# How cases work

A case moves from draft to in progress, then won or lost by its judgments, through appeal, reconsideration or revocation, or is canceled; hearings, evidence and judgments hang on it, and access and privacy decide who sees it.

The cases app records the firm's work in court. It builds on the legal foundation (clients, lawyers, courts and client requests) and on the agencies, and it adds two apps to the main menu: **Cases** and **Hearings**.

## The life of a case {#lifecycle}

| State | Meaning | How it gets there |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Recorded, not yet worked on. | On creation. |
| In Progress | The firm works on it: hearings, evidence, judgments. | **Actions** › **In Progress**, and after an appeal, reconsideration or revocation. |
| Appeals | Before an appeal court. | Kept for cases recorded so earlier; an appeal now brings the case back **In Progress** at the appeal stage, and the **Appeals** filter of the list finds both. |
| Won / Lost | A judgment decided it. | A **Won** or **Lost** judgment. |
| Canceled | Dropped, with a reason. | **Actions** › **Cancel** and a reason. |

Alongside the state, the case remembers its stage in the appeals chain: primitive, primitive judgment, reconsideration, appeal, appeal judgment, final. That stage decides what **Actions** offers after a judgment: an appeal or a reconsideration after a primitive judgment, a revocation after an appeal judgment.

## What hangs on a case {#what-hangs-on-a-case}

- **Hearings**: each session before the court, with its date, lawyers, requirements and minutes, in progress until closed. They also have their own app, with their own reports.
- **Evidence**: each piece the firm relies on, with the party it concerns.
- **Judgments**: what the court decided, with stage, outcome and decree; a judgment can also be recorded on its hearing.
- **Invoices**, where accounting is installed: for the whole case or per hearing.

## Reminders and settings {#reminders-and-settings}

**Cases/Configuration/Settings** turns on the activities that keep cases moving: a review of every new case within some days (**Review and Audit Case Activity**), an appeal deadline after a lost primitive judgment (**Objection Activity**) and a revocation deadline after a lost appeal judgment (**Revoke Activity**); for hearings, the preparation of their requirements, the minutes after the session, a warning when a lawyer has two hearings at the same time, online hearings with their link, and the daily email of tomorrow's hearings. **Case Templates** lets the firm start cases from models.

## Access and privacy {#access-and-privacy}

The level on **Cases** in the **Legal Rights** section of a user decides what they can do: read, handle the cases of their own files, or handle every case. **Privacy Visibility** on each case narrows who sees it, down to its followers; when it lets portal users in, the client sees the case on the customer portal.

## From request to case, and beyond {#from-request-to-case}

A dispute can reach the firm as a client request; approving a request of type **Case** opens the case from it. A case that ends can lead to another: **Redirect Case** opens a new case for the same client, and **Change Client** moves a case to another client.

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- Source: https://jaah.app/docs/law-cases/how-cases-work
- Updated: 2026-10-14
- Version: Cases 19.0.2.5.74