April 2026 - Natori Release Notes

Technical Changes

A number of different Technical updates were applied as part of this project. They are summarised as follows:

Search field changes

Searches are used widely throughout the LPG.  In this release, we have improved how you can search for Matters, Orders, and Invoices by updating the search filters and results and providing more flexible interrogation methods for each data type.

On all Search screens, the filter criteria have been split into sections.  

• The top section provides the ability to search by IDs.  These are ‘exclusive searches’, meaning that if you input a specific Matter ID, Claim Number, Order ID, Invoice Number or Provider Ref, all other filter criteria are ignored and specific matches for these IDs will be returned.  The ID fields will allow multiple IDs to be entered and searched for, using ‘^^’ as the separator between id (note: order searches will allow multiple order IDs to be entered using ‘^^’, commas or blank spaces as the separator).   If multiple Exclusive Search fields are populated, only records that match ALL specified criteria are retrieved. 
• The middle section presents the fields most frequently used in searches, and default criteria have been applied to reduce the risk of users running an unbounded search that could retrieve tens of thousands of rows. 
• For Matters and Orders, a third ‘Advanced Search’ section is available.  This section needs to be expanded to access some additional filter criteria.

For order searches, additional details for each order that meets the search criteria are available by clicking the expand icon next to the action buttons and the information icon in the Status column.

If the search criteria specified on Search screens is too broad, large numbers of results will be retrieved.  When this occurs, only the first 500 of these results are returned. The information bar above the results on the search screen explains this. It is advisable to use the filter criteria to refine the search and retrieve fewer than 500 rows, so that filters and sorts can be applied effectively.

For each of the major Entities in LPG (Matter, Order & Invoice), some default search criteria have been put in place.  When using MyWork or our ‘Find’ options,  clicking submit without making any other selections will apply the following search criteria:

We have introduced additional operators for many of our search fields to help refine searches more effectively.

* For Date/time fields, fuzzy logic is used, and the operator only uses the date component in searches

Fields that allow users to pick from a defined list of coded values will have these values either presented in a dropdown or will open a pop-up for more complex searches.

The following menus and search options have been removed from the menus:

• CSP -> Worklist -> Direct
• Worklist ->Search Orders
• Worklist ->Search Invoices
• Worklist -> Milestone
• CSP -> Matters -> Find Matter by Orders
• LSP -> Orders -> Find Matter by Orders
• LSP -> Invoices -> Invoices from last 2 months
• CSP -> Users -> Find Persons
• LSP -> Users  -> Key Personnel Link

Other Improvements:

• The Worklist All option now displays the worklist categories on separate tabs, enabling users to easily identify areas that may require action (count of actionable items on tab header) without needing to scroll.  Users will still need to select whether they are looking for items needing action by them (Worklist -> All) or items that are currently ‘on the other side of the fence’  (Worklist -> Viewable).
• Find Matter, Find Order and Find Contract searches default to retrieving Active records.
• Searches can now be applied to worklists, allowing refinement of the number of rows in large worklists.
• The Search Orders and Search Invoices menu options have been removed.   Users now have the ability to display the results of any ‘Find’ task in a worklist layout.
• The Find Matters by Orders menu option has been replaced with the ability to search by Order ID(s) from the Find Matters menu.  
• A new Find Orders option is available for Customer users under the Matters menu.  This will enable easy searching for specific orders.
• Some search fields are conditional and are disabled until another field has been populated.  A question mark is displayed against the disabled field to explain what conditions have to be met for it to become available.
• A number of columns in the search results are able to be sorted, with the user having the ability to  toggle between ascending and descending sorts.
• Searches for Matters, Orders and Invoices have been enhanced to enable easy searching by Claim Numbers. The Claim number search field has been configured as an ‘exclusive search’ field.  The Claim Number is now displayed as a sortable column in the result sets.
• The Provider Reference field at order level has now been made available to all LSPs and the order search fields have been expanded to enable searches by Provider Reference.
• From Worklists where Search criteria have been applied to limit the results, the Reset button restores the default search criteria and clicking Search presents the default worklist results.
• Text fields in the Search criteria of all Find screens and worklists default to using a 'Contains' operator. This means that the text the user elects to search by can be any part of the field.
• To facilitate access to search results, the search criteria on Find Matters, Find Orders & Find Invoice screen will automatically contract after the search has been initiated.
• A Return to Search button is now available on Order screens actioned from search result lists. Clicking on the button will return the user to the previous search.
• Matter Owners now have the ability to edit details on View screens for the Matters and Orders that they manage.
• For both CSPs and LSPs, the invoice section on the Engagement tab of Matters has been 'de-cluttered' to remove display of redundant information
• The Engagement tab on the Matter screen now includes VIEW and ACTION buttons for users with profiles that entitle them to action the Engagement
• The Notes tab has been removed from Order screens with users now able to add Notes from the History tab.  This enables users to immediately see any new notes have been added.
• The Commentary note type has been relabelled to be KPI Note to assist users to identify when it should be selected.  KPI notes are added when adding a manual note to support certain type of Deliverable requests.
• The History tab on orders is no longer showing all history notes by default.  System generated notes, Copies of Inbox Messages and Workflow ownership notes are configured to not be automatically displayed but can be selectively made visible using the Note Type selection in the Filter History section.
• History notes with a Note Type of General are automatically flagged as Viewable by the current Provider on the orders.  This View Access can be changed by the customer owner.

LPG Face-lift Changes:

The changes in technology that have been incorporated in this release have facilitated a number of GUI updates that provide not only a ‘fresh new look’  but also enabled functionality improvements to streamline operational processes.

• New default font used throughout the LPG
• New screen layouts and colours to improve clarity and readability for users
• Redundant or defunct options have been removed from menus
• Improved controls on many data entry screens (ie better date pickers, improved search popups, explicit field IDs for RPA usage).
• Copy function available on many screens to copy Primary Id for Matters, Claim Numbers, Orders and Invoices, to facilitate copying of these ids
• Existing milestone functionality has been removed pending a rework to extend milestones to include order dependencies.
• API documentation updated.
• The length of Attribute Names has been extended to enable more meaningful values to be recorded.
• For Matters with more than one Engagement, each Engagement is displayed as a separate sub-tab on the main Engagements tab of the Matter screen. The status of each Engagement is now displayed as part of the sub-tab label.  A different icon will enable the CSP user to easily differentiate between active, completed and cancelled Engagements.
• Additional constraints have been added to ensure the Reopen button only shows on orders when the logged in user has the correct profile (ie owner or supervisor) to carry out this action

MyWork Changes

We have updated the underlying technology for MyWork from Hibernate 5 to Hibernate 6, resulting in access to newer libraries and tools which has provided us the opportunity to give MyWork a facelift.

One of the most noticeable areas of change has been to the MyWork search fields where the additional search field operators will enable you to quickly and easily find exactly what you are looking for, based on whatever, possibly limited, information you may have.

Other Improvements:

• Useful searches can be saved as a View for future reuse.  The Control Panel for managing views is now concealed behind an icon to provide more screen real-estate for searches.  This panel Views Management, To-dos, Settings and access to Help.  Users click on the icon to open the panel.
• The  results of your search can be configured to include/exclude specific data fields using the ‘Manage Visible Claims’ option and to change the display order of the required fields.  
• Most fields  can now be used to order the results list by switching between sorting the results in  ascending or descending order.   
• Configured results can be exported in a spreadsheet format for immediate use.

• Additional operators are available on many of our search fields to assist you to more effectively refine your searches.

• Any previously saved views (prior to this release) have been converted to be available for your continuing use.  Please delete any Views that you no longer require.
• Existing views can now be updated and saved by the view owner without requiring a new view to be created. 
• The gantt view of retrieved orders displayed on the Timeline tab has an improved layout

• For Matter and Order entities, users can now filter by  two Attribute selections is a single search

Improvements to Budget Management

When LSPs initiate a new Budget Request, this opens an Edit Budget popup where budget variations can be made.  If Budget Allocation lines are entered, the sum of these allocation lines are the new Total Requested value.   Once the request has been saved, the user is taken to a Budget Variation Not Yet Submitted screen.  They can submit the request or come back to this screen for submission later.  The LSP’s reason for the variation request must be recorded on this screen prior to submission. Upon submission, the user is presented with the Verify Variation (View Only) screen to facilitate a recall if the submission was made in error.

• The display of Budget details on the Budget tab has been updated. 
• The Budget tab for the Engagement order is available on most screens.
• The 'Edit Budget as Provider' links are now only available on the Budget tab of the 'Order in Progress' and 'Customer's Response to Budget Variation Request' screens.
• For LSPs initiating a Budget Variation request, the question mark next to the Total Request Limit field now contains a meaningful explanation
• The LSPs reason for varying the budget is now displayed in the order history and is visible to the CSP on the Verify Variation screen.
• Where LSPs are adding Budget Allocation lines to itemise the reserve, the Total Requested limit of the Budget cannot be manually edited and will be calculated to be the sum of the Requested Line Allocation values.
• Budget requests can no longer be partially accepted.  They must be fully Approved or Rejected and a text response is mandatory in either case.
• If the Budget Request exceeds the users approval limit, they must Financially Escalate the order for approval.  The order will then be sent to the linked Approval group for action by an Approval Manager with sufficient delegation - the user can escalate the order to a specific Approval Manager, if they wish.

Improvements to Order Escalation processes

There are two escalation processes available in the LPG: the first enables a user to engage with a manager or subject-matter-expert (SME) to seek clarification or approval before undertaking the next action on the order they are working on.  This is triggered from a button now labelled Ask an Expert.  The other escalation process is automatically triggered in LPG when a user is responding to an order with a financial value but the value exceeds the users delegation limit - in this case, the user can record the action they propose to take, but the LPG requires the user to initiate Financial Escalation so that an Approval Manager with the necessary financial delegation level can confirm that the order can proceed.

• The buttons for triggering the two escalation processes in the LPG have been relabeled to make it easier for users to identify the correct process to use.  The Escalate to Manager button is now labeled Ask an Expert as it initiates a request to a recognized SME / Manager to provide advice or an answer to a question before the user can progress the order.  The Send for Approval button is now labeled Financial Escalation to trigger escalation of the order to a workgroup or manager when its value exceeds the delegation level of the current user.
• For CSP Approval Managers, actioning a "financially escalated" order opens a "Respond to Financial Escalation" screen where they can Reject the order, or Approve the order if it is within their delegation limit.  If they do not wish to do either of these actions, they can return to the previous screen to action another order.  
• If the order exceeds the Approval Manager’s delegation level, they can click on the Financial Escalation button to send the order to another Approval Manager.  They can elect to send the order to a linked workgroup or return it to their own workgroup for action by another member with a delegation level higher than their own.  If there is no-one in their own workgroup with sufficient delegation level, they will only be able to send the order to the other linked workgroup.
• For CSPs, actioning a Manually Escalated order opens a Respond to Ask an Expert screen where they can provide a response or they can return to the worklist to action another escalated order.

Improvements to the Claim/Invoice processes

Within the LPG, LSPs can submit interim requests for payment  while they are still working on a Matter - these are called Progress Claims or Payment Claims.  When all work on a Matter has been done, the LSP will submit a Final Claim for any outstanding costs.

Each Claim is automatically converted into an invoice request, allowing the LSP to specify the invoice number and upload a copy of the invoice document prior to submission to the CSP.

• When Initiating a Progress Claim from an Order in Progress screen, three blank slots for new items are automatically presented for new items to be specified.  Unrequired slots can be left blank and additional slots can be added, if required.
• Claims can only be made against unconsumed items that have been added to the Engagement order.
• When saving the items on a new claim, the claim period dates are now also saved.  When reopening a saved claim, the saved dates are restored but can be changed.
• For users with the right role, the Pay and Close button will be available on screens displaying Approved Invoices.
• A new delete icon is now presented against unsubmitted items enabling the whole item line to be cleared. This works the same as clearing the item id.
• After a Progress Claim has been submitted, the LSP is returned to the Matter screen where they can submit the Invoice Request to the CSP.  The Invoice Request is currently as a Not Yet Submitted status.
• LSPs are able to Upload their Invoice Documents from the View Invoice screen, accessed from Find Invoice searches or Invoice worklists.
• CSP accounts users are able to Approve and Approve - Pay and Close invoices at Held Status.
• From the CSP’s Manage Invoice screen, CSPs are able to Reset Approved Invoices back to a Not Yet Submitted status with the LSP or  Pay and Close the Approved invoice.

Changes to Matter Wizard (matter creation):

The Matter Wizard streamlines the creation of new Matters in the LPG.

• The options for Template and Quote creation have been removed

• Attribute fields (customer-specific fields) on Matters are displayed in a different color to clearly distinguish them from core fields.

• A Continue button is displayed in green and on right of screen to indicate forward progress

• Information displayed in the banner of the Create New Matter Wizard screen has changed - it now displays Area Of Law and Provider name instead of Invoiced Entity 

• The mandatory address fields on the Order Template tab are now pre-populated with default icare Address enabling the user to click on Continue to move past this screen.

• User-specific Matter templates can still be created and used in the Matter Wizard.  The field for selecting a Template for use is only presented if active templates exist for the logged in user.

Improvements to Gateway Imports

• Bulk Matter Import functionality using the LPG Gateway tool facilitated the bulk import of active historical matters for icare when the General Lines portfolio was brought into the LPG.  The imports use templates to determine how information submitted in a spreadsheet is to be loaded into the LPG. This import allowed for the creation of new matters, with itemised engagement and deliverable orders.
• New Import functionality was introduced to LPG  at the end of 2025 to enable LSPs to bulk import invoices.  The importer allows Invoices for progress payments or final payments to be loaded and transitioned to the CSP for approval.

User Management (for users with SysAdmin and/or HRAdmin roles):

User Management in the LPG has been optimised for both CSPs and LSPs. Instead of having to record changes on multiple screens, accessed from various menus, all user management can be handled from the Find Users menu option.

User List screen

• Opened from the Find Users menu option, the user list can be sorted in ascending or descending order for most of the columns. 

• The Search fields have been removed and embedded in the headers of the columns in the User list.  For most columns, partial text searches are applied, looking for matches that contain the text in any position.

• New icons are presented to differentiate between different user type (ie user or person)

• New icons represent whether the user has customer or supplier roles (or both).  Hover-over of the icon displays the actual roles that the user has. We have removed User Profile screens - this functionality is now accessible from a tab on the Manage User screen.

• New icons represent whether the user has customer or supplier roles (or both).  Hover-over of the icon displays the actual roles that the user has.

  When clicking on the Edit link against any user, the Manage User screen is opened.

On the Manage User screen

• History is now accessed from a button at the bottom of the screen.

• Copy User functionality is accessed from a button at the bottom of the screen.  This opens a new Copy User screen where the existing user’s profile has been copied and the new user’s details can be recorded.

• Reset Password is accessed from a button at the bottom of the screen. Clicking on this will force the user to change their password on their next login attempt.

• Roles and Workgroup allocations are now managed on a new tab, and profiling is simplified

• The User Hierarchy menu option and screen have been removed and are no longer used to validate user access.

• Roles and workgroups are displayed on a separate tab.

• Users are able to update their mailing list subscriptions.  They can nominate which, if any, of the following notification types they would like to receive: System Notification, Feature Notifications, UAT Invitations

• Users are able to view all changes that have been made to their profile by clicking on the History button.

• Users are able to Change their Passwords.

• On the Find Users screen for LSPs, an additional column is now available to identify users who are Key Personnel.  The column is sortable and users with an approved link to specific Areas of Law can be searched for.