Migrate from Aderant Expert to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales

Aderant Clients map to Dynamics Accounts. The Client record's company name, address, phone, and status (Active/Archived) transfer as Account.Name, Account.Address fields, Account.Telephone, and Account.StatusCode. Client ID is preserved as a custom field (Client_ID__c) for traceability and foreign-key resolution when migrating related Matters.

Contacts stored under each Aderant Client map to Dynamics Contacts linked to the corresponding Account via AccountId. The primary contact name, email address, phone number, and role (Billing Contact, Administrative Contact) transfer directly. Multiple contacts per client collapse to individual Contact records all pointing to the same AccountId.

Aderant Matters map to Dynamics Opportunities because both represent tracked business engagements with open dates, close dates, values, and status. Matter number and title combine as Opportunity.Name. The Client ID foreign key links to the Account. Matter status (Open/Closed/On Hold) maps to Opportunity.StateCode. Billing method and fee arrangement become custom fields on the Opportunity record.

Aderant Billers represent the firm's timekeepers — attorneys, paralegals, and administrative staff who log time. Billers map to Dynamics Users resolved by email match against your Dynamics tenant. The Biller's name, email, and role classification (Attorney, Paralegal, Admin) transfer, with role preserved as a custom field (Biller_Role__c) until your Dynamics admin assigns the appropriate Dynamics security role.

Aderant Time Entries track billable and non-billable time logged against a Matter by a Biller. Each Time Entry maps to a Dynamics Task with the associated Contact (as regardingobjectid) and Opportunity (as regardingobjectid). Entry date, duration in hours, activity description, billing status, and biller attribution are preserved. Billable/non-billable flags become custom fields since Dynamics Tasks lack a native billing-status field.

Aderant eBilling Guidelines define client-specific billing rules — LEDES format requirements, expense caps, billing frequency, invoice approval routing. These have no direct Dynamics equivalent. We create a custom Dataverse table (eBilling_Guideline__c) linked to Account, storing the guideline text as a large-text field and individual rule components (frequency, format, approval_routing) as structured custom fields.

Aderant tracks conflict-of-interest check results as a separate entity linked to Client records. Dynamics has no native conflicts entity. We create a custom Conflicts_Check__c table linked to Account, storing the check date, parties searched, results summary, and clearance status as structured custom fields. The original conflict-check logic in Aderant must be rebuilt using Power Automate or a third-party conflicts-check integration.

Aderant stores matter documents and client files on local or network drives linked via SQL paths. We extract file metadata (name, type, size, path, created date) and re-upload to Dynamics' connected SharePoint site (via the native SharePoint integration) linked to the corresponding Account or Opportunity. Actual binary files are re-hosted; the original SharePoint URL is stored as a custom field on the record.

Aderant invoices map partially to Dynamics Invoices — both include invoice number, amount, date, client reference, and line items. However, Aderant's LEDES 1998B formatting, multi-currency support, and client-specific invoice templates do not transfer. We migrate invoice header data and line-item summaries; the formatted invoice PDF is preserved as a SharePoint-attached document linked to the Invoice record.

Aderant Matter tables frequently contain firm-specific custom columns beyond the standard schema. We audit the Aderant SQL schema before migration, create corresponding custom columns on the Opportunity Dataverse table, and migrate the values directly. Custom fields with lookup relationships to other Aderant tables require additional mapping logic to resolve the foreign key.

Firms commonly add custom fields to the Client table (e.g., referral source, client tier, billing preferences). We create matching custom columns on the Account table in Dataverse and migrate values. Multi-select or pick-list fields in Aderant are mapped to Dataverse Option Sets with value-by-value correspondence.

Aderant stores attorney and paralegal hourly rates per matter or per client. Dynamics has no native rate-card entity. We create a custom Billing_Rate__c table linked to the User (Biller) and optionally to Account, storing the rate, effective date, and rate type (Hourly, Fixed, Contingency). Rate-based invoice generation requires Power Automate workflows post-migration.