Matter status updates: how law firms keep clients informed without writing every update by hand
Most small law firms update clients on their matter by email or phone, usually when the client asks. Typically fee-earners and support staff spend several hours a week answering "any news?" calls and writing updates that say nothing has changed, and clients still feel they're in the dark.
Clients rarely complain about the law. They complain about not knowing what's happening. When they don't hear from you, they assume nothing is happening. This guide is for law firms of 10-60 people - a people business, meaning a business that sells its people's expertise and time, like lawyers, accountants, agencies and consultants. It covers how to give clients a clear, current view of their matter with the tools you already have, and when a custom status page is worth building.
Why it happens
The status of a matter is spread across the firm's systems:
Key dates, tasks and stages
in the practice management system - Clio, PracticePanther or MyCase.
Documents and correspondence
in the PMS or a document management system such as NetDocuments.
The real story
what the other side said, what's holding things up - in the fee-earner's email and head.
Billing and payments
in the PMS and a payment tool such as LawPay.
None of these was designed to explain progress to a client. PMS stages are written for lawyers ("Awaiting replies to enquiries"), and much of what matters to a client never makes it into the system at all. So the only way to give a real update is for someone who knows the matter to write one. That's why updates get skipped when the team is busy, which is exactly when clients most want them.
The fix with what you already have
You can make a big difference with the tools you already pay for.
- 01
Switch on your PMS client portal
Clio's portal, Clio for Clients, organises communications, documents, calendar events and invoices by case and lets clients message the firm securely from a browser or phone. MyCase and PracticePanther include client portals too. Use the portal for every matter, not only the complicated ones.
- 02
Write stages for clients
Map your PMS matter stages to plain-English descriptions a client understands, with what usually happens next and roughly how long it takes. For a residential conveyance, "Searches ordered - results usually take two to four weeks" tells a client more than any email.
- 03
Set an update rhythm per matter type
A fortnightly two-line update on a conveyance, monthly on a long litigation matter, and an update whenever a key date moves. Put it in the PMS as a recurring task with an owner.
- 04
Template the routine updates
Most updates fall into a handful of types: waiting on the other side, waiting on a third party, waiting on the client, milestone reached. Template each, and personalise one sentence.
- 05
Tell clients at engagement how updates work
Put it in the engagement letter and welcome email: when they'll hear from you, where to look, and who to call if something's urgent. Our free client status report template shows a simple structure.
- 06
Track the "any news?" calls
Ask reception to log them for a month by matter type. The matter types with the most calls are where to improve first.
Setting it up, step by step
Plan for a few weeks, one matter type at a time, led by a partner and whoever runs the PMS day to day.
- Pick your highest-volume matter type. Usually conveyancing, probate or a standard litigation track. That's where the "any news?" calls cluster.
- List the stages a lawyer would use. Most matter types have eight to twelve meaningful stages. Write them down from instruction to completion.
- Rewrite each stage for a client. One sentence on what's happening, one on what usually comes next, and a rough timescale. Have a fee-earner and a non-lawyer read them both; if the non-lawyer has questions, rewrite.
- Set the stages up in your PMS. In Clio, PracticePanther or MyCase, configure the matter stages or workflow for that matter type, and use the client-facing wording wherever the portal shows it to clients.
- Turn on the portal for every new matter of that type. Invite the client at engagement, with a short note on what they'll see there.
- Create the recurring update task with an owner and a due date, so a quiet fortnight still produces a two-line update.
- Write the four or five update templates and save them where everyone drafts from.
- Review after a month and extend to the next matter type.
Common mistakes
Showing the client your internal stage names.
"Pre-exchange enquiries raised" means nothing to most people. If the client needs a glossary, the stage isn't written for them.
Promising timescales you can't control.
Say what usually happens and why it can vary. A stage that says "two weeks" and takes six creates more calls, not fewer.
Turning on the portal but never updating it.
A portal that says the same thing for a month tells the client nobody is working on their matter, which may be unfair but is what they'll think.
Only updating when there's news.
"Still waiting on the lender; we chased them on Tuesday" is news to a client. Silence isn't.
Leaving updates to whoever has time.
Name an owner per matter, or the update won't happen when the team is busy.
What good looks like
A client can answer "where are we?" without calling the firm. They know what happens next, roughly when, and whether they need to do anything. They hear from someone on a predictable rhythm, even when nothing has changed. Reception can see the same status the client sees, so a call takes one minute, not ten. And partners can see which matters have gone quiet before the client notices.
A quick checklist for each matter type
Before you call a matter type done, check that:
- Every stage has a client-facing description, a "what happens next" line and a rough timescale.
- The client is invited to the portal at engagement, and the engagement letter says how updates work.
- Each open matter has a named owner for updates.
- A recurring update task exists with a due date that matches the agreed rhythm.
- Templates exist for the common update types, and fee-earners know where to find them.
- Reception can see the same status the client sees.
- Someone reviews quiet matters once a month and calls those clients.
- You've written down which updates need a lawyer's review before they go out.
If any box is empty, fix that before moving to the next matter type. Gaps compound: a missing owner is the usual reason a rhythm stops.
When that stops working
These steps help a lot. These are the signs you need more:
Stages in the portal don't move
because updating them is another task fee-earners forget.
Clients still phone
, because the portal shows documents but not progress.
High-volume matter types
, such as conveyancing, probate or personal injury, generate dozens of similar updates a week.
Updates depend on third parties
lenders, courts, councils, insurers - and someone checks each one by hand.
Referrers want updates too
, such as estate agents, brokers or introducers, and each one emails for news.
You can't tell which clients have gone quiet
and might be unhappy until a complaint arrives.
What a custom build looks like
A custom matter status page gives each client one link showing where their matter stands, in plain English, updated from your systems as the work happens. It's a build we're often asked about by law firms, because it reduces calls while making clients feel better looked after.
For a typical firm:
- A status page per matter. Current stage, what happens next, what's needed from the client, and key dates, written for the client, drawn from your PMS.
- Stages that move themselves. When a task completes or a document is filed in the PMS, the status page updates. Nobody re-enters anything.
- Drafted updates, approved by a person. When something meaningful happens, the build drafts a short update in your firm's tone. The fee-earner approves, edits or skips it.
- Optional referrer views that show only what the client has agreed to share.
- A quiet-client flag for the team: matters where nothing has moved and nobody has spoken to the client recently.
It works on the same pattern as the automated reports we built for an agency: the update writes itself from live data, and a person signs it off. We work in four steps - scope, build, roll out, improve - and roll-out includes training fee-earners on the approval step and helping clients start using the link.
On the open market, a client-facing portal or status tool typically costs $8,000-18,000 to build, plus ongoing support; our guide to client portal development cost covers the detail. Forge's prices are on the pricing page: a two-week ops audit at $2,500 (£2,000), credited to your first month, then a monthly plan at $2,000, $3,500 or $7,500 a month (£1,600, £2,800 or £6,000), with your first build included. The software runs on your own accounts, so you own it and pay those tool costs directly; we keep it monitored and fixed.
Better updates start at intake, when you set expectations. See our guide to client intake automation for law firms.
Who gets time back, and what they do with it
"Any news?" calls land on receptionists, secretaries, paralegals and fee-earners in roughly that order, and each one interrupts something else.
When clients can see their own status, your receptionist spends the time on new enquiries and the callers who genuinely need a person. Your paralegals spend fewer afternoons writing "no change" emails and more time progressing matters. Your fee-earners keep their focus on drafting and advice - for example, using a quiet hour to prepare properly for a difficult negotiation instead of clearing update requests.
Clients notice too. A client who always knows where things stand is much less likely to complain, and much more likely to recommend you.
For example: a week at a 20-person firm
Take, for example, a 20-person firm with a busy residential property team running around 80 open purchases and sales at any time.
Before, a typical week looks like this. Reception takes a steady stream of "any news?" calls, most from buyers and some from estate agents. Each one is passed to a conveyancer, who stops what they're doing, opens the file, works out what's outstanding and calls back. Many of those calls end with "no change, still waiting on searches". On Friday afternoon, Priya, a senior conveyancer, writes updates for the clients she hasn't spoken to, from memory and the file notes.
After, the same team works differently. Every client has a portal link with plain-English stages for their purchase. When searches are ordered, the stage changes and the client sees "Searches ordered - results usually take two to four weeks". The fortnightly update task lands on Monday for each matter's owner, and Priya sends most from templates with one personal line. Reception opens the same view the client sees, so most calls are answered on the spot. Priya's Friday afternoon goes on the two files with genuine problems instead of the forty that are simply waiting.
As in the intake example, none of that needs a custom build. It needs stages written for clients, a rhythm and an owner.
Rolling it out and training the team
Introduce the change matter type by matter type, and bring three groups along.
Fee-earners
need to see that updating a stage takes seconds and saves calls later. Show them the client's view of one of their own matters.
Support staff and reception
need to know where to look when a client calls, and what to say when the page and the client disagree.
Clients
need a short explanation at engagement and a reminder in the first update. A sentence such as "you can always check where we are at this link" does more than any user guide.
Expect some resistance from fee-earners who worry that a visible status invites scrutiny. Be honest: it does make delays visible, and that usually means fewer complaints, because clients who can see why something is waiting rarely blame the lawyer.
How to know it worked
Pick a month before and a month after, for the same matter type:
"Any news?" calls
logged by reception, per matter.
Update rhythm kept:
the share of matters that got an update on schedule.
Portal use:
how many clients opened their link at least once.
Complaints and compliments
mentioning communication.
Quiet matters:
how many went more than a month with no contact.
If calls fall and the rhythm holds, keep going. If clients aren't opening the link, look at how it's introduced before changing anything else.
Supervision
Status pages and updates are communications with clients, so they sit under the same supervision as any letter. Agree who can change a stage and who can send an update without review. Junior staff and anything drafted by software should be reviewed by the responsible fee-earner before a client sees it. Anything touching advice, risk or bad news should come from a lawyer, by phone where possible, not from a status change.
Confidentiality and data protection
A status page puts matter information outside the firm's walls, so it has to be designed carefully. This section is general information, not legal advice; check your own obligations with your regulator and advisers.
Where data lives
The status page reads from your PMS and runs on your own accounts. Matter data stays in your systems; nothing is held on Forge accounts.
Who can see it
Each link is private to the client and protected by sign-in. Referrer views show only what the client has agreed to share, and the client can withdraw that.
What goes on the page
Stages and next steps, not privileged advice. Anything sensitive stays in secure messaging or a conversation with the lawyer.
UK firms
The SRA's guidance on confidentiality of client information explains that paragraph 6.3 of the Codes of Conduct requires you to keep the affairs of current and former clients confidential, and the ICO's guide to data security explains the UK GDPR duty to use appropriate technical and organisational measures.
US firms
ABA Model Rule 1.6(c) requires reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorised access to, or inadvertent disclosure of, information relating to a client's representation. Check your state's version.
AI-drafted updates
are always reviewed by a person before a client sees them.
Questions, answered plainly
How often should a law firm update clients on their matter?
Set a rhythm per matter type, such as fortnightly for conveyancing and monthly for long litigation, plus an update whenever a key date moves. Tell clients the rhythm at engagement so they know when to expect news.
Does Clio have a client portal?
Yes. Clio for Clients organises communications, documents, calendar events and invoices by case, and lets clients message the firm securely from a browser or the mobile app.
How can a law firm reduce "any news?" calls?
Give clients somewhere to check progress themselves, written in plain English, keep it current, and tell them at engagement when they'll hear from you. Track calls by matter type to see where to start.
Is it safe to show matter status online?
It can be, with sign-in for each client, only stages and next steps on the page rather than advice, and data kept in your own systems. Check your regulatory obligations before launching.
How much does a custom matter status page cost?
Typically $8,000-18,000 on the open market for a client-facing portal or status tool, plus ongoing support. With Forge, a two-week ops audit is $2,500 (£2,000), credited to your first month, then $2,000, $3,500 or $7,500 a month (£1,600, £2,800 or £6,000) with your first build included.