Court and calendar · 5 guides
Client hearing reminders
How Chronica emails clients 7 days and 1 day before each hearing, what the email says, who receives it, and how to check what was sent.
How reminders work
When you add a hearing with Email the client a reminder ticked, Chronica emails the client twice: 7 days before the hearing and 1 day before. You don't need to do anything else. The option is ticked for every new hearing unless you untick it.
If the hearing is less than 7 days away when you add it, the first reminder still goes out, then the 1-day reminder. A hearing added less than a day ahead gets one reminder.
If you move the hearing to a new date or time, reminders start again for the new date. If you cancel it, or record its outcome, no more reminders are sent for it.
What the client receives
The email's subject tells them when the hearing is, for example "Your hearing is tomorrow". It includes:
- the matter's title and suit number
- the date, time and court, with an Open in Maps link when the court has one
- whether they need to attend. If you ticked The client must attend, it says they need to attend and should arrive at least 30 minutes early. If not, it says their lawyer will appear for them.
- your What to bring list, one item per line
- a note that court dates sometimes change at short notice
- who to contact at your firm
Who receives it
Chronica sends the reminder to the matter's client. If the client has no email address, it uses a payer on the matter who has one, and failing that a client contact on the matter.
If none of them has an email address, the reminder is skipped. The Client reminders card on the matter's Court tab warns you when this is the case. Add an email address to the client's record to fix it.
On a client's profile, the Communications tab has an Email notifications card. If Hearing reminders is off there, that client gets no reminders on any matter, even when the hearing has them ticked.
Check a hearing's reminders
On the matter's Court tab, each upcoming hearing shows its reminder dates, for example "Client reminders: 3 Oct and 9 Oct". A tick appears beside each one once it has been sent. If you unticked reminders, it says Client reminders off.
The Next hearing card on the matter's Overview says whether the client is reminded, or has been, and when.
To turn reminders on or off for one hearing, click Edit on the hearing and change Email the client a reminder.
See every email that was sent
Go to Settings, then under Workflows click Automation history. It lists every hearing reminder and court update sent to clients, so you can show a client exactly what they were told and when.
For each email you can see when it went, the type of email, who it was sent to, the matter, and whether it was sent, failed or skipped. Filter by status, email type or matter. From a matter's Court tab, click See what was sent on the Client reminders card to get there.
Questions
Does the client get an email after the hearing too?
Yes, if you send one when you record the hearing outcome. Outcome emails are always written and checked by the lawyer first.
Can I send a reminder by text message?
No. Hearing reminders go by email only.