How to Notify Attorneys on a Recurring Schedule

Email attorneys a summary of the upcoming events on their attached cases on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule, so your staff does not have to send those updates by hand.

### Overview

Attorney notifications combine two pieces of configuration: the **Attorney Notifications** settings that control how the email looks and when it sends, and the **Notify** value on each attorney record that decides which schedule that attorney is on.

- **What it is:** A scheduled email that lists each of an attorney's attached case numbers along with the events falling inside that schedule's date range.
- **Why it matters:** Attorneys stay current on hearing dates without your staff sending individual updates.
- **Who uses it:** Court staff and administrators who maintain attorney records and case schedules.
- **Expected outcomes:** Attorneys with an email address, a **Notify** frequency, and attached cases that have upcoming events receive a recurring summary.

### Prerequisites

Before you set up recurring attorney notifications, make sure you have the following:

- The `update_settings` permission to change the **Attorney Notifications** settings
- The `create_attorneys` or `update_attorneys` permission to maintain attorney records
- An email address on each attorney record, because attorneys without one are skipped and the email is the only channel used
- Cases attached to each attorney, and events that carry the same case number as those cases
- (Optional) An agency email to use as the sending address, see [How to Manage Agency Emails](/how-to-manage-agency-emails)
- (Optional) A portal, so events in the email can include a portal link, see [How to Create Web Portals](/how-to-create-web-portals)

### How-To Steps

#### Configure the Attorney Notifications settings

1. Click **Admin** in the top navigation bar and select **Settings** to open the **General Settings** page.
2. Click **Attorney Notifications** in the settings section list, or enter attorney in **Search Settings**.
3. Select **Daily**, **Weekly**, or **Monthly** in **Default Attorney Notification Frequency**. The remaining fields in this section appear only after you select a frequency other than **Disabled**.
4. Enter a time in **Attorney Notification Send Time** to schedule the email for that time in your agency **Time Zone**.
5. Select an address in **Attorney Notification From Email** to control the sending address.
6. Select a portal in **Attorney Notification Portal** to control which portal supplies the event links.
7. Enter a subject line in **Attorney Notification Subject**.
8. Enter any text you want above the case list in **Attorney Notification Content**.
9. Enter a comma separated list of addresses in **Notify Attorney Results** to receive a summary of each batch.
10. Click **Save**.

![eCourtDate attorney notification settings](https://assets.ecourtdate.com/images/articles/8c8d79a4-1772-4c86-b110-57e03198eeea/attorney-general-settings.png)

#### Set the frequency on each attorney

1. Click **Cases** in the top navigation bar.
2. Click the **Attorneys** tab.
3. Complete the **Create Attorney** form and click **Create** to add a new attorney, or click the edit button in an existing attorney's row.
4. Enter the attorney's address in **Email**.
5. Select **Daily**, **Weekly**, or **Monthly** in **Notify**.
6. Click **Save**.

#### Attach cases and confirm events

1. Enter a case number in **Search by Case Number** in the **Search Cases** card and click **Search**.
2. Click **Attach** on the case you want to link to the attorney.
3. Confirm the case now appears in the **Attached Cases** card.
4. Click **Events** in the top navigation bar and confirm at least one event uses the same case number.
5. Complete the **Create Event** form with that case number if no event exists yet.

### What to Expect

Each frequency runs on its own schedule and covers its own range of event dates. The settings page states the following trigger times.

| Notify frequency | Trigger time | Events included |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | Daily at 9 AM UTC | Event dates from the previous day through the next day |
| Weekly | Sundays at 9 AM UTC | Event dates from today through 7 days ahead |
| Monthly | First day of the month at 9 AM UTC | Event dates from today through 30 days ahead |

Key details about attorney notifications:

- Date ranges are calculated in your agency **Time Zone**, and each run only picks up attorneys whose **Notify** value matches that frequency.
- Only cases attached to the attorney are checked, and only events that carry the same case number are included, up to 100 events per case.
- If none of an attorney's attached cases have events in the date range, no email is sent to that attorney.
- The email lists each case number followed by its events in date order, showing the event date and time plus the description, type, location notes, status, judge name, and location name when those are filled in.
- Each event also includes a portal link when the event has a portal URL and a portal is available.
- Setting **Attorney Notification Send Time** schedules the email for that time in your **Time Zone**. If that time has already passed when the run happens, the email is scheduled about 10 minutes later instead.
- Messages are created with the type `notify:attorneys`, so you can find them in **Dashboard** > **Messages** by setting the **Type** filter to `notify:attorneys`.
- Addresses in **Notify Attorney Results** receive an Attorney Notification Summary email with a PDF attachment listing the attorneys, cases, and events in that batch.

### Best Practices

- **Fill in the Email field on every attorney.** Attorneys without an email address are skipped entirely, so they never appear in a batch.
- **Attach every case the attorney handles.** Only cases in the **Attached Cases** card are checked, so a missing case means missing events.
- **Keep event case numbers consistent.** Events are matched to a case by its case number, so a mistyped number leaves the event out of the email.
- **Set a send time inside your business hours.** **Attorney Notification Send Time** uses your agency **Time Zone**, which keeps the email from landing overnight.
- **Add your own address to Notify Attorney Results.** The summary email and its PDF tell you how many attorneys, cases, and events went out in each batch.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: What happens if an attorney has no events in the date range?**

A: No email is sent to that attorney. Cases with no events in the range are skipped, and an attorney with no remaining results is left out of the batch.

**Q: Can I use a different frequency for each attorney?**

A: Yes. Each run selects only the attorneys whose **Notify** value matches that frequency, so set **Notify** individually under **Cases** > **Attorneys**.

**Q: How do I stop notifications for one attorney?**

A: Open the attorney under **Cases** > **Attorneys**, set **Notify** to **Disabled**, and click **Save**.

**Q: Can attorneys receive these notifications by text message?**

A: No. The recurring notification is sent by email only, which is why an address in the **Email** field is required.

**Q: Can I notify an attorney about a single case right away?**

A: Yes. Click **Notify** next to a case in the **Attached Cases** card to email the attorney that they have been assigned to that case number. That message is separate from the recurring schedule.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** An attorney is not receiving notifications.

**Symptoms:** The attorney reports no email, and no message appears for them under **Dashboard** > **Messages**.

**Solution:**

1. Confirm the attorney's **Email** field is filled in, since attorneys without an address are skipped.
2. Confirm **Notify** is set to **Daily**, **Weekly**, or **Monthly** and not **Disabled**.
3. Confirm at least one case appears in the **Attached Cases** card.
4. Confirm those cases have events dated inside the range for that frequency.
5. Set the **Type** filter to `notify:attorneys` under **Dashboard** > **Messages** to check whether a message was created.

**Issue:** The email lists events but no portal links.

**Symptoms:** Each event shows its date and details, with nothing to click through to.

**Solution:**

1. Select a portal in **Attorney Notification Portal** under **Admin** > **Settings** > **Attorney Notifications**.
2. Confirm the events themselves have a portal URL, because events without one are listed as plain text.

**Issue:** The email arrives later than the trigger time.

**Symptoms:** The message shows a scheduled time that is hours after the run.

**Solution:**

1. Check **Attorney Notification Send Time**, which schedules the email for that time in your agency **Time Zone**.
2. Clear **Attorney Notification Send Time** if you want the email to go out as soon as the run finishes.
3. Check **Time Zone** under **Admin** > **Settings** > **Date and Time** to confirm the send time is being applied in the zone you expect.

### Related Articles

- [How to manage attorneys](/how-to-manage-attorneys)
- [How to Manage Cases](/how-to-manage-cases)
- [How to Manage Events](/how-to-manage-events)
- [How to Create Web Portals](/how-to-create-web-portals)
- [How to Manage Agency Emails](/how-to-manage-agency-emails)