# Your first agency

Record the agency a client gave the firm's lawyer, with the dates it covers, then name it on the client's case so its hearings can check it.

A lawyer acts in court for a client under an agency: a document in which the client, the principal, authorizes the lawyer for a period. This walk-through records one agency and names it on the client's case.

## Before you start {#before-you-start}

- You need the **User: Own Documents** level or higher on **Agencies** (in the **Legal Rights** section of your user), and on **Cases** to change the case.
- The client and the lawyer exist as contacts.

## Step 1: record the agency {#record-the-agency}

1. Open **Agencies/Agencies** and click **New**.
2. Choose the **Principal**, the client who gives the agency, and the **Agents**, the people it authorizes.
3. Type the **Agency No** printed on the document, its **Release Date** and its **Expiration Date**.

![The agency with its principal, its agent, its number and the dates it covers.](https://jaah.app/web/image/8175-97a372b1/law-agency-first-agency-first_agency_form-en.png)

4. Click the cloud icon **Save manually**. The agency shows **Valid**, since today falls between its two dates.

## Step 2: name it on the case {#name-it-on-the-case}

1. Open the client's case and its **Other Info** tab.
2. Choose the agency in **Agency**. The list offers only the agencies of the case's clients.

![The case of the same client now names the agency its lawyer acts under.](https://jaah.app/web/image/8179-00784422/law-agency-first-agency-first_agency_case-en.png)

3. Click **Save manually**. The **Agency** button at the top of the case now opens the agency.

## What you have done {#what-you-have-done}

The agency is recorded with the dates it covers, and the case names it. From now on, each hearing of the case checks that the agency is valid on the hearing date and that the hearing's lawyers are among its agents.

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- Source: https://jaah.app/docs/law-agency/first-agency
- Updated: 2026-10-14
- Version: Agencies 19.0.2.1.9
- Verified: 2026-10-14