Panels make up the lower portion of the homepage. They are collapsible containers that provide links to custom searches within that topic. You can rearrange these panels to optimize your workflow. Your homepage panel organization is tied to your user account and will appear the same upon each subsequent login unless changed by you.
You cannot remove panels from the homepage.
The panels and the links they contain appear based on the permissions assigned to your user type and your company's configuration. Use the arrow to the right of any panel to expand or collapse it or click the Search icon to be taken directly to that topic's search page.
This article covers the following:
- Reordering Panels
- Billing Panel
- Calendars Panel
- Fees & Discounts Panel
- Financials Panel
- Matters Panel
- Messages Panel
- Profiles Panel
- Saved Views Panel
- Tasks Panel
Reordering Panels
You can easily reorder the homepage panels by clicking and dragging them to the desired, new location. You may choose to move your most relevant panels to the top so you don't have to scroll down to access your custom searches.
The order of the panels is saved at the user-level, and cannot be controlled for multiple users by administration.
-
Hover your cursor to the right of the panel's title. The pointer changes, as shown below.
-
Click and drag the panel to your desired location. The panel list dynamically updates.
-
Release your cursor once the panel is in the desired location.
The new panel's position is retained unless you manually alter it again.
Billing Panel
The Billing panel provides information related to invoices and accruals.
You can quickly submit invoices directly from this panel by clicking the +Import Invoice button located at the bottom of the panel.
For more information, see this topic.
Invoices are created by law firms after accepting a matter. CounselLink performs the guideline review of the invoices submitted by the law firms and then corporate clients review the invoices. The number of Invoices is displayed along with their status.
Accruals represent estimated amounts for expenses incurred but not yet invoiced by law firms or vendors. For client users, the Accrual feature streamlines the notification and tracking of accrual requests to law firms and consolidates all the accrual information for a given financial period. The links represent the number of open or active accrual cycles and the number of accruals submitted by law firms and awaiting client review.
Invoice and Accrual Searches
Invoice Panel Links
The links in the invoices panel will take you to the search page with that specific filter.
Invoices
| Click this link | To view |
|---|---|
| Action Required for Collaborative Review |
A list of invoices that were adjusted by the corporate client while using the collaborative review feature. Action is required by your firm before these invoices can be finalized. |
| Inactive / Incomplete | A list of invoices that have been started but have not been sent to the corporate client. |
| On Hold | A list of invoices that are ready to be sent to the client, but because of a pending matter status, the invoice cannot be sent. For example, a final invoice may be ready to be sent but is waiting on the client to close the matter. |
| Scheduled | A list of invoices that are created prior to a pre-set billing day will be held in this status. Some clients require that invoices are only sent during certain time periods. Invoices in this queue can be edited within CounselLink. |
|
Rejected by Billing Guidelines Review |
A list of invoices sent to the client but automatically rejected by the their billing guidelines. |
| Rejected by Client | A list of manually rejected invoices from the client. |
| Adjusted and Approved by Client | A list of adjusted invoices approved by the client within the last 60 days. |
Accruals
| Click this link | To view |
|---|---|
| Submitted | A list of accruals that are submitted to the client. |
| Requested | Accruals that are requested by the client. |
Calendars Panel
The Calendars panel displays searches for calendar events owned by you, including the number of events for each search. The links take you to the Calendars search page for that specific information. You can also click the Create Event button to create a new event.
Click the links to view the corresponding events based on their status:
| Link | Description |
|---|---|
| View Upcoming Events | Events that are upcoming. |
| Events Past Due | Events that have passed the due date. |
| Events Due Today | Events that are due on the current date. |
| Events Due Within 7 Days | Events that are due in the next seven days. |
| Events Due Within 30 Days | Events that are due in the next 30 days. |
Fees & Discounts Panel
The Fees & Discounts panel provides links to rejected fee offers and ones that need review. The number of fee offers is displayed along with the link to the list of offers awaiting review.
It also provides a link to Volume Discounts. Click the +Offer/Update Fees button to go to the Fees Search page and view all active fee offers.
Fees & Discounts Panel Links
The links in the Fees & Discounts panel will take you to the search page with that specific filter.
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Review Required |
The list of fee offers that are ready to be reviewed and approved. This list is divided into several, individual entries:
|
Financials Panel
The Financials panel displays quick links for budgets that you are assigned to and ones that need action. The numbers next to each link reflect the items that appear on that particular search item.
Using Budget Links in the Financials Panel
| Link | Description |
|---|---|
| Pending Multi-Matter Budgets |
A list of budgets that are still in a Pending state because they need to have Matters and Budget amounts added. |
| Active/Approved Budgets |
A list of all active or approved budgets that have Budget amounts added for Matters which you have access to. |
| Budget Action Required | A list of budgets where some action is required. |
| Second Budget Approval Required | A list of budgets that require a second approval. |
| My Budgets | A list of the budgets that the user has starred as My Budget where the law firm has submitted the amounts but they need to be reviewed. |
Matters Panel
The Matters Panel is a central location for accessing information, activities, budgets, and billing.
Click on one of the links in the panel to be taken to the search page displaying only those matters matching the criteria. The count beside the link represents the number of results that appear in the search list.
| Link | Action |
|---|---|
| My Matters | Click this to access any matters that you have bookmarked as favorites. For example, if you are not the Matter Contact but are helping collaborate on the matter, you may want to bookmark it for quick access. |
| Pending Resolution |
Click this to view an action that needs to been taken on all matters within the list. The matters here may have one of the following conditions:
|
| Awaiting Acceptance | Click this to view matters that were assigned by your client. Each matter in this list needs to be accepted or declined. There may be time limits associated with them. |
| Budget Action Required | Click this to view matters that need budget information. This will only be active if you have a client that uses the Budget feature. |
Messages Panel
The Messages panel occasionally shows any product messages created by CounselLink or LexisNexis staff.
These messages are administered by the LexisNexis staff and will change regularly. New messages are noted with a large New icon, as shown below. New messages will also display automatically after log in as well.
Click View All to access the Info Center.
Profiles Panel
The Profiles panel contains links to law firm, offices, and individual profiles. Depending on your roles, you may not see all of these links.
Using Profiles Panel Links
| Link | Description |
|---|---|
| Law Firm |
General information about the company listed. This includes the year the company was established, Tax ID, the number of attorneys, and how long it has been using CounselLink. The law firm profile is similar to a "headquarters" designation or parent corporation. A law firm does not bill clients, one of the offices does. This section also contains a link to your Billing Guidelines. |
| Offices | Specific information about each office location or workplace. This includes the office name, address, list of attorneys, and other staff members. The Law Firm Office page lists the fee offers offered to clients. All timekeepers bill through a specific office. |
| Individual | Specific information about a staff member of the office. It will only reveal profile information about the person who is logged into the application. The information includes name, email address, login ID, roles, and attorney status. |
Saved Views Panel
The Saved Views panel shows any saved searches that you have created and saved for future use. These searches are complied from saved searches created using the Billing and Matters panels.
You can create a Saved View using any of the standard search criteria, then name that search and save it for use at any time.
Saved views save you time by retaining your most frequently used criteria and allowing you to execute the search by clicking on the named search link in the panel.
The more link is displayed only if the number of saved matter view is more than five. If you are not able to find a saved matter in the Saved Matter Views list, click more.
For more information, see this topic.
Tasks Panel
The Tasks panel is located on the homepage. It is used to provide users (e.g., administrators, matter contacts, and others) a way to see all the work they have been assigned.
Depending on your client's configuration, you may be assigned tasks for matters, budgets, or fee offers.
- From the homepage, locate the Tasks panel.
- Filter your tasks by feature by selecting an option from the first drop down.
Depending on your client's configuration, you may not have tasks available for all features shown here.
- Filter your view by selecting Tasks assigned to me or Tasks created by me from the drop down menu.
- Click the Due Today column to sort the tasks and review those that are to be completed today.
- Click the Due Tomorrow, Next 7 Days, or Overdue columns to view the list of upcoming tasks or to finish tasks that have missed their due date.
-
Click the Search icon in the upper right hand corner to display all tasks that you have access to.
- Click on the link that's associated with the task to be viewed. The Task Details Overview window displays on the overview page where it is located.
-
The Tasks Details Overview window allows you to edit the details of the Task. See this topic for more information.