Hand over a matter in 10 minutes, not 2 hours.
I read the entire matter file — file notes, emails, documents, court dates — and produce a structured handover summary so the incoming lawyer is across everything without a 2-hour briefing.
I generate matter handover summaries by reading the full matter file from your practice management system. I extract the key parties, the chronology, outstanding tasks, upcoming deadlines, the current strategic position, and any risk items — and produce a structured summary the incoming lawyer can read in 10 minutes. No more 2-hour verbal handovers where half the detail is lost. Built for the matter structures and file note conventions used in Australian law firms.
What changes
A lawyer leaves or goes on parental leave. The handover is a 2-hour meeting, a few verbal notes, and a promise to "call if you need anything". The incoming lawyer spends the first two weeks finding things in the file that were never mentioned.
I read the entire matter file and produce a structured handover: parties, chronology, open tasks, upcoming deadlines, strategic position, risk items, and key documents. The incoming lawyer reads it in 10 minutes and is across the matter from day one.
From upload to output
Select the matter
Choose the matter from your PMS. I access the file notes, correspondence, documents, and calendar entries associated with the matter.
I read the full file
I process every file note, email, document, and calendar entry — building a complete picture of the matter history, current position, and outstanding items.
Get the structured handover
A formatted handover summary: parties and their roles, chronology of key events, outstanding tasks with deadlines, current strategic position, risk items, and links to key documents.
Review and hand over
The outgoing lawyer reviews the summary, adds any context I missed (judgment calls, client personality notes, off-file background), and the incoming lawyer has a complete briefing document.
What you can do with Quillio matter handover summaries
- Generate structured handover summaries from the full matter file
- Extract outstanding tasks and upcoming deadlines
- Build a chronology of key events from file notes and correspondence
- Identify risk items and strategic considerations
- Link to the key documents the incoming lawyer needs to read first
- Summarise the client relationship and communication preferences
- Flag any undertakings or court orders requiring action
- Produce handover summaries for parental leave, departures, or team changes
A real example
A senior associate handling a contested family law property settlement is going on parental leave. The matter has 18 months of history, 200+ file notes, and a trial date in 3 months.
Select the matter in Quillio. The PMS integration provides access to the full file.
A 4-page handover summary: parties and their solicitors, property pool summary, chronology of 22 key events, 8 outstanding tasks (including subpoena returns due in 2 weeks and expert valuation instructions), the current strategic position on contributions and s75(2) factors, 3 risk items (including a potential asset-dissipation issue flagged in a file note 6 months ago), and links to the 12 documents the incoming lawyer should read first.
Documents, jurisdictions, and practice areas
Document types
- File notes
- Client correspondence
- Opposing solicitor correspondence
- Court orders and directions
- Internal memos
- Advice letters
- Calendar entries
- Time recordings
Jurisdictions
- NSW
- VIC
- QLD
- WA
- SA
- TAS
- ACT
- NT
- Federal
- NZ
Practice areas
- All practice areas
Matter Handover Summaries FAQs
How does it handle privileged content?
The handover summary inherits the matter's privilege classification. All content stays within the matter's access controls. The summary itself is a privileged internal document.
Can it handle matters with thousands of documents?
Yes. For large litigation matters, I process the full file and prioritise the key documents in the handover — rather than listing everything, I identify the 10-20 documents the incoming lawyer needs to read first and summarise the rest.
Does it capture the outgoing lawyer's judgment calls?
I capture what is in the file — which includes file notes recording strategic decisions. For judgment calls that were never written down, the outgoing lawyer reviews the summary and adds those manually. The result is a better handover than either alone.
How long does the summary take to generate?
For a typical matter (100-300 documents, 12-18 months of history), the summary generates in 2-3 minutes. For large litigation matters with thousands of documents, 5-10 minutes.
Try it on a current document.
Pick a matter that is about to be handed over and see the summary in minutes. Free trial, no credit card, no sales call.
Start your free trial