Support · Court Diary

Court Diary

The Court Diary is where you record the future dates that matter on a case – hearings, directions, filing deadlines – so none of them slip past you. This guide shows you how to add a key date to a matter and see all your upcoming dates in one place. You do not need to be technical to follow it – every step has a picture, and the thing to click is circled in it.

Last updated: 04/07/2026

If at any point your screen does not look like the picture, stop and email support@lexbrief.au – we would rather help than have you guess.

Before you start

You add key dates to a matter, so you need a matter to add them to. If you have not created one yet, read Matters first – it walks you through creating one.

A note on wording: the dark strip of links down the left-hand side of the screen is the menu. When we say "click Court Diary in the left-hand menu", we mean click the words Court Diary in that dark strip.

What the Court Diary is

The Court Diary is a list of the future dates and deadlines on your matters – the things you must not miss:

  • hearings, mentions, directions and case-management conferences,
  • trial dates,
  • filing deadlines and other court-imposed dates.

It is different from two other things in LexBrief that also deal with dates, so it helps to keep them straight:

  • the Court Diary is for what is coming up – dates in the future;
  • File notes are a record of what has happened – "client called and said X";
  • the Chronology is the story of the dispute – the dated events at the heart of the case.

If in doubt: a date you are working towards goes in the Court Diary.

The Court Diary page

Click Court Diary in the left-hand menu.

The Court Diary link in the left-hand menu, circled

This page gathers the key dates from all your matters into one list, soonest first, so you can see everything at a glance.

The Court Diary page, showing upcoming key dates across all matters in one list

When you first open it, the page shows all your upcoming dates (today onwards). To look back, or to narrow to a shorter window, use the From and To boxes at the top, then click Apply filters. You can also narrow the list to a single matter or a particular court.

Good to know: dates that have already passed are tinted red, and dates that are today or coming up soon are tinted gold, so overdue items stand out. Click a matter's name in the list to jump straight to that matter.

A matter's Key dates tab

Every matter also has its own Key dates tab, which shows just that matter's dates. This is where you add and edit them.

Open the matter (click it in your Matters list), then click the Key dates tab in the row of tabs across the middle of the page.

The Key dates tab on a matter's page, circled

The tab lists the dates already recorded on that matter, with the date, time, type, a short description and the court.

A matter's Key dates tab showing its recorded dates in a table

Add a key date

1. Click "Add a date"

On the Key dates tab, click the gold Add a date button on the right.

The Add a date button on the Key dates tab, circled

2. Enter the date

The Date box is the only one you must fill in. Type the date (or pick it from the little calendar), for example 05/10/2026.

The Add a date form, with the Date box circled

3. Add a time (optional)

If the event has a set time – say a hearing at 10:15 – type it in the Time box. Leave it blank for an all-day deadline.

4. Choose the type

The Type box says what kind of date it is. Click it and choose from the list – Hearing, Directions, Mention, CMC (case-management conference), Trial, Filing deadline, Compliance or Limitation.

The Type box on the Add a date form, circled

5. Add a description and court (optional)

The Description is a short line about what is happening, for example Submissions due. The Court box is where the event is, for example Supreme Court of WA. Both are optional but make the list easier to read.

6. Save it

Click the gold Save button at the bottom.

What you should see. The new date appears in the Key dates list for the matter, in date order, and it also shows up on the main Court Diary page along with everything else.

Tip: to change or remove a date later, open the matter's Key dates tab and click the date in the list. That reopens the same form, where you can edit it or use the Delete button.

Seeing what is coming up

Once your dates are in, LexBrief pulls the nearest ones together for you in a couple of places:

  • the Court Diary page (above) shows all your upcoming dates across every matter;
  • the Upcoming page in the left-hand menu rolls your soonest key dates and to-do items into one short digest, so a quick look each morning tells you what is on the horizon.

If you keep a separate calendar app (Outlook, or the calendar on your phone), you can also subscribe to your diary as a read-only feed. On the Court Diary page, open Subscribe in Outlook / phone (iCal) and follow the note there. Keep that link private – anyone with it can see your dates.

What next

Now that your key dates are recorded, these guides cover related day-to-day work:

  • Matters – creating and managing the files your dates hang off.
  • Browse all help guides – including Action Items (your per-matter to-do list) and File notes.

Stuck on anything at all? Email support@lexbrief.au – a real person reads it, usually the same working day.