Migrate from LegalServer to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales

LegalServer client records map directly to Dynamics 365 Contact. The client's primary organization (if any) maps to Account. LegalServer stores client name in first-name/middle-name/last-name/suffix fields; Dynamics 365 Contact follows the same field model with FirstName, MiddleName, LastName, Suffix. Conflict-check status follows the client as a custom field.

LegalServer Matter has no direct Dynamics 365 native equivalent — Dynamics 365 Sales does not include a Case entity. We create a custom Matter table in the Dataverse environment with fields for MatterName, MatterStatus, MatterType, AssignedAttorney (lookup to SystemUser), ConflictCheckStatus, OpenDate, and CloseDate. This table is the core of the legal migration.

LegalServer grant records (with billing types Flat Hourly Rate or Variable Hourly Rate and balance tracking) map to a custom Grant table plus grant-balance and billing-type fields on the Matter table. Dynamics 365 has no native grant-balance deduction model — balance tracking requires custom decimal fields and periodic recalculation logic built in Power Automate post-migration.

LegalServer staff user records (attorneys, caseworkers) map by email match to Dynamics 365 SystemUser records. If a LegalServer attorney has no corresponding Dynamics 365 user, their assignments migrate as text fields (LastAssignedAttorney__c) on the Matter record and are flagged for admin review.

LegalServer's Contractor module (outside counsel, panel attorneys) maps to a custom Contractor table in Dynamics 365 with fields for ContractorName, SubjectMatterExpertise (multi-select), LanguagesSpoken, FeeStructure, and ActiveStatus. Work orders and vouchers associated with a matter link via a custom matter-contractor junction table.

LegalServer timekeeping entries (staff hours logged against a matter) map to a custom Timekeeping table with fields for MatterId, StaffUserId, Hours, Date, BillingType, and Rate. Hours entries also generate Dynamics 365 Activities (Task with Type='TimeEntry') for reporting visibility in the Dynamics 365 timeline.

LegalServer communication log entries (emails, calls, letters) map to Dynamics 365 Activity entities — Email for email logs, PhoneCall for call logs, and Note (Annotation) for written correspondence. Original timestamps, direction (inbound/outbound), and associated Contact are preserved. Attachment references on communication logs link to re-uploaded files.

LegalServer file attachments (PDFs, scanned documents) attached to matters or clients re-upload to Dynamics 365's connected SharePoint document management (if SharePoint integration is enabled) or as Note (Annotation) attachments in Dataverse. File size limits (default 128MB per file in Dataverse) apply; files exceeding this threshold are flagged for chunked upload.

LegalServer outreach records (community outreach, intake events) map to a custom Outreach table with fields for OutreachType, OutreachDate, ClientId (lookup to Contact), and Outcome. This captures community engagement data that has no native Dynamics 365 equivalent, including location, participant count, and follow-up actions.

LegalServer administrators create custom fields via Admin > Custom Field Management with types including bool, lookup, lookup_custom, and text. Each custom field maps to a corresponding custom column on the appropriate Dynamics 365 table. Lookup fields require a corresponding custom table or option set in Dynamics 365 to resolve the reference.

LegalServer financial information fields (used to calculate Percentage of Poverty) map to custom decimal and currency fields on the Contact record: PovertyPercentage__c, AnnualIncome__c, HouseholdSize__c. The original poverty-level assessment result migrates as a pick-list field (PovertyLevel__c) for grant-eligibility reporting in Dynamics 365.

LegalServer intake and prescreen records that did not convert to full matters map to a custom Intake table for audit purposes. Intakes that resulted in opened matters link to the corresponding Matter record. If the intake was rejected or pending, a Dynamics 365 Lead record is created with intake-source attribution for follow-up tracking.