Post status updates clients can read

A status update is a deliberate, client-visible note on the case timeline — the thing that answers "any news?" before the client calls to ask. Post one from the case's Updates tab, or in one click from a saved template. Everything on this timeline is visible to the client; that's the point of it.

Post an update

On the Updates tab, press Post update, give it an Update title and a Plain-English update, and press Post status update. The entry lands on the timeline newest-first, the client is notified, and the update also appears as "Latest from your firm" on their portal home.

Posting works offline — the update queues in the Outbox and sends when you reconnect.

Send a template in one click

Press Use template to open a searchable picker of your firm's saved updates. Each row previews the body; Send posts that template's title and body verbatim as the update. Routine milestones — "Discovery underway", "Waiting on opposing counsel" — become one click instead of a rewrite.

Create and edit templates under Settings → Status templates. Any firm member can manage your firm's own templates; the Built-in templates BetterDocket provides are read-only, so create your own version to customize one. Templates are plain text sent as-is — there are no merge fields — so keep them general enough to send verbatim, and use Post update when a case needs specifics.

Why the timing matters

Today flags any case that has gone 14+ days without a status update as stale, because a quiet portal sends clients back to the phone. Posting an update — templated or written — resets that clock. Update on milestones, not on a schedule: when a phase changes, when something was filed, when the next step becomes clear.

Where else you can post from

The ⋯ quick-actions menu on any Today or queue row includes Post update, so a morning pass over the queue doesn't require opening each case. What the client sees on their side is covered in See where your case stands.