How does a law firm work in Task Manager?
A client's case is scattered across five places: the contract is in an email, arrangements are in a chat, the due date is in a phone calendar, the scan is on a drive, and notes from the conversation are in a notebook. Six months later, reconstructing what was agreed takes half a day. Task Manager lets you keep the case in one place.
Every case is a task in a workspace. A task holds the description, messages, attachments and the people assigned to handle it. In the Pro variant, task descriptions and message content can be encrypted in the database with AES-256-GCM. The DATA_ENCRYPTION_KEY key is stored in the .env file, and the administrator can download a backup copy of it.
The creator of the workspace automatically becomes its administrator. A workspace can be open to all active users or restricted to selected people only. In the latter case, access is granted to people explicitly added to it, as well as its creator and global administrators.
What's included in a case
A task has its own conversation thread, attachments and list of participants. A standard lawyer only sees cases they have been assigned to. A workspace administrator can see all tasks and chats in their workspace. The task creator automatically becomes its administrator.
When assigning someone to a task, you can give them task administrator permissions or permission to change the status. A trainee solicitor can participate in a task without being allowed to change its status. A participant with “Change status” permission can change the task's status without administrator permissions. When you select “Administrator” for someone, the status change toggle is selected and locked. A task administrator already has this permission.
Only the author can edit or delete a message. There are no exceptions for administrators, including global administrators.
What do you gain?
You don't have to reconstruct a case from memory. When a client asks about what was agreed in March, you don't have to search through your inbox, phone and folders. The arrangements are kept with the case, together with its related documents.
You know who has access to a case. A new trainee solicitor won't see tasks they haven't been added to. You don't have to find this out after the fact.
In the Pro variant, you can reduce the risk of message content and case descriptions being read without the encryption key. This is extra protection for the data you gather while handling a case.
An everyday example
A law firm is handling a commercial case. The task contains versions of the contract as attachments, as well as notes on phone conversations written by the people handling the case. The case closes, but the database keeps growing.
The administrator opens Settings → Advanced. They can start with technical logs: login attempt logs older than 30 days, expired sessions and the n8n integration event log older than 90 days. This housekeeping doesn't delete tasks, chats, messages or attachments. By default, it runs automatically once a day when someone uses the app.
Permanently deleting content requires a separate decision. Archived tasks can be deleted after selecting an inactivity threshold: 30, 90, 180 or 365 days. Their messages and attachments are deleted along with them. The app shows the number of items to be deleted and the estimated amount of space that can be freed up. It then displays a random eight-character code. You have to type it in to unlock the “Delete” button. “Inactive” means no changes to the task and no new messages during the selected period. This operation can't be undone, so it's recommended that you back up the database first.
Frequently asked questions
Can every lawyer at the firm see all cases?
No. A standard user only sees tasks they have been explicitly assigned to. A workspace administrator can see all tasks and chats in that workspace. A global administrator has access to all tasks and chats, but not to other users' activity history.
Is correspondence encrypted in the database?
It can be, if you have the Pro variant. Encryption is disabled by default. The administrator generates a DATA_ENCRYPTION_KEY key, which goes into the .env file, downloads a copy of it and switches encryption on. From that moment, Task Manager encrypts new messages written by users and task descriptions with AES-256-GCM, and in the Mail module (Pro) also the content of emails. Data saved earlier is encrypted by the administrator using the "Encrypt existing data" button.
Can old cases be deleted without deleting everything else?
Yes. Permanent deletion is available separately for archived tasks, tasks closed with the status “Done” or “Cancelled”, and old messages. Deleting messages alone leaves tasks and chats intact.
Can a partner edit a message written by a trainee solicitor?
No. Only the author can edit or delete a message. Administrators are no exception.
Who can change a case's status?
A task's status can be changed by its creator, a workspace administrator, a global administrator or someone who has been granted task administrator permissions. A participant with permission to change the status can also do so.