Case Journey · design review for Geoff · July 2026
The case journey we intend to build around your practice
This is the full arc of a criminal-defense case as DubbleBooked sees it — from the first
call to the archived file. Some of it is live today, most of it is what we intend to provide.
You know where the bodies are buried; we want that knowledge before we build.
Walk each step. Tap 👍 / 👎 and leave a 💬 note on anything — especially where
you'd add something, where you already have a form or template we should use,
or where there's a gotcha only a practitioner knows. Blunt beats polite.
Your four phases, our spine
This is the model you proposed — a case is in exactly one of these states, and the software
should know which one and act accordingly.
1
Intake
Not hired yet
2
Unfiled
Hired, pre-filing
3
Filed
In the court system
4
Closed
Archived, accessible
1
Intake — not hired yet
A prospect calls. You need their story captured and conflicts cleared before you say yes.
Live in the app today
WHAT WE PROVIDE
Capture a prospect in seconds from the Clients page — name, contact, charge, court live
Or text them a tokenized intake link — they fill in their own details from their phone, it lands in your list live
Instant conflict check against everyone already in your client list live
This one is real — it shipped to production.
Log in and open your Clients page: add a prospect or send yourself an intake link and watch it come back filled in.
💬 Your take, Geoff: what does intake need that's missing?
What do you ask on a first call that isn't here? Do you have an intake questionnaire or conflict-check habit we should encode? What makes you decline a case in the first five minutes?
2
Unfiled — hired, nothing filed yet
The client retained you. Charges may not even be filed. This is the murkiest phase — and the one software usually ignores.
JIS checker live · rest planned
WHAT WE PROVIDE
JIS charge lookup — see what's actually filed (or not yet) against your client live
Watch for the filing to land, so an unfiled case doesn't silently become a missed arraignment planned
Paperwork, pre-filled from intake
Everything the client told us at intake flows straight into the documents you need next:
Notice of Appearance drafted and auto-filled — client, cause, court, your bar details planned
Fee agreement auto-filled from intake, sent for e-signature — signed copy lands in the case file planned
💬 Your take, Geoff: what happens between "hired" and "filed" that we should support?
Your fee agreement — can we use it as the template? Pre-filing negotiations with the prosecutor? Demand letters, discovery preservation requests? What do you do in week one that we haven't listed?
3
Filed — the case is in the system
Charges filed, you've appeared, the clock is running. Now it's hearings, deadlines, and documents until disposition.
Planned (scraper live)
We prep it filing-ready. You hit submit.
We never file on your behalf — that line matters. Instead:
NOA (and later documents) prepared filing-ready — correct form, correct caption, attachments in order planned
One-click handoff into the court's own portal with everything staged — you review and press submit planned
Assisted prep for recurring later filings: motions, continuances, discovery demands planned
Hearings find you — not the other way around
Once the court enters the case, our scraper picks it up:
Hearings auto-import from our court scrapers into your DubbleBooked calendar scraper live
Week-before and day-of reminders, per hearing, without you setting anything planned
Changes at the court (continuances, courtroom moves) update your calendar automatically planned
💬 Your take, Geoff: where does filing actually hurt?
KCDC quirks? Courts where the portal is a trap? Which documents do you file over and over at this phase — and do you have go-to templates for them? What deadline has bitten someone you know?
4
Closed — archived, never gone
Disposition reached. The case leaves your active list but nothing disappears.
Planned
WHAT WE PROVIDE
One-click archive — the case drops out of your working view, calendar, and reminders planned
Everything stays accessible: documents, hearing history, payment record, the full timeline planned
Old clients come back — a returning client reopens with history intact, conflict check included planned
💬 Your take, Geoff: what does "closed" actually need?
Closing letters? Trust-account reconciliation before archive? Retention rules — how long must you keep the file, and what must provably survive? Post-conviction follow-ups (vacation, LFO, records sealing) worth building in?
RUNS THROUGH EVERY PHASE
📄
Documents — one place, and it's yours
Every document for a case in one spot — and the files live in your Google Drive, not on our servers. You own them; if you ever leave, they're already yours.
💬 Your take: how do you organize a case file today? Folder structure we should mirror? Documents that must never be in the cloud at all?
$
Money — we integrate, we don't rebuild billing
Payments run through LawPay — it carries the trust/IOLTA compliance, so we never
touch trust funds. Invoicing and accounting through QuickBooks.
Both have real APIs, so payment status shows up on the case without you re-keying anything.
💬 Your take: flat fees, installments, or both? Do you already use LawPay/QuickBooks — and what's the one billing chore you'd pay to never do again?
🔎
Before step 1: get found
A managed website and ads that feed intake — and because intake, the case, and the fee all live here,
we can tie ad dollar → signed case → fee earned. Most firms never see that line.
💬 Your take: worth it, or noise? Where do your real clients actually come from?
🛡️ The line we don't cross: we prep, you act
We never file for you Every filing is staged for your review — you press submit in the court's own portal. Your bar card, your call.
We never touch trust funds LawPay holds the trust/IOLTA compliance. Money moves through them, never through us.
Your data lives in your Drive Case documents are stored in your Google Drive. You own the file, always.
💬 Your take: does this line sit where it should? Anything here that would still make a bar-compliance auditor twitch?