# Court date tracker for a small law firm

> For the full documentation index, see https://250highstreet.com/llms.txt

> A SharePoint list for hearings by case, judge and date, with a view for the next 30 days and a reminder email. A reminder list, not a deadline calculator.

Short answer: make one SharePoint list where each hearing is a row, with columns for case, court, judge, hearing date, and the attorney responsible. Add a view of upcoming dates and a reminder flow. This is a reminder list. It does not calculate deadlines, and it is not legal advice. Your firm's rules and the court's own calendar decide the dates, so enter them from the court's notice and have counsel confirm them.

## What this list is, and is not

The list holds dates someone typed in. It does not know court rules, holidays, or service periods. Do not use it as the only record of a date that matters. Keep the court's notice in the case file, and ask your firm's counsel how your office checks dates.

## Build the list

Start a blank list in Microsoft Lists named Hearings, then add these columns. Exact names may differ on your screen.

Columns, with Title as the case short name:

- Matter number: Single line of text.
- Court: Choice, such as 1 County, 2 State, 3 Federal.
- Judge: Single line of text.
- Hearing type: Choice, 1 Status, 2 Motion, 3 Trial, 4 Other.
- Hearing date: Date and time.
- Responsible attorney: Person.
- Backup attorney: Person.
- Source document link: Hyperlink to the court notice in the case folder.
- Date confirmed by: Person, the attorney who checked the date against the notice.
- Status: Choice, 1 Scheduled, 2 Moved, 3 Held, 4 Cancelled.
- Reminder sent: Yes/No. Set its default value to No.

Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: when a date moves, change Status to 2 Moved and add a new row for the new date. The old row then stays as a record.

## The next 30 days view

Microsoft says: "The \[Today\] keyword works on date-based columns." Its example: "you can create a filter on the Date column that's greater than or equal to \[Today\] - 30." For upcoming dates, use \[Today\] plus a number the same way. Microsoft explains: "You can use math to get ranges that change with today's date." A second filter handles the far end, joined with And. But note: "It is not possible to use the \[Today\] or \[Me\] filters when filtering using a column header." "You must use the classic view editor to filter columns using these keywords."

1.  Open the list, select Switch view options, then Edit current view (classic view editor).
2.  In the Filter section, show items when Hearing date is greater than or equal to \[Today\].
3.  Add a second filter, And, Hearing date is less than or equal to \[Today\]+30.
4.  Save the view as "Next 30 days".

Sort it. Microsoft says: "When you create or edit a view, you can specify sorting on one or two columns." Sort Hearing date ascending, then Responsible attorney.

Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: test the plus 30 filter with a row dated tomorrow and a row dated 40 days out.

## A reminder flow

Two ways, both from Microsoft pages.

1.  The built-in reminder. Select Automate, then Set a reminder, pick the Hearing date column, and enter how many days ahead to warn. Microsoft says this sends a personal email to the person who sets it up, and that it is not offered in GCC, GCC High, DOD or other sovereign clouds. Each attorney sets their own. [See](/guides/send-reminder-before-due-date/).
2.  A flow you build yourself, for the responsible attorney and the backup. Trigger on a schedule, use Get items with a filter query, and send an email for each row.

For the filter query, Microsoft says the Get items action supports queries such as "Location eq 'Midwest'" and numeric operators including "lt", "le", "gt" and "ge". Date filters can use an expression such as formatDateTime(utcNow(),'yyyy-MM-dd'). Check the result on a test list first. Set Top Count when more than a hundred rows exist: "The default item limit is 100." You can go "up to the list view threshold limit of 5,000." Turn Pagination on.

## Guard against repeat emails

If the flow runs on item created or modified, it can run again when it updates the row. Microsoft describes that trigger: "Triggers the flow when you create an item, and each time you modify it in a SharePoint list." So add the Reminder sent column, and set its default value to No. The flow checks it is No, sends the email, then sets it to Yes. Our advice, not a Microsoft rule: when a date moves, create a new row, which starts with Reminder sent at No. [See](/guides/power-automate-flow-triggers-itself-infinite-loop/).

## Who sees what

Client details in a hearing row can be private. Ask your firm's counsel about access and confidentiality. Limit the list to staff on those matters.

## When to get help

You can build all of this yourself in Microsoft 365. If you would rather have it built and tested for your team, I do that. A tracker like this is a fixed price: \$5,000 for one, built in 2 weeks. See "[What a SharePoint tracker costs to build](/guides/what-a-sharepoint-tracker-costs/)". Bring one example of the problem to a free call.

I am Al Davies. I run 250 High Street LLC and build SharePoint trackers and Power Automate flows for operations teams. I work remotely. The first call is free, and I will not try to sell you anything.

See trackers I built: [Tools I built](/portfolio/)

## FAQ

### What is a court hearing tracker?

A list of hearings with case, court, judge, date and the attorney responsible, plus reminders.

### Can a SharePoint list calculate court deadlines?

This one does not. It stores dates a person confirmed. Deadline rules belong to the court and your firm's counsel.

### Can I show only hearings in the next 30 days?

Yes. Use \[Today\] filters in the classic view editor, as Microsoft describes.

### Is a SharePoint list better than Excel for court dates?

A list gives each hearing an owner and a reminder flow. See.

### Can the list email the attorney before a hearing?

Yes. Use Microsoft's Set a reminder flow on the Hearing date column, or your own scheduled flow.

## Sources

- [Microsoft Support, Create a list](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-a-list-in-sharepoint-0d397414-d95f-41eb-addd-5e6eff41b083)
- [Microsoft Support, Use filtering to modify a SharePoint view](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/use-filtering-to-modify-a-sharepoint-view-3d8efc52-0808-4731-8f9b-3dfaeacea3d4)
- [Microsoft Support, Use sorting to modify a SharePoint view](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/use-sorting-to-modify-a-sharepoint-view-1e85d6e7-bdb3-4176-b1cb-62c5fbd3ef98)
- [Microsoft Learn, Create a reminder flow in Power Automate for SharePoint items](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-automate/create-sharepoint-reminder-flows)
- [Microsoft Learn, Microsoft SharePoint Connector for Power Automate](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/business-apps/power-automate/sharepoint-connector-actions-triggers)
- [Microsoft Learn, In-depth analysis into 'Get items' and 'Get files' SharePoint actions](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/dev/business-apps/power-automate/guidance/working-with-get-items-and-get-files)

## Related guides

- [Law firm client intake form that feeds a matter list](/guides/law-firm-client-intake-form-sharepoint/)
- [Nonprofit grant deadline tracker with reminders](/guides/nonprofit-grant-deadline-tracker-sharepoint/)
- [Send a reminder before a due date in a SharePoint list](/guides/send-reminder-before-due-date/)

Source: https://250highstreet.com/guides/court-date-tracker-sharepoint/