7 Notion databases every law firm needs

Which databases does a law firm need in Notion?

Seven cover almost everything a small firm tracks. They map to the questions a practice asks daily: what are we working on, what is due, what must be done, how much time was spent, who is the client, where are the documents and what did we conclude.

What properties should the Matters database have?

Matters is the hub, so keep it lean and typed.

• Name (title): client surname plus matter description
• Client (relation to Clients)
• Matter type (select)
• Stage (select): intake, active, waiting, closing
• Status (select): open, on hold, closed
• Responsible (person)
• Key date (date) or a rollup of the earliest open deadline
• Opened (date) and Closed (date)

Resist adding properties for things that belong in a related database. If you are typing hours into Matters, you need the Time database.

How should Deadlines and Actions be separate?

A deadline is a date set by a court, regulator, contract or statute. An action is something someone on your team must do. Mixing them makes it hard to see what is truly non-negotiable. Give Deadlines properties Date, Type (select: filing, hearing, limitation, contractual), Court or authority, Source (text) and a Matter relation. Actions get Owner, Due date, Priority, Status and an optional Blocked by relation to another action.

Do not compute court deadlines from rules inside Notion unless you can verify them against the applicable rules. Treat Notion as the register and verify dates independently.

• Keep a legal deadline tracker
• Limitation period tracking

What goes in Time, Clients, Documents and Research?

Store large files in your document management or cloud storage and keep a link in Documents. Notion works well as the index, less well as a file server.

How do the relations fit together?

Draw it once before building. Every arrow below is a relation property, and each creates a reverse property you can roll up.

• Relations and rollups in detail

When do you add Invoices and Team?

Add Invoices when you issue bills from Notion records: relate Time entries to an Invoice so unbilled time disappears from the Uninvoiced view once billed. Add Team when you need capacity and responsibility views for several people. Start without them if you are solo; add the eighth and ninth databases when real friction appears, not before.

• Track billable time in Notion

Where LawyerOS fits

LawyerOS Starter ($49) provides the Matters and Deadlines pair with a home page of deadlines due this week. Pro with AI ($99) provides Matters, Actions, Time, Team, Evidence, Research, Clients and Invoices as linked databases with saved views. Its structure differs slightly from the seven above (Evidence in place of Documents, plus Team and Invoices), and you can rename anything.

• Compare LawyerOS Starter and Pro with AI
• See what LawyerOS includes

Frequently asked questions

How many databases does a law firm need in Notion?

Seven is a practical start: Matters, Deadlines, Actions, Time, Clients, Documents and Research. Add Invoices when you bill from Notion and Team when several people share work. More databases are fine if each answers a distinct question and relates to Matters.

Should I put everything in one big database?

No. One database per kind of record keeps properties clean and lets you relate records. A single giant table forces you to fill blank columns and makes views confusing. Use relations to connect separate, focused databases.

What is a relation in Notion?

A relation is a property that links a row in one database to rows in another, for example a deadline linked to a matter. Rollups then summarise linked rows, such as counting open actions per matter.

Can Notion hold client trust account balances?

It should not be your system of record for trust money. Regulators generally require specific accounting controls, so use dedicated, compliant software and check your jurisdiction's rules. Notion can hold a reference or link, not the ledger.

Can I change the structure later?

Yes. Properties can be added, renamed and converted in most cases, and views are cheap to rebuild. Changing a property type can lose data, so test on a copy and keep a backup export before large changes.