Managing Events

FluentCase includes a comprehensive calendar system to track court dates, appointments, deadlines, and other important events.

Creating Events

Quick Event Creation

1. Click Calendar in the left sidebar
2. Click on a date
3. Enter event title
4. Press Enter
5. Event is created with default settings

Detailed Event Creation

1. Click Calendar → New Event
2. Fill in event details:
   • Title - Event name (required)
   • Calendar Category - Category of event
   • Date - Event date (required)
   • Start Time - When event starts
   • End Time - When event ends
   • All Day - Check if all-day event
   • Matter - Associated matter
   • Location - Where event takes place
   • Notes - Additional event notes
   • Attendees - Who should attend
3. Click Save

Note: Administrators can add custom calendar categories in Firm Settings by clicking on Calendar Categories. This allows you to customize the calendar categories available for your firm.

Creating Events from Matters

1. Open a matter
2. Click the Calendar tab
3. Click New Event
4. Event is automatically associated with the matter
5. Fill in details and save

Conflict and Adjacent Schedule Warnings

When creating or reviewing events, FluentCase may show conflict or adjacent-schedule indicators for assigned users. The indicators answer two questions:

• Does this item overlap another event or task?
• Is another scheduled item close enough in time that staff should be aware of it?

Adjacent items are not always conflicts. They are warnings that the schedule may require travel time, preparation time, or reassignment.

These indicators may appear while editing or reviewing calendar events, tasks with due dates or times, items assigned to one or more users, and matter-specific scheduling screens. When a warning appears:

1. Review the nearby or overlapping items.
2. Check assigned staff.
3. Consider travel, hearing, or preparation time.
4. Adjust the time, date, or assignee if needed.

Creating Recurring Events

For events that repeat:

1. Create an event
2. In the Repeats field, select a pattern:
   • Daily
   • Weekly (select days)
   • Monthly (select date or day)
   • Yearly
3. Set end date or number of occurrences
4. Click Save

Tip: To block off several consecutive days (for example, a two-week trial), create an All Day Event, set Repeats to daily, and end it after the number of days you need (for example, 14 occurrences). The event then appears on each of those days.

Calendar Categories

Note: Additional calendar categories can be added in Firm Settings by clicking on Calendar Categories. This allows you to create custom categories tailored to your firm’s needs.

Court Events

• Hearing - Court hearing
• Trial - Trial date
• Conference - Settlement conference, status conference
• Mediation - Mediation session
• Arbitration - Arbitration hearing

Appointments

• Client Meeting - Meeting with client
• Deposition - Deposition of witness or party
• Medical Exam - QME, AME, IME appointments
• Site Inspection - Property or accident site visit

Deadlines

• Filing Deadline - Court filing due date
• Discovery Deadline - Discovery cutoff
• Response Due - Response to motion, discovery, etc.
• Statute of Limitations - Filing deadline

Tip: Update deadline date fields in the matter’s Summary and Dates section to keep all important dates synchronized across the system.

Workers’ Compensation Specific

• WCAB Hearing - Workers’ Comp Appeals Board hearing
• MSC - Mandatory Settlement Conference
• Lien Conference - Lien resolution conference
• PQME - Panel QME appointment
• Rating - Permanent disability rating appointment

Note: These are examples of calendar categories that can be added in Firm Settings by clicking on Calendar Categories. You can customize these categories to match your firm’s specific needs and practice areas.

Event Fields

Required Fields

• Title - Event name
• Date - Event date
• Calendar Category - Category of event
• Assignee - Person responsible for the event

Optional Fields

• Start Time - When event starts
• End Time - When event ends (or duration)
• All Day - Check for all-day events
• Matter - Associated case
• Location - Address or place name
• Notes - Additional event notes
• Attendees - People who should attend

Viewing Events

Calendar View

View events in calendar format:

1. Click Calendar in the left sidebar
2. Choose view:
   • Agenda - List view of events
   • Day - Daily agenda
   • Week - Weekly schedule
   • Month - Monthly calendar
   • List - Detailed list view
3. Navigate with arrows or date picker

Matter Events

View events for a specific matter:

1. Open a matter
2. Click the Calendar tab
3. See all events for this matter
4. Filter by calendar category or date range

The calendar inside a matter shows only that matter’s events. To see events across all matters, click Calendar in the left sidebar to open the firmwide calendar.

Viewing All Events in a Month View Day

In Month view, each day shows as many events as fit. To see the rest:

• Click the event count in the corner of the day to open that day in Day view.
• Click the ellipsis (…) to open a popup listing every event for that day. Click an event title to open its details, or click Edit to edit it.

Filtering by Assignee

The Filter by Assignee button in the bottom-left corner of the Agenda, Day, Week, and Month views controls whose events are shown:

1. Click Filter by Assignee (or the initials of the currently selected users)
2. Check the users whose events you want to see
3. Click Close

• With no users checked, the calendar shows events for all users.
• Click Clear All to uncheck every user.
• Click Set Default Assignee Filter to save the current selection as the filter applied when you open the calendar.
• A Filter Active badge appears while an assignee or calendar category filter is applied.
• Only active users are listed. Events assigned to a deactivated user remain on the calendar, but that user cannot be selected in the filter.

Troubleshooting: If an event you created or expected to see is missing, check for the Filter Active badge. Your default assignee filter may be limiting the calendar to your own events. Click Clear All in the assignee filter to show events for all users.

Editing and Deleting Events

Opening and Editing Events

In Day, Week, and Month views:

• Single-click an event to open its details
• Double-click an event to open the edit form
• Drag an event to a new time, or drag its edge to change its duration (Day and Week views only; not available on touch devices)

The Agenda view does not support double-click or drag editing. Click the event title to open its details, then click Edit Event Details.

Opening the Linked Matter

Open the event’s details. The linked matter name and file number appear as a link; click it to open the matter.

Changing an Event’s Matter

The Matter field cannot be changed when editing an event that is already linked to a matter. To move the event to a different matter:

1. Open the event’s details
2. Click Switch Case Matter
3. Select the correct matter
4. Click Save

Deleting Events

• In Day, Week, Month, or Agenda view, click the × icon on the event and confirm
• Or open the event’s details and click Delete Calendar Event

When you delete one occurrence of a recurring event, FluentCase asks whether to delete only that occurrence or the whole series. Either way, the change applies to everyone who sees the event, not just your calendar.

Who Can Edit and Delete Events

• Read Only users cannot create, edit, or delete events.
• General Staff users can create and edit events, but can delete only events they created within the last 72 hours.
• Calendar Administrator, Power User, and higher roles can delete any event.

See User Roles and Permissions.

Event Attendees

Adding Attendees

1. Create or edit an event
2. Click Add Attendees
3. Select users:
   • Firm users
   • Matter staff (attorney, paralegal, etc.)
4. Click Save

Attendee Notifications

When you add attendees:

• They receive a memo notification
• Event appears on their calendar

Calendar Sync

iCal/CalDAV Sync

Sync FluentCase calendar with external calendars:

• Google Calendar
• Outlook Calendar
• Apple Calendar
• Other iCal-compatible calendars

See iCalendar Setup Guide for instructions.

Event Colors

Color Coding

Organize events with colors:

• By Calendar Category - Different color for each calendar category
• Custom - Choose your own colors

Setting Colors

1. Go to Settings \u2192 Calendar
2. Configure color scheme
3. Choose colors for each category
4. Click Save

Note: Color settings are only available in Firm Settings under Calendar Categories. Administrators can customize colors for each calendar category to help organize and visually distinguish different types of events.

Best Practices

Event Creation

• Be specific - Clear, descriptive titles
• Include location - Always add location/address
• Add details - Include case number, judge, etc. in description
• Invite attendees - Ensure everyone knows about the event

Calendar Management

• Review weekly - Check upcoming events every Monday
• Update promptly - Change or cancel events as soon as you know
• Confirm attendance - Respond to event invitations
• Check conflicts - Avoid double-booking
• Sync calendars - Keep all calendars in sync

Court Dates

• Verify dates - Confirm court dates with court clerk
• Add travel time - Account for travel to courthouse
• Prepare early - Set reminder tasks for preparation
• Notify client - Ensure client knows about court dates
• Update if continued - Update event if hearing is continued