A beginner's guide to building a legal workspace in Notion

Step-by-step setup

1. 1

   Create a Matters database

   Add properties: client, status (select), practice area (select), opened date, lawyer (person).

2. 2

   Create a Deadlines database

   Add date, type (select), status and a Relation property to Matters.

3. 3

   Add a rollup

   On Matters, show the next deadline using a rollup of the related dates.

4. 4

   Build views

   On Deadlines, filter 'date is within the next 7 days' and status is not done.

5. 5

   Make a home page

   Embed the active-matters and due-this-week views side by side.

Terms to know

Common beginner mistakes

• Too many properties on day one.
• Deadlines stored as text instead of a date property.
• No status values, so nothing can be filtered.
• Putting confidential detail where too many people have access.

Notion records deadlines; it does not calculate them from court rules. Work them out from the applicable rules and record who checked them.

Shortcut: use a template

LawyerOS Starter ($19) gives you exactly this starting structure ready-made: Matters and Deadlines databases, and a home page with deadlines this week and active matters. Pro with AI ($39) includes a Quick Start Guide and more databases. Both are one-time payments.

• How to set up a Notion template
• Complete guide to Notion for lawyers

A worked example: your first matter

Create the matter Smith v Jones, set Status to Active, Practice area to Employment, and Lawyer to yourself. Open the Deadlines database and add a deadline called Response due, with a date, type Court and a relation to Smith v Jones. Return to the Matters view and the Next deadline rollup now shows the date. On the home page, the due-this-week view lists it once the date is within seven days. Mark it done when finished and it drops off the view. That loop of create, link, view and close is the whole system in miniature.

Your first month, in order

1. Week one: only Matters and Deadlines, with five real matters.
2. Week two: add a Tasks database or a Next action property, related to Matters.
3. Week three: add a Clients database and relate it to Matters.
4. Week four: review what you used, delete the rest, and write down how to add a matter.

Confidentiality comes before real client data. Read the security and checklist pages first, and use fictional matters while you learn.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to code?

No. Everything here uses Notion's point-and-click settings.

How long will setup take?

A basic version can be built in an afternoon. A template is faster.

Is the free plan enough?

Plan limits change; check Notion's current plan details.

Should I move old matters in?

Start with active matters only and archive the rest.

What is a rollup used for here?

A rollup pulls a value from related entries, such as the earliest open deadline, onto the matter so you can sort matters by what is due next.