linked to matters. Tasks help staff manage follow-up activities, responsibilities, and matter-related work.

Viewing Tasks

Tasks can be accessed from the Tasks area, from the dashboard, or from the Tasks tab on a Matter Detail page.

The Task Detail page may include:

Creating a Task from a Matter

Tasks can be created from within a matter.

To create a task:

1. Open the relevant matter.

2. Go to the Tasks tab.

3. Click Create Task.

4. Complete the task form.

5. Click Create Task.

The task form includes:

When a task is created from within a matter, the matter field is pre-filled and locked to the selected matter.

Marking a Task Complete

Tasks can be marked as complete from the task list or from the Task Detail page.

To mark a task complete from the task list:

1. Locate the task.

2. Click the checkbox icon.

3. Confirm the action in the confirmation dialog.

4. Click Mark Complete.

To mark a task complete from the Task Detail page:

1. Open the task.

2. Click Mark Complete.

3. Confirm the action.

If the task is already completed, the Mark Complete button may be disabled.

Deadlines

Deadlines are matter-related timeline items or milestones. They help staff track important dates, due dates, and key events related to a matter.

Viewing Deadlines

Deadlines can be viewed from the dashboard or from the Deadlines tab on a Matter Detail page.

Clicking a deadline in Matter opens the Deadline Detail page.

The Deadline Detail page may include:

Creating a Deadline from a Matter

Deadlines can be created from within a matter.

To create a deadline:

1. Open the relevant matter.

2. Go to the Deadlines tab.

3. Click Create Deadline.

4. Complete the deadline form.

5. Click Create Deadline.

The deadline form includes:

When a deadline is created from within a matter, the matter field is pre-filled and locked to the selected matter.

Documents

The Documents section allows staff to view and manage all folders and files related to the selected matter. This section is connected to the matter’s SharePoint document library, making it easier for staff to access and manage matter-related documents directly from the portal.

To access documents, open a matter record and select the Documents tab.

From this section, staff can:

Uploading and Tagging Files

When uploading a file, staff can choose to tag the file before completing the upload. After selecting or dragging a file into the upload area, select Next: Tag files.

The portal includes an AI-assisted tagging feature. This allows the system to read the uploaded file and suggest metadata such as:

• Document type

• Confidentiality

• Counterparty

• Details or description

Staff can review the AI-suggested tags, update them if required, and then select Tag & Upload to save the file with the selected metadata.

This helps ensure documents are uploaded with useful information, making them easier to identify, search, and manage later.

Receipts

The Receipts section allows staff to view receipts and attachments related to expenses for the selected matter.

To access receipts, open a matter record and select the Receipts tab.

From this section, staff can:

This section provides a quick way for staff to access supporting documents for expenses without needing to search manually through SharePoint or other document locations.

Staff Profile

The Profile page displays information from the staff member’s Bookable Resource record in Microsoft Dataverse.

This may include professional or staff-related details used by the Legal Solution.

Profile editing is not currently available through the Staff Portal. If staff details need to be updated, the user should contact the system administrator.

If the Profile page displays an error, the staff user account may not be linked to a Bookable Resource record. In this case, the user should contact the administrator to confirm their setup.

Tips and Portal Behaviour

The Staff Portal includes several usability features to help staff work efficiently.