Migrate from The Plaintiff to Zoho CRM

The Plaintiff case record maps directly to a Zoho CRM Deal. The case number becomes the Deal Name, case status maps to Deal Stage via value-by-value translation, and the filing date maps to the Close Date field. Custom fields on the case record (court jurisdiction, opposing counsel, statute of limitations) create as Zoho custom fields on the Deal module.

Plaintiff party records (plaintiffs, defendants, witnesses, attorneys) map to Zoho CRM Contacts. Each party role is preserved as a custom picklist field (Party_Role__c) so the firm can filter contacts by their role in a given matter. Multiple attorneys on a case generate multiple Contact records with separate role designations.

The Plaintiff's firm or organization record maps to a Zoho CRM Account. The firm name becomes Account Name, the jurisdiction field maps to Industry or a custom picklist, and billing address maps to the Account's billing address fields. If The Plaintiff stores multiple organization records per matter, they collapse to a primary Account with additional contacts linked via Account Contact Relations.

Plaintiff activity log entries (phone calls, document filings, court appearances) map to Zoho CRM Tasks. The activity type becomes the Task Subject, the description becomes the Task details, and the original activity date maps to the Activity Date custom field. Tasks are linked to the parent Deal (case record) via the WhatId lookup.

Plaintiff court date and hearing records map to Zoho CRM Events. The hearing type becomes the Event Subject, start time maps to the Event Start DateTime, and the courtroom or judge name maps to the Location field. Events are linked to the parent Deal and the assigned Contact (attorney) via WhatId and WhoId lookups.

Plaintiff document attachments linked to case records migrate to Zoho CRM Attachments. Each attachment is re-uploaded and linked to the corresponding Deal (case) record. File size must fall within the destination Zoho edition's storage limits; FlitStack validates attachment size against the target plan before committing the full migration.

The Plaintiff supports custom fields on case records. FlitStack creates matching custom fields in Zoho CRM via the Settings Fields API before migration. Data types are preserved: picklist fields become Zoho picklists, date fields become Zoho date fields, and text fields become Zoho text fields. Custom field IDs are stored for traceability.

Party-level custom fields in The Plaintiff (e.g., bar number for attorney parties, client ID for plaintiff parties) migrate as custom fields on the Zoho CRM Contact record. The Contact's email address serves as the unique identifier for de-duplication against existing Zoho contacts.

The Plaintiff user records (attorneys, paralegals, admins) resolve to Zoho CRM Users by email match. If a The Plaintiff user has no matching Zoho user, FlitStack flags the record for manual resolution before migration. Role and profile assignments in Zoho are not set during migration—they require post-migration configuration by a Zoho admin.

Free-form case notes and memos from The Plaintiff migrate as Zoho CRM Notes. The note body maps to the Note Body field, and the note is linked to the parent Deal (case) record. Rich-text formatting is preserved as plain text if the original contains HTML markup.

Time entries in The Plaintiff have no native Zoho CRM equivalent at the CRM level. FlitStack preserves time entry data as a custom module (Case_Time_Entries__c) with fields for date, hours, description, and billing rate. Firms using Zoho Books for billing can connect this module via Zoho integration after migration.

Opposing counsel and third-party contacts from The Plaintiff merge into the standard Zoho CRM Contact object with a custom Party_Role__c picklist value of 'Opposing Counsel' or 'Third Party'. The contact's firm name maps to the Account lookup, creating a link between opposing counsel and their organization in Zoho.