How to manage attorneys

Attorney records store the firms that represent your clients, link those firms to specific cases, and control the email notifications each firm receives. You manage them from the **Attorneys** tab inside **Cases**.

### Overview

- **What it is:** A directory of attorney records that you attach to cases by case number and notify by email, either on demand or on a recurring schedule.
- **Why it matters:** Keeping firm details, bar numbers and case attachments in one place means your agency can reach the right representative for a case without leaving eCourtDate.
- **Who uses it:** Court clerks, case managers and administrators who coordinate with defense firms and other legal representatives.
- **Expected outcomes:** An accurate attorney list, cases attached to the correct firm, and notification emails that carry the upcoming events for those cases.

### Prerequisites

- Access to the **Cases** section of eCourtDate
- The `create_attorneys` permission to add records and `update_attorneys` to edit them
- A bar number, a firm name and a valid email address for every attorney you create, because all three are required
- At least one case with a case number, if you plan to attach cases
- The `trash_attorneys` permission, if you want to remove an attorney from your agency
- The `update_events` permission, the same one that saves a case, to attach, detach, or assign cases. Without it, **Attach** and **Detach** are hidden
- Access to **Admin** > **Settings**, if you want to set agency wide notification defaults

### How-To Steps

#### Step 1: Open the Attorneys tab

1. Click **Cases** in the main navigation.
2. Click the **Attorneys** tab.

#### Step 2: Create an attorney

1. Enter the **Bar Number** in the **Create Attorney** card.
2. Enter the **Firm Name**.
3. Enter the **First Name**.
4. Enter the **Last Name**.
5. Enter the **Phone**.
6. Enter the **Email**.
7. Select **Daily**, **Weekly** or **Monthly** in **Notify**, or leave it on **Disabled**.
8. Click **Create**.

#### Step 3: Search for an attorney

1. Enter a value in any field of the **Search Attorneys** card (**Bar Number**, **Firm Name**, **First Name**, **Last Name**, **Phone** or **Email**).
2. Click **Search**.
3. Click **Load more** below the table to pull in the next page of results.

#### Step 4: Edit an attorney record

1. Click the edit button at the start of the attorney's row.
2. Update the fields in the left card. **Firm Name** is the only required field on this page.
3. Click **Save**.

The left card holds these fields beyond the ones on the create form:

| Field | Use |
|-------|-----|
| **Status** | Track the record as pending, active, inactive or expired |
| **Practice Areas** | Note the areas of law the firm covers |
| **Fax**, **Website**, **Virtual Link** | Store extra contact and hearing links |
| **Address**, **Address 2**, **City**, **State**, **Zip** | Store the firm's mailing address |
| **Photo URL**, **Logo URL**, **Facebook URL**, **LinkedIn URL** | Store images and profile links |
| **Description** | Add free text notes about the firm |

#### Step 5: Attach a case to an attorney

1. Enter a case number in **Search by Case Number** in the **Search Cases** card.
2. Click **Search**.
3. Read the **Attorneys:** line under each result to see who is on the case today. A case with none says **No attorneys**.
4. Click **Attach** on the case you want to link. A case already attached to this attorney shows **Attached** instead, and you cannot click it.

Attaching adds this attorney to the case. Any attorneys already on the case stay, so a case can have several attorneys.

#### Step 6: Detach a case from an attorney

1. Find the case in the **Attached Cases** card.
2. Click **Detach** next to that case.
3. Confirm the prompt.

Detaching removes only this attorney from the case. You can also detach an attorney from the **Attorneys** card on the case page.

#### Step 7: Send a notification about one case

1. Find the case in the **Attached Cases** card.
2. Click **Notify** next to that case.

#### Step 8: Set agency notification defaults

1. Go to **Admin** > **Settings** > **Attorney Notifications**.
2. Select **Daily**, **Weekly** or **Monthly** in **Default Attorney Notification Frequency**. The rest of the section stays hidden while this is **Disabled**.
3. Set the **Attorney Notification Send Time**.
4. Select an **Attorney Notification From Email**.
5. Select an **Attorney Notification Portal**.
6. Enter the **Attorney Notification Subject**.
7. Enter the **Attorney Notification Content**.
8. Enter a comma separated list of addresses in **Notify Attorney Results** to receive a summary when a batch sends.
9. Click **Save**.

#### Step 9: Assign attorneys to cases in bulk

1. Click **Cases** in the main navigation.
2. Choose the cases:
   - To use your filters, set them in **Search Cases**, click **Search**, then click **Assign cases** in the **Assign cases** card.
   - To use specific cases, check them in the results table, then click **Assign** above the table.
3. Select **Assign attorneys** in **What to do with attorneys**.
4. Pick one or more attorneys in **Attorneys to assign**.
5. Select an option in **When a case already has attorneys**:
   - **Add these alongside them** (the default) keeps the attorneys already on the case.
   - **Replace them** removes the other attorneys from the case.
   - **Skip that case** leaves a case that already has an attorney alone.
6. If you picked two or more attorneys, select an option in **Give each case**:
   - **All of the chosen attorneys** puts every one on each case.
   - **One of them, spread evenly by caseload** gives each case the attorney with the fewest open cases so far. Open cases are cases that are neither archived nor trashed. Enter a number in **Most cases per attorney** to cap it, or leave it blank for no limit.
7. Leave **Email each attorney a list of their new cases** selected to email each attorney once, or clear it.
8. Click **Preview**. Nothing is saved yet.
9. Read what would change.
10. Click **Assign** (the button names the number of cases, for example **Assign 212 cases**).

With no cases checked, the run reaches every case that matches the filters in **Search Cases**, up to 2,000 cases. Trashed cases are never changed. To take attorneys off many cases, select **Remove attorneys** in step 3 and pick them in **Attorneys to remove**. Click **Undo** in the result window to reverse the run. [How to Manage Cases](/how-to-manage-cases) covers the judge and location options, the preview, and undo.

#### Step 10: Remove an attorney from your agency

1. Open the attorney record.
2. Click **Tools** in the top right of the attorney page.
3. Click **Remove from agency**.
4. Read the prompt and confirm it.

The prompt names the attorney and says: "They are also taken off every case they are attached to here, and each case history records it. An attorney cannot be restored once removed." After you confirm, eCourtDate returns you to the Attorneys list with a message such as "Attorney removed from your agency and from 3 cases."

Removing an attorney takes them off every case they are attached to in your agency, as one change that each case's **Assignment history** shows. The attorney record stays available to other agencies that use it. You cannot restore a removed attorney from the screen. To work with them again, create the attorney again and attach the cases.

### What to Expect

A new attorney appears at the top of the list right away with an "Attorney added" confirmation, and saving an edit confirms with "Attorney updated". Attaching a case clears the search results, confirms with "Case attached", and refreshes the **Attached Cases** card, which shows a running count. Attaching adds this attorney and keeps any attorneys already on the case. Detaching asks first, then confirms with "Case detached".

The **Attached Cases** card lists the attorney's cases that are not archived or trashed, newest first, 20 at a time. Click **Show more** for the next 20. Each case shows its status and a line that says when the attorney was attached, by whom, and how, for example "Attached Oct 6, 2026 2:03 PM by clerk@agency.gov, Assign Cases". A link made before eCourtDate recorded these details reads **Attached on or before** and a date.

The bulk **Assign** action runs while you wait and shows the result in the same window. By default it adds attorneys alongside the ones a case already has. It replaces them only when you select **Replace them**. With **Email each attorney a list of their new cases** selected, each attorney gets one email for the run that lists the cases newly added to them. That email uses your **Attorney Notification Subject**, or "Cases Assigned" when it is blank.

Clicking **Notify** emails the attorney immediately with the subject "Case Assigned" and a body that names the case number along with the case status, type and description, then confirms with "Notification sent". The attorney needs an email address on the record for this to work.

Recurring notifications only go out when an attached case has events inside the window for that frequency. The **Attorney Notifications** section notes that daily runs trigger at 9 AM UTC, weekly on Sundays at 9 AM UTC, and monthly on the first day of the month at 9 AM UTC. Each email uses your **Attorney Notification Subject** and **Attorney Notification Content**, then lists each attached case that has events inside the window along with those events, and it is recorded with the message type "notify:attorneys". The right side of the attorney page lists the messages already sent to that email address.

### Best Practices

- Enter a valid **Email** on every record, because eCourtDate rejects a create without one and the recurring job skips any attorney with no email address.
- Enter bar numbers in a consistent format, since **Bar Number** is required on creation and is one of the search fields.
- Read the **Attorneys:** line in the **Search Cases** results before you click **Attach**. Attaching adds this attorney alongside the ones already there, so detach an attorney who no longer represents the client.
- Configure **Admin** > **Settings** > **Attorney Notifications** before you turn on recurring notices, so the subject, content and from address are set the first time a batch sends.
- Keep **Status** current so inactive or expired firms are easy to spot in the list.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Where do I find attorneys in eCourtDate?**

A: Attorneys are not a top level menu item. Click **Cases** in the main navigation, then click the **Attorneys** tab.

**Q: Which fields are required?**

A: **Bar Number**, **Firm Name** and a valid **Email**. The **Create Attorney** form marks **Bar Number** and **Firm Name** as required, and eCourtDate rejects the record with "Email is required" when the email is missing or malformed. On the attorney edit page, only **Firm Name** is required.

**Q: Can one attorney be attached to more than one case?**

A: Yes. Attach as many cases as you need from the **Search Cases** card, and the **Attached Cases** card shows the total for that attorney. A case can also have several attorneys.

**Q: How do I remove an attorney from a case?**

A: Click **Detach** next to the case in the **Attached Cases** card, or open the case and click **Detach** beside the attorney in the **Attorneys** card. Both ask first and remove only that attorney.

**Q: Does attaching a case replace the attorney already on it?**

A: No. Attaching adds this attorney and keeps the others. To replace attorneys on many cases at once, use **Assign cases** on the Cases page and select **Replace them**.

**Q: Does a file upload replace the attorneys on a case?**

A: An upload that names an attorney for a case replaces only the attorneys an earlier upload set. Attorneys someone added on the case page, from an attorney record, or with **Assign cases** stay.

**Q: What does the Notify field control?**

A: It sets how often that attorney is emailed a summary of upcoming events for their attached cases. Choose **Disabled**, **Daily**, **Weekly** or **Monthly**.

**Q: How do I remove a duplicate attorney record?**

A: Open the record you do not want and click **Tools** > **Remove from agency**. Attorney records are shared across agencies, so this removes the record from your agency's list rather than deleting it everywhere. It also takes the attorney off every case they are attached to in your agency.

**Q: Can I archive or restore an attorney?**

A: No. The attorney screen has no **Archive** or **Restore**. **Remove from agency** cannot be undone from the screen, so check the record before you remove it.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** Clicking **Create** does not add the attorney.

**Symptoms:** The form stays filled in and no new row appears in the table.

**Solution:** **Bar Number**, **Firm Name** and a valid **Email** are all required. Complete all three, then click **Create** again.

**Issue:** Clicking **Notify** never confirms.

**Symptoms:** The "Notification sent" message does not appear and the firm receives nothing.

**Solution:** The attorney needs an email address and the case needs a case number. Open the attorney record, fill in **Email**, click **Save**, then click **Notify** again.

**Issue:** An attorney does not receive scheduled notifications.

**Symptoms:** The firm reports no email on the daily, weekly or monthly schedule.

**Solution:** Confirm **Email** is filled in and **Notify** is not set to **Disabled**. Notifications only send when an attached case has events inside the window for that frequency, so confirm those cases have upcoming events. If **Attorney Notification Send Time** is set under **Admin** > **Settings** > **Attorney Notifications**, the email is scheduled for that time in your agency timezone rather than sent the moment the job runs.

**Issue:** A case has an attorney you did not expect, or is missing one.

**Symptoms:** The **Attorneys** card on the case lists a different set of attorneys than you attached.

**Solution:** Open the case and read the **Assignment history** card. Each line says who added or removed an attorney and how: on the case, with **Assign cases**, by an upload, or by an undo. A bulk run with **Replace them** removes the other attorneys, and an upload replaces attorneys an earlier upload set. Add or detach attorneys from the **Attorneys** card on the case to correct it.

**Issue:** **Attach** is greyed out on a search result.

**Symptoms:** The button reads **Attached** and cannot be clicked.

**Solution:** The attorney is already on that case, so there is nothing to add. The case is listed in the **Attached Cases** card unless it is archived or trashed.

**Issue:** Removing an attorney shows an error about their cases.

**Symptoms:** An alert says "Attorney removed, but not from their cases: remove them from each case."

**Solution:** The attorney was removed from your agency, but eCourtDate could not take them off their cases. On the Cases list, turn on the **Attorney** column from the **Fields** dropdown to find the cases that still name the attorney. Open each case and click **Detach** beside the attorney in the **Attorneys** card.

### Related Articles

- [How to Manage Cases](/how-to-manage-cases)
- [How to Notify Attorneys on a Recurring Schedule](/how-to-notify-attorneys-on-a-recurring-schedule)
- [How to Manage Events](/how-to-manage-events)
- [How to request interpreter services](/how-to-request-interpreter-services)