Migrate from Criminal Case Management to HighLevel

HighLevel has no native Matter object. We create a Custom Object named 'Case' with fields mirroring the source schema: case_number, court_name, case_status, filing_date, next_hearing_date. Each Case Custom Object record links to a primary Contact (the client) via a relationship field, preserving the matter-to-client hierarchy.

Client records map directly to HighLevel Contacts. We preserve the original client ID as Source_System_ID__c for traceability and delta-run de-duplication. Address, phone, and email fields transfer directly; custom client fields (e.g., bar number, referral source) map to Contact custom fields.

Non-client parties (defendants, opposing counsel, witnesses) migrate as Contacts tagged with a party_type value (Defendant, Witness, Opposing Counsel). Each party_type gets a specific Tag in HighLevel so your team can filter contacts by role without creating separate custom fields for every party type.

Court names and judicial districts map to HighLevel Companies with the type set to 'Court'. This mapping approach lets you associate Case Custom Object records with the relevant court Company, and run reports on caseload by jurisdiction using HighLevel's native filtering capabilities. Courts become first-class entities in your HighLevel database for reporting and relationship tracking.

Source attorney and paralegal assignments become custom fields on the Case Custom Object: assigned_attorney_name (text), assigned_attorney_email (email), assigned_paralegal_name (text). If the attorney already exists as a HighLevel user, we link to their Contact record via a relationship field for activity tracking.

Source hearing dates, court appearances, and deadlines migrate as HighLevel Appointments linked to the Case Custom Object. We map hearing type to the Appointment title, hearing date to the appointment start time, and court location to the appointment address field. Recurring hearings are expanded into individual appointment records.

Case notes and memos migrate as HighLevel Notes attached to the relevant Case Custom Object or Contact. Original author, create date, and last-modified timestamp are preserved. Rich-text formatting is maintained; attachments within notes are extracted and re-uploaded as separate file records.

Documents, pleadings, evidence files, and correspondence attached to a Matter migrate as HighLevel Files. We re-upload each file to the associated Case Custom Object record. File size limits apply per HighLevel's upload constraints. Original file names and upload timestamps are preserved as metadata.

Case-related tasks (filing deadlines, discovery cutoffs, response due dates) migrate as HighLevel Tasks linked to the Case Custom Object. Task due dates map directly; assignees are resolved by email match against HighLevel users. Completed-status tasks retain their completion date from the source.

Bills and invoices attached to a Matter map to HighLevel Opportunities with a billing pipeline. The bill amount becomes the Opportunity amount; case number is stored in a custom Opportunity field for reference. Note that HighLevel lacks native legal billing (trust accounting, LEDES codes) — these are preserved as reference data, not as a functional billing module.

Source-specific custom fields (e.g., case_priority, case_type, statute_of_limitations, bond_amount) are mapped to corresponding Custom Object fields on the Case Custom Object in HighLevel. Field types are matched: pick-list values become HighLevel choices fields; date fields become date fields; numeric fields become number fields. Any field with no HighLevel equivalent is stored as a text custom field for reference.

Source users (attorneys, paralegals, administrative staff) are matched to HighLevel users by email address. Unmatched users are flagged before migration — your team either creates the HighLevel user first or assigns their records to an existing fallback user. User-level permissions and roles are not migrated as those are destination-side configuration.