Automatically notify attorneys about upcoming court events on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule, reducing manual outreach and ensuring timely case updates.

### Overview

Keeping attorneys informed about their upcoming court events is essential for smooth case management. eCourtDate lets you automate attorney notifications so that case schedules are sent on a recurring basis without manual effort.

- **What it is:** An automated notification system that emails attorneys a summary of their upcoming court events on a configurable schedule (daily, weekly, or monthly).
- **Why it matters:** Automated notifications reduce the risk of missed court dates, save staff time, and ensure attorneys always have current case information.
- **Who uses it:** Court personnel, legal administrators, and IT staff responsible for managing attorney communications and case scheduling.
- **Expected outcomes:** Attorneys receive timely, accurate case event summaries, your agency reduces manual communication workload, and all parties stay prepared for upcoming hearings.

### Prerequisites

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

- Admin access to the eCourtDate platform with `update_settings` and `create_attorneys`/`update_attorneys` permissions
- Attorney contact details (especially email addresses) entered in the system
- Event schedules properly created and linked to cases
- (Optional) A web portal created to include in notifications (see [How to Create Web Portals](/how-to-create-web-portals))

### How-To Steps

Follow these instructions to configure and enable recurring attorney notifications.

#### Step 1: Customize Default Attorney Settings

1. Click the **Admin** dropdown in the top navigation bar.
2. Select **Settings** from the dropdown menu.
3. Locate the **Attorney Settings** section on the Settings page.
4. Select your preferred **Default Attorney Notification Frequency** (Daily, Weekly, or Monthly). Selecting any option besides "Disabled" means all newly created attorneys will have notifications enabled by default.
5. (Optional) Configure the **Default Attorney Portal** if you want to include a portal link in notifications.
6. Click **Save** to apply your changes.

> **Note:** If you do not already have a web portal created, see [How to Create Web Portals](/how-to-create-web-portals) before configuring the portal setting.

#### Step 2: Create or Update Attorneys to Receive Notifications

1. Click **Cases** in the top navigation bar.
2. Click the **Attorneys** tab.
3. To add a new attorney, fill in the **Create Attorney** form and submit it.
4. Click **Edit** for the attorney you want to configure.
5. Set the **Notify** field to your preferred frequency (Daily, Weekly, or Monthly). Do not leave it set to **Disabled**.
6. Enter a valid email address in the **Email** field.
7. Click **Save** to apply your changes.

The attorney profile is now ready to receive notifications. Any cases and associated events linked to this attorney will be included in their recurring report.

#### Step 3: Link Cases and Events to the Attorney

If you do not already have cases and events linked to the attorney, follow these steps:

1. While editing the attorney, use the **Search Cases** form to find available cases.
2. Click **Attach** for the desired case to link it to the attorney.
3. Click **Edit** for the attached case to verify its details.
4. Confirm that at least one event is attached to the case.
5. If no events exist, click **Events** in the top navigation bar and fill in the **Create Event** form using the same case number.

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

### What to Expect

After completing the setup, attorney notifications are triggered automatically based on the configured frequency. Here is the schedule:

| Notification Frequency | Trigger Time | Date Range |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | Daily at 9 AM UTC | Event start date from the previous day to one day ahead |
| Weekly | Sundays at 9 AM UTC | Event start date from the current Sunday to the following Sunday |
| Monthly | First day of the month at 9 AM UTC | Event start date from the first day of the month to the last day of the month |

Key details about attorney notifications:

- Each notification email includes a list of the attorney's upcoming case events within the date range.
- If there are no case events in the date range, no message is sent.
- Messages are created using the message type "notify:attorneys". You can create a report filtered by this message type to track notification activity.
- Event date ranges are based on your agency's configured timezone. The trigger time is based on UTC.

### Best Practices

- **Verify attorney email addresses before enabling notifications.** Invalid or outdated email addresses will cause delivery failures. Confirm each address is current.
- **Start with a weekly frequency for testing.** Before committing to daily notifications, test with a weekly schedule to ensure the content and format meet your needs.
- **Link all relevant cases to each attorney.** Notifications only include events for cases that are explicitly attached to the attorney. Make sure no cases are missing from their profile.
- **Create a report for notification tracking.** Filter by message type "notify:attorneys" under **Reports** to monitor delivery success and troubleshoot any issues.
- **Keep event schedules up to date.** Notifications pull from your event data, so outdated or missing events will result in incomplete attorney reports.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: What happens if an attorney has no upcoming events in the notification window?**
A: No notification is sent. The system only generates a message when there are case events within the date range for that frequency.

**Q: Can I set different notification frequencies for different attorneys?**
A: Yes. The default frequency applies to newly created attorneys, but you can override it on each attorney's profile by changing the **Notify** field to a different frequency.

**Q: How do I stop notifications for a specific attorney?**
A: Edit the attorney's profile under **Cases** > **Attorneys**, set the **Notify** field to **Disabled**, and click **Save**.

**Q: Can attorneys receive notifications by text message instead of email?**
A: Currently, attorney notifications are sent via email only. Ensure each attorney has a valid email address on their profile.

**Q: How can I verify that notifications are being sent?**
A: Navigate to **Reports** and create a report filtered by message type "notify:attorneys" to see all generated notification messages and their delivery statuses.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** An attorney is not receiving notifications.
**Symptoms:** The attorney reports no emails, and you do not see notification messages in your reports.
**Solution:**

1. Verify that the attorney's **Notify** field is not set to **Disabled** under **Cases** > **Attorneys** > **Edit**.
2. Confirm the attorney has a valid email address entered in the **Email** field.
3. Check that at least one case with an upcoming event is attached to the attorney's profile.
4. Review your **Reports** filtered by message type "notify:attorneys" to see if messages were generated.

**Issue:** Notification emails contain no events or appear empty.
**Symptoms:** The attorney receives an email, but it does not list any case events.
**Solution:**

1. Verify that the cases attached to the attorney have events with start dates that fall within the notification date range.
2. Check your agency's configured timezone under **Admin** > **Settings** to ensure date calculations are correct.
3. If the issue persists, sign in to eCourtDate and create a support ticket by clicking the ticket button in the bottom right corner of the screen.

### Related Articles

- [How to Manage Cases](/how-to-manage-cases)
- [How to Create Web Portals](/how-to-create-web-portals)
- [How to Create Reports](/how-to-create-reports)
- [How to Manage Agency Phone Numbers](/how-to-manage-agency-phone-numbers)