In LeanLaw, user roles and permissions are designed to give the firm's principals more control over information and access. These settings allow you to define what each team member can view and edit, helping reduce errors and clearly define responsibilities within your firm.
This guide will help you:
Add new users
Change roles
Adjust permissions
Customize access to fit your firm's needs
Roles Glossary
Each role serves a specific function and grants different levels of access:
Principal: Managing partner or partner with access to billing information, reporting for matters, and overall firm financials
Attorney: Access to billing and reporting for matters they are involved with
Operator: Business managers, bookkeepers, or assistants with access to billing information
Accountant: Access to all billing information for the firm
Paralegal: Access to billing and reporting for assigned matters
Time Keeper: Typically associates or staff without access to billing/reporting (can be overridden per matter)
Time Keeper+: A Time Keeper who can also view and enter time for other users
Adding New Users and Changing Roles
1. Open Settings
Click the gear ⚙️ icon in the top-right corner of LeanLaw.
2. Open the Users section
Select Users from the left-hand sidebar (under Firm Setup).
3. Select the User, and Change the Role
On the Users page, you’ll see a list of all users, including their role and status.
Users are now organized into Active and Inactive tabs for easier management
Click on a user’s name to open their profile
This opens a slide-in panel on the right side of your screen (instead of a pop-up window).
4. Change the Role
Within the user panel:
Go to the Details tab
Locate the Role dropdown
Select the appropriate role
You can also update other properties such as:
Name
Rates (under the Rates tab)
Access to settings
5. Save Changes
Click Save at the bottom of the panel to apply updates.
You can confirm the change from the Users page by reviewing the user’s role.
Changing User Permissions
Access to User Permissions is available through your firm’s settings page.
Note: Customizing user permissions is a LeanLaw Pro feature. To switch to Pro, go to your Subscription settings.
1. Open Settings
Click the gear ⚙️ icon in the upper right of your LeanLaw to open your firm's settings.
2. Open User Permissions
Under Firm Setup, select User Permissions from the left-hand menu.
3. Change User Permissions
On the User Permissions page:
Locate the permission row and role column
Click the checkbox at the intersection
A checked box = role has permission
An empty box = role does not have permission
4. Save settings
Click the green Save Settings button to finalize your adjustments.
What Permissions Control
Permissions determine access to key LeanLaw features, including:
Time entry
Expenses
Fixed fees
Client and matter management
Billing
Trust accounting
Reports
Certain reports (such as Revenue by Client and Matter or WIP/Billed/Collected breakdowns) require specific permissions like Billable Reports or Other Revenue Reports to be enabled.
User Permissions Glossary
The rest of this article is going to describe what every user permission controls within a LeanLaw firm. Remember that locating these permissions will require expanding the drop down menu of their associated header!
Note that to access all productivity-related reports, users must have both "Billable Reports" and "Other Revenue Reports" permissions enabled.
Time Entry permissions
Name of permission | Function |
Time for Self | Allows users to create and edit time entries where they are assigned as the Timekeeper. Accountants always have this permission disabled. |
Time for Others | Allows users to create and edit time entries when another user is the Timekeeper. |
View Rates | Allows users to view hourly rates listed in time entries. Also allows a user to view rates at the matter level via the Billing and Rates tab. |
Edit Rates | Allows users to adjust hourly rates listed in time entries. Also allows a user to adjust rates at the matter level via the Billing and Rates tab. |
Expenses permissions
View Expenses | Allows users to view expenses from the Expenses page. If disabled, users will be told they don't have access when they try to load the page. |
Create/Edit Expenses | Allows users to create and edit expenses.
Note: this setting only applies to pre-invoice expenses. If the user can edit invoices, they would still be able to add or edit expenses within an invoice. |
Assign QuickBooks Online Expenses | Allows users to assign expenses from QuickBooks Online into LeanLaw. |
Can Be Assigned to Expense | Allows users to be assigned to an expense. If disabled, expenses will have to be assigned to a valid user or they'll become unallocated expenses. |
Fixed Fees permissions
Create/Edit Fixed Fees | Allows users to create and edit fixed fees for a matter. |
Can be Assigned to Fixed Fees | Allows users to be assigned to fixed fees. If disabled, fixed fees will have to be assigned to a valid user or they'll become unallocated fixed fees. |
Clients and Matters permissions
Create and Edit Clients/Matters | Allows users to create and edit new clients and matters for the firm. |
View Rates | Allows users to view the Billing and Rates tab for all matters. Allows users to view the Matter Rates report.
Note: rates can be viewed from other areas, such as invoices. If this is information you wish to keep confidential, consider other permissions. |
Edit Rates and Users | Allows users to access the Billing and Rates for a matter, where they can change the type of billing, the rates of billing, and
Note: the user will still be able to adjust their rates in individual time entries if the Edit Rates permission is enabled. |
Auto-Assign to Matters | Allows users to select any user and any matter when creating time entries or expenses. If the selected user is not already assigned to that matter, they will be automatically assigned to the matter when the time entry or expense is saved. |
Connect/Create in QuickBooks | Allows users to connect client and matters to existing entries in QuickBooks or create new ones. Also allows the user to switch between Client Accounting and Matter Accounting. |
View Client Notes | Allows the role to view client notes under the client's Info tab. |
Billing permissions
View Invoices | Allows users to view invoices. If disabled, the Drafts, Review, Approved, and QuickBooks tabs of Billing will be restricted to the user, as well as any invoice the user attempts to open. |
Create Draft Invoices | Allows users to create draft invoices from the Ready to Bill tab of Billing. |
Edit Draft Invoices | Allows users to edit invoices currently in the Drafts tab of Billing. |
Approve Invoices | Allows users to move invoices into the Approved tab of Billing. |
Submit Invoices to QuickBooks | Allows users to finalize invoices, moving into the QuickBooks Online tab where they can be paid. |
Manage Distributions | Allows users to use the functions in the Distributions tab of Billing to manage the firm's distributions. |
Trust permissions
View Trust Account(s) | Allows users to view trust accounts. If disabled, the Trust Account tab will be hidden from Billing and the user will be given an error if they try to access it. |
Trust Deposits and Payments | Allows users to make trust deposits and payments for clients and matters. |
Reports permissions
General Reports | Allows users access to reports under Other Client Reports, Matter Management, and Other headings. This also allows access to the Overview and Billing Activity tabs of individual matters. |
My Reports | Allows users to access the My Reports section of the Reports tab. |
Revenue by Attorney Report | Allows users to access the Compensation (Revenue by Attorney) report. |
Compensation Report | Allows users to access the Compensation (Revenue by Attorney) report. |
Other Revenue Reports | Allows users to access other reports found under the Revenue Reports heading (e.g. Revenue by Client and Matter, Revenue by Originating Attorney, and Receivables). |
Billable Reports | Allows users to access all reports under the Billable Reports heading. |
What’s New in the User Experience
The User Management experience has been updated to improve usability and consistency:
User settings now open in a slide-in panel instead of a pop-up
Settings are organized into tabs (Details, Rates, Advanced)
Actions like disabling or re-inviting users are now grouped more intuitively (in the Advanced tab)
Users are separated into Active and Inactive tabs
All existing functionality remains the same—just easier to find and use.
Need Help?
If you need assistance managing roles or permissions, reach out to our Solution Engineering Team—we’re happy to help.