Migrate from Insight Legal Case Management to Twenty CRM

Insight Legal has no documented public API — export format determines migration approach

Insight Legal does not expose a public REST or GraphQL API for automated data extraction. Export mechanisms vary by hosting model — some deployments offer CSV exports for standard objects, others require vendor-assisted extraction or direct database access for non-cloud deployments. We start every engagement with a data audit to confirm what export formats are available and what record counts are reachable per object. If only partial exports are available (e.g., client list without matter history), we flag the gap and scope the migration accordingly. This discovery step typically takes 2–3 business days and is included in the migration planning phase before data moves.

Twenty requires all custom fields to exist before CSV import — plan schema first

Twenty's CSV import creates records but not fields — if a column in the import file references a field that does not exist in the Twenty workspace, the import silently ignores that column without throwing an error. For an Insight Legal migration, fields like matter_number, practice_area, billing_status, and party_role have no native Twenty equivalent and must be pre-created in Settings → Data Model before any import runs. We deliver a Twenty schema setup plan (custom object definitions, field names, field types, select options) before the migration runs. Firms should budget 3–5 business days for a Twenty admin to create approximately 15–25 custom fields and 3–4 custom objects. Skipping this step means data lands in Twenty without the fields needed to reconstruct the legal context.

Twenty has no native legal billing model — bills, trust accounts, and ledgers must be rebuilt

Insight Legal's billing module — including bill records, client ledgers, trust account balances, disbursement tracking, and payment history — has no structural equivalent in Twenty CRM. Twenty's data model (People, Companies, Opportunities, Notes, Tasks) does not include a ledger, payment, or accounting object by default. FlitStack AI migrates bill metadata (invoice number, date, amount, status, matter link) into a custom Bill object and time entries into a custom TimeEntry object, but the firm's billing workflow — approval routing, payment recording, trust reconciliation, ledger reporting — must be rebuilt manually in Twenty or through a third-party accounting integration. Firms should decide whether to handle billing inside Twenty (using custom objects and workflows) or maintain it in a separate accounting tool before migration day.

Party-to-matter N:N relationships require a custom junction object and two-pass import

Insight Legal stores party-to-matter associations as independent records with their own metadata (billing contact flag, attorney role, conflict check flag) — a true N:N relationship where one party appears across multiple matters. Twenty's import model does not natively support N:N associations between custom objects. We resolve this by creating a custom MatterParty junction object with relation fields pointing to the People record and the Matter custom object. The migration runs in two passes: first importing all unique People records, then importing MatterParty junction records using email and matter_number as externalId lookups. Any custom attributes on the association (e.g., billing contact flag, conflict status) map to custom fields on the junction object. This approach adds one import pass and requires the junction object's relation fields to be defined in the Twenty schema before the second pass runs.

Workflows and matter automation do not migrate — export definitions as a rebuild reference

Insight Legal workflows and automated triggers (deadline reminders, status change rules, document generation triggers, conflict check automation) are configuration-level constructs with no export path to Twenty. Twenty's workflow builder supports field updates and task creation triggers only — it does not replicate legal matter flows, stage-based automations, or rule-based deadline engines. We export Insight Legal workflow definitions as a structured document (object triggers, conditions, actions, and sequence) so the firm's Twenty admin has a reference for rebuilding equivalent logic. Budget 1–2 weeks of admin time for workflow reconstruction after migration, depending on the number and complexity of active matter flows. Twenty's workflow builder is intentionally minimal — if the firm's processes require complex automation, they should evaluate whether Twenty's current workflow capabilities meet their needs before committing to the migration.