Working position
Separate the next action
Harbour needs counsel’s direction on the proposal. Redwood needs review of prepared work. Willow is waiting on the client’s statement.
Priorities & counsel attention
Back from court.
Where do you begin?
See which file needs a decision, which has work to review and which is waiting on someone else.
A useful starting point
Decision.
Preparation.
Waiting.
Know what needs counsel and what the team can carry forward.
What needs you
before the next call?
You come back to a changed client instruction, a prepared brief and a promised document. Each needs a different response. A single list of open tasks leaves you to sort that out again.
Give counsel the reason a decision is needed and the work available to act on. Give staff a clear preparation task or follow-up, with its source and owner.
The Line brings counsel’s decisions together with their sources and prepared work. In this example, directing Harbour changes its preparation while the other two files keep their own next steps.
Direct the work that needs you. Keep the rest of the team’s work in view.
Back at the office
Know why it needs you.
Three files are waiting when you return. Give Harbour a direction and follow the resulting brief.
Three developments. Different kinds of work.
Inspect the fictional return-to-office note
Harbour: Alex changed the proposed Friday time to 5:00 pm. Redwood: internal conference brief is ready for inspection. Willow: the client has promised a statement but has not sent it.
Put your instruction beside the preparation.
Inspect counsel’s fictional instruction
Keep the 5:00 pm proposal internal. Prepare the client conference brief and include the transport question. Do not circulate the response.
Internal draft
Conference preparation
Confirm Alex’s proposed Friday handover at 5:00 pm and the transport arrangement. Keep the response internal. The other party’s agreement is not established.
The list changes when the work changes.
Prepared · review outstanding
Your next starting point
Harbour: brief prepared under the recorded instruction. Counsel review and transport question remain.
Redwood: existing brief still available for its own review.
Willow: statement still with the client. The receipt follow-up remains open.
Fictional demonstration. Nothing is sent, filed or scheduled. Resets when you reload.
Deciding what
needs attention.
Does every open item belong on The Line?
Open work can be preparation, a dependency or a decision. The useful question is what needs counsel’s attention, why, and what is available to act on.
Does NISI decide the order of my work?
This example groups work by its next action; it does not demonstrate automatic ranking or calculate legal deadlines. Counsel decides priority using the actual matter and verified dates.
What happens after I direct the work?
The prepared work and its review status carry your direction. Other waiting items stay open until something changes on those files.
Come back to
a clear next decision.
Discuss how your firm separates counsel’s decisions, staff preparation and waiting work.