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Lupl Best Practices & Guardrails

  • Updated

Purpose: Prevent the most common high-impact mistakes (especially irreversible deletions), keep teams aligned, and reduce last-minute emergencies.

How to use this page: If you’re about to make a big change (delete, bulk edit, restructure), start with the 2-minute safety check below.

The 2-minute safety check (before any “heavy work”)

  1. Back up first (mandatory). 
    Choose the following method for your use case:
    • Export the Workstream (or Export All Workstreams in the Matter from the Workstreams page). 
    • If you need a full snapshot, clone the Matter (Owners and Admins only).
  2. Confirm workstream access + edit responsibility.
    • Important: Lupl does not have a “view-only” mode for Workstreams.
    • If someone can see a Workstream, they can edit it.
    • So your guardrails need to be intentional: restrict access to only those who should be able to change it, and agree a human process for edits.
  3. Announce the change window.
    • Post in the Matter Channel and @mention the Workstream steward/owner.
    • For more information on matter channels and communications, please refer to this article.
  4. Make the change (prefer one controlled batch).
  5. Sanity-check the result.
    • Confirm key columns, assignments, due dates, and any grouped/sorted views.

Deletions are final – plan before you click

Lupl is not Excel – there is no “Ctrl‑Z” for deletions. If you delete workstream items individually or in bulk, or if you delete an entire Workstream, treat it as irreversible.

What to do instead (safe workflow):

  1. Back it up first (mandatory):
    • Export the Workstream, or bulk export all Workstreams in the Matter.
    • If you need a full snapshot with easy restoration of selection-based column configurations, clone the Matter (Owners and Admins only) by creating a matter, and selecting "Clone an Existing Matter".
  2. Do heavy cleanup in a “Reserve / Backup Matter” (recommended).
    • Keep a dedicated cloned matter (named e.g., “RESERVE – [Matter name]”) where you store exported files and/or imported copies.
  3. Only then, commence with delete / bulk-edit jobs.

If you already deleted something:

  • Your path forward is to rebuild from your last export/backup (or manually recreate if no backup exists).
  • If you have an export, you can import it back as a Workstream.
  • Support can help you figure out the cleanest way to rebuild, but do not rely on recovery.

Avoid deleting where possible:

  • If something is “out of sight,” use filters/sorts/grouping instead of removing data.
  • If a column “disappeared,” check whether it was hidden before assuming it was deleted.

 

Backups: the three safest ways

Option A – Export a Workstream (recommended for most changes)

  • Single Workstream export is available within each Workstream
  • You can also Export All Workstreams in a Matter from the Workstreams page:
    https://app.lupl.com/matter/[your-matter]/workstreams

Option B – Download point-in-time Matter Archive (recommended before major cleanup)

  • Download archives for a designated matter and/or re-import Workstreams there as a working backup.
  • This option is available to Matter Owners and Admins. 
  • Regular matter members can still leverage Option A.

Option C – Clone/Duplicate the Matter (best full snapshot)

  • Matter cloning provides a complete snapshot.
  • This is especially useful for backing up built matter and workstreams.
  • All or part of the cloned matter can be restored by importing Workstreams back into the matter.
  • Alternatively, the clone can be made the working version if restoring to the base matter introduces additional time burden.

 

Editorial rights: decide who can change what (and how you’ll know)

Key reality: no “view-only” Workstream access

  • If a person can access a Workstream, they can edit it.
  • Permissions reduce access to Workstreams; they do not create view-only Workstreams.

Best practice: assign a “Workstream steward”

For each Workstream, document:

  • Steward/owner: accountable for structure + quality
  • Editors: who is allowed to restructure columns, bulk edit, or delete rows
  • Change etiquette: what requires a heads-up vs. what’s safe anytime

Enforce access at the Matter level

  • Matter Owners and Admins can change Roles & Permissions in a matter.
  • Use Roles & Permissions to restrict which Workstreams custom roles can access.
  • Operational guardrail: only grant access to Workstreams when you’re comfortable that person can edit, and each member in the matter is clear on their editing scope within the matter and its Workstreams.

 

Notifications: make updates visible by design

Use notifications for “small” changes

  • Rely on @mentions and assignments for day-to-day collaboration. 
    Read more here.

Use a simple change-control habit for “big” changes

  • When restructuring a Workstream (columns, bulk edits, deletes), post:
    • what will change
    • when it will happen
    • who to contact if something looks off

Use Automations where appropriate

  • Automations can help with reminders, conditional prompts, and keeping trackers in sync.

 

Guardrail: don’t break Task functionality by deleting the wrong columns

If you’re using a Task Workstream, keep these intact:

  • Task Name
  • Due Date
  • Assignee

If Due Date / Assignee columns are deleted, the Workstream can lose task-based functionality. You can restore this by converting back to a Task workstream, though you will have lost the data from the deleted column. (Read more here.)

Safer approach: add new columns for extra metadata instead of repurposing core task columns, and hide columns that may be redundant in the present context.

 

Matter close-out is irreversible – treat it like “Send”

  • Only the Matter Owner can close a Matter.
  • Closed Matters cannot be reopened.
  • A Matter Archive is generated at closure, but can be generated throughout the course of the Matter whilst active.
  • After the retention window, the Matter and archives are permanently deleted from Lupl.
    • By default, Lupl sets this to 90 days. This is customizable and varies from firm to firm.
    • Double-check with your firm's Lupl application owner on retention times for your firm.

Best practice: download/store the archive promptly right before or immediately after closing the matter.

 

Documents & DMS: avoid permission surprises

  • With DMS integrations (iManage, NetDocuments, and SharePoint/OneDrive), documents remain in your DMS; Lupl stores deep links.
  • Access depends on DMS permissions. 
    • If they don't have permission to access the underlying document in your DMS, they won't be able to access it via the DMS integration in Lupl. 

DMS Integrations note: deleting links from Lupl does not delete documents from the DMS.

References:

 

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