Migrate from Legal Files to Freshsales

Legal Files Matter is the top-level case entity — it has no single Freshsales equivalent. We split it: the client organization maps to Account (Name, industry, address), the matter metadata (case number, case type, status) maps to Deal plus custom fields on Account. Multiple attorneys or parties on one matter become Contacts linked to the same Account.

Legal Files Party records (attorneys, opposing counsel, clients, witnesses) map directly to Freshsales Contact. Each Party's role on the matter (Lead Attorney, Client, Opposing Counsel) is stored as a custom field on the Contact record or as an Account Contact Relationship type. We preserve the party-to-matter linkage by linking each Contact to the corresponding Account.

Legal Files stores documents in a folder hierarchy inside the Matter. We export document file names, paths, and links as a custom field on the corresponding Deal (e.g., Document_Index__c) listing all referenced files. The actual files must be re-hosted in Freshsales file storage post-migration — we provide the re-upload checklist ordered by matter so your team can restore the file tree systematically.

Legal Files court dates, filing deadlines, and meeting entries map to Freshsales Events (for meetings/hearings) and Tasks (for filing deadlines with due dates). We preserve the original date, time, and owner. Freshsales has no court-rule date calculator — deadline logic is rebuilt manually in Freshsales tasks or via Freshsales workflows on Pro plans.

Legal Files time entries with LEDES codes and billing amounts have no native Freshsales equivalent — Freshsales does not include billing or time tracking in its core CRM. We migrate time entry summaries as a custom object or as custom fields on the Deal so historical billing data is visible on the matter record, but invoicing must be handled in a separate billing tool.

Legal Files custom Matter fields (e.g., Court, Judge, Case Type, Statute of Limitations) are recreated as custom fields on the Freshsales Account (for client-level attributes) or Deal (for matter-level attributes). We use the Legal Files field type to determine the Freshsales field type: text, number, date, picklist, and checkbox all map directly. Multi-select pick-lists map to Freshsales multi-select custom fields on Pro and Enterprise plans.

Legal Files custom Party fields (e.g., Bar Number, Practice Area, Litigation Hold Status) are recreated as custom fields on the Freshsales Contact object. We map the field type and preserve the original values so attorney profiles carry forward with their bar credentials and practice area tags.

Legal Files matter statuses (Active, Pending, Closed, On Hold, Dismissed) map to Freshsales Deal stages. We create a value-mapping table per status so the pipeline Kanban view reflects the firm's matter lifecycle. Closed matters land in a 'Closed Won' or 'Closed Lost' stage depending on outcome, and the original Legal Files status is preserved in a custom field for reporting continuity.

Legal Files users (attorneys, paralegals, admins) are matched to Freshsales users by email address. We generate an unmatched-owner report before migration so your team can invite any Legal Files user who does not yet have a Freshsales account. Once matched, the user's name, email, and role are preserved on every record they own.

Legal Files notes and correspondence entries map to Freshsales Notes attached to the relevant Contact or Deal. We preserve the original note date, author, and body text. For long-form correspondence, we attach the full text as a Note so it is searchable inside Freshsales after migration.

Legal Files trust account balances and IOLTA references have no Freshsales equivalent. We preserve the trust account number and last-known balance as custom fields on the Account for reference, but trust accounting functionality must be handled in a dedicated legal accounting tool post-migration.

Legal Files email-save links (emails saved directly to a matter from Outlook) are captured as Freshsales email Activities on the relevant Contact or Deal. We export the email subject, date, and sender/recipient so the communication thread is visible in Freshsales timeline alongside other activities.