Migrate from Thomson Reuters Case Center to Zoho CRM

Each Case Center Case becomes a Zoho CRM Deal. The Case Number populates Deal Name; Case Status maps to a Zoho Stage value via value_mapping; the Case description becomes the Deal notes field. Original creation date and last-modified date are preserved as custom datetime fields since Zoho's CreatedDate is set at migration time.

If the organization tracks Case Center-specific metadata (hearing type, filing jurisdiction, case category) that has no natural Zoho Deal equivalent, we create a Zoho Custom Module named 'Case Records' and map those fields into it, linked to the Deal via a lookup.

Case Center Parties are individuals or organizations. Organization-type parties map to Zoho Accounts; individual parties map to Zoho Contacts linked to the Account. The Party Type field ('Individual' or 'Organization') drives the split. For parties without an organization, a default 'Unassigned Account' record is created.

Case Center allows a Party to hold multiple roles on a single Case (e.g., Plaintiff, Witness). When a Contact plays one role, we use Zoho's built-in Contact Role on the Deal-Contact relationship. When a Contact plays multiple roles across cases, we create a multi-select pick-list field (Party_Roles__c) on the Contact and populate it with all applicable role values from Case Center.

Case Center Documents (PDFs, images, audio, video) are downloaded from Case Center storage and re-uploaded as Zoho CRM Attachments on the corresponding Deal record. Original file name, file size in bytes, upload timestamp, and page count (if available from Case Center metadata) are stored as custom text fields on the Deal for audit continuity.

Case Center tracks document version numbers. Zoho CRM Attachments have no native versioning. We store the version string (e.g., 'v3.1') in a custom text field on the Deal and include it in the file-naming convention (filename_v3.1.pdf) so the version is recoverable without a separate version-history table.

Case Center Hearing records (scheduled date, duration, presiding judge, hearing type) map to Zoho CRM Events. The hearing title becomes the Event subject; start and end times map from Case Center's hearing schedule; the judge name is stored in a custom text field. If Case Center records multiple hearing dates for one case, each becomes a separate Zoho Event.

Case Center annotations and notes attached to a Document or Case migrate as Zoho CRM Notes. The note body, author, and timestamp are preserved. If the note is rich-text or includes markup, we store the raw HTML in a custom long-text field in case formatting cannot be fully preserved in Zoho's note editor.

Case Center administrators can define custom fields on Cases, Parties, or Documents. Each custom field is audited during the schema assessment: its data type (text, number, date, pick-list) determines the Zoho field type to create, and pick-list values are replicated exactly. Required flags on the source are noted for Zoho admin to set post-migration.

Case Center assigns a Case Owner or Assigned Attorney to each case. We resolve by email match against active Zoho CRM users. Unmatched attorneys are flagged with their Case Center ID stored in a custom field; the Deal is assigned to a designated fallback Zoho user until the attorney account is provisioned.

Case Center user accounts (admin, attorney, paralegal, court staff roles) do not map to Zoho CRM users because the permission models are entirely different. We preserve Case Center user names and email addresses in a custom field on the Deal for reference. Zoho user provisioning is a separate administrative step after migration.

Case Center docket entries and filing records map to Zoho CRM Tasks. The task subject carries the docket description; the due date maps from the filing deadline; the status maps from Case Center's filing status (Pending, Filed, Rejected). Tasks are linked to the parent Deal.