Creating a new case

In this article, we will set up our sample case about a dispute between the fictitious Landmark Mall Development Company and the Landmark Homeowners.  You can read about the case by clicking on the linked text above.

It takes just a few steps to set up a new case.  After logging in to ADR Notable, select the "Create Case" button in the upper right corner of your Dashboard.  You can also create a new case from the Cases tab in your Profile. The system will check to make sure you have a license or subscription.  If you resolve disputes for more than one organization, you will have the opportunity to choose your personal license or to designate which organization's license you want to use.

There are two sections of the Case Setup screen:  Mediation and Participant Information.

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Case Setup:  Mediation

There are three required fields in this section to set up a new case: the Case Title, the Case Type, and the name(s) of the Case Users . 

When you place your cursor in the Case Users field, the email addresses of everyone associated with your Firm will appear.  Select the one(s) who will be working on this case.   Once you save this new case, you will be able to define the Role and set the permissions for all Case Users in your Case Dashboard.  You can also invite a co-mediator who is not in your firm to participate in the Case.   Read about how to invite someone to a case.

Case ID is for your own case "filing" system.  In this example, we created a Case ID prefix of "DJP" in My Profile, and here we will add the date and the name of the case to that prefix to create a Case ID.  If you have a case referred to you that already has an ID number assigned by a court or other entity, you can use the External Case Number field to record that.

Referral Source appears in your list of cases in your Dashboard and you can filter on this field to see all cases referred from a specific source. Read Using My Dashboard for more information.

There are two places to add notes when you are setting up your case.  Any text entered in the Case Summary Notes  field will be automatically added to the Case Summary Report.  You can add notes here when you set up the Case or at a later time.  To do so later, simply click on the name of the Case in your Dashboard, select the Edit button, add your Memo, and click the Save button at the bottom.

The second option is the Administrative Notes box, where a Mediator or Case Manager can makes notes for themselves or each other.   

These two Note fields can be read by anyone who has access to the case, so if you have confidential notes you want to add, try the Mediator note option on your case Noteboard.

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Case Setup:  Participant Information

This is where you enter information about the participants in a case.  If you don't have this information when you first set up your case, save the Case by selecting the Save  button  in the lower right corner.  Later, simply select the Case from your Dashboard, click "Edit," add the participant information, and re-save it.

Enter the name and contact information for the first primary representative of a party in the block called Party 1.  Participants affiliated with this person (including attorneys, witnesses, experts, support people, and advisors) can be added by selecting the box called "+ Add a Participant affiliated with this Primary Party."

Do you have a Party comprised of several separate entities?  Read more about options you have in this situation.

In our example of the Landmark Mall case, the architect George Berg is attending but is not affiliated with either party.  He is added as Party 3, with a Party Type of "Unaffiliated."

Click on the checkmark icon in the lower right corner to create a Checklist for this case, or start with our Client Intake Checklist.  Read more about Checklists.

You can learn more about the Case Dashboard or see how ADR Notable can help you during a session by learning about the Noteboard.