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Legal file note template, with a worked example

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The template

Formatted for Word, with a box for your logo. Placeholders are [highlighted] so nothing is missed.

File note template

Your logo

[Firm name]

[Street address], [Suburb] [STATE] [Postcode]

T [Phone] · E [Email]

File note

Privileged and confidential

Matter[Client name] – [matter type]
Our ref[Matter number]
Date[Date]
Time[Start] – [Finish] ([Duration])
Attendance[In person / Phone / Video]
Present[Names and roles]
Author[Lawyer name]

Purpose

[Why the meeting or call took place.]

Information from client

  • [Key facts, dates and figures, as the client gave them.]

Advice given

  • [What you advised, in plain terms.]
  • [Risks, time limits and costs discussed, and how the client responded.]

Instructions

  • [What the client asked you to do, or not to do.]

Documents

Received
[Documents received]
Requested
[Documents requested]

Next steps

WhoActionBy
Firm[Task][Date]
Client[Task][Date]
Time recorded
[Units]
Signed
[Initials]
Date
[Date]

What is a file note?

A file note is the lawyer’s written record of a meeting, phone call or other attendance on a matter. It records who was there, what the client said, the advice given and the instructions received.

It is written at the time, or straight after. If advice or instructions are later disputed, the file note is usually the firm’s best evidence of what happened.

  • Documents

What to include

  • Date, time and length

    When it started and finished, and how you attended: in person, phone or video.

  • Who was present

    Names and roles, including any interpreter or support person.

  • What the client told you

    The key facts, dates and figures, as the client gave them.

  • Advice given

    What you advised, the risks, time limits and costs, and how the client responded.

  • Instructions received

    What the client asked you to do, or not to do.

  • Next steps

    Who does what, by when. Documents received and requested.

  • Workflow

How to write a file note

  1. 01

    Write it straight away

    Before the next client. A note written days later, from memory, is weaker evidence.

  2. 02

    Record advice and instructions

    Not only the facts. These are what matter if the file is ever reviewed.

  3. 03

    Note every warning

    Time limits, costs and risks you raised, and how the client responded.

  4. 04

    Keep it factual

    Separate what the client said from your own view.

  5. 05

    Note calls too

    A three-line note of a short phone call is better than none.

  6. 06

    File it to the matter

    Save it the same day, where the rest of the team can find it.

  • Recordings
  • Documents
  • Review

Or have it drafted from the recording.

Law Brief records the consultation and drafts the file note and the client letter together, in Australia. Your lawyer checks both against the recording before signing.

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2:002:152:302:453:00
AlexConsultation · Alex
2:00 to 2:45
TranscriptTranscript
Ready in seconds
2:45
Letter and noteDella drafts letter and note
Under 5 min
2:49
Next: SamNext client · Sam
11 minutes to spare
3:00

The red bar is the consultation itself: 45 minutes with the client. Everything after it takes Della under 5. The letter and file note are waiting for your lawyer 11 minutes before the next client sits down.

  • Case study
Catton & Tondelstrand Lawyers

Catton & Tondelstrand save around $420K a year.

Client letters in under 5 minutes, down from 45. Same team. Same Smokeball.

Run the numbers for your firm
~$420KSaved each year with Della20-person family law firm · Catton & Tondelstrand
20

people in the firm

45→<5min

per client letter

Also freeLetter of advice template, with a worked example

Questions.

Checked . General information, not legal advice. Sources: LPLC on file notes
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