# Set up a docketing and deadline-calendaring procedure for my firm

A written docketing procedure with double-check controls, reminder rules, and responsibilities that reduces the risk of a missed deadline.

- Topic: Projects & Operations
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Write, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/set-up-a-docketing-and-deadline-calendaring-procedure-for-my-firm

## Prompt

```text
Help me write a docketing and deadline-calendaring procedure for my law firm.

**Firm size and roles:** [e.g. "6 attorneys, 3 paralegals, 1 docketing clerk"]
**Practice areas:** [e.g. "civil litigation, trademark prosecution"]
**Tools we use:** [practice management software, calendar, court rules software - or "Outlook only"]
**Courts and agencies we work with:** [e.g. "state superior court, federal district court, USPTO"]
**Past near-misses:** [WHAT WENT WRONG - or "none known"]

Write a procedure that covers:
1. Triggers: every source of a deadline (court orders, e-filing notices, served papers, agency correspondence, statutes of limitation at intake, contract dates) and who watches each inbox.
2. Entry rules: who calculates each deadline, the rule cited, and an independent second-person check before it is final.
3. Reminder schedule: e.g. reminders at 30, 14, 7, 3, and 1 days, with the responsible attorney and a backup on every entry.
4. Changes: how continuances, extensions, and vacated dates get updated and confirmed.
5. Coverage: what happens when someone is out, leaves the firm, or a matter changes hands.
6. Weekly and monthly reviews: an attorney-reviewed upcoming-deadline report and a check of matters with no next date.
7. Intake: limitation date logged before any declination or engagement.

Return: the procedure as numbered steps with owners, a one-page checklist for new staff, and a short list of controls malpractice insurers commonly look for. Do not calculate actual deadlines; deadline rules must be verified against the current court or agency rules.
```

## What to fill in

- e.g. "6 attorneys, 3 paralegals, 1 docketing clerk"
- e.g. "civil litigation, trademark prosecution"
- e.g. "state superior court, federal district court, USPTO"
- WHAT WENT WRONG - or "none known"

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