The Case Autopsy: Post-Case Evaluations with Copilot and Planner

Move beyond the settlements and verdicts with data-driven insights from your litigation workflows

Copilot Tip #5: Post-Case Reviews with Planner + Copilot

Anyone who has ever worked in civil litigation knows firsthand that it’s a marathon. In a personal injury or wrongful death case, it can take years to move from intake to settlement (or verdict). The client gets closure, the settlement funds are distributed, and the lawyers are compensated. But here’s the question every law firm should ask:

👉 Was the juice worth the squeeze?

Because at the end of the day, taking a case is still a business decision – especially for contingency fee cases. And if you’re not evaluating your performance, you may be leaving valuable lessons—and potentially profit—on the table.

That’s where Microsoft Planner and Copilot come in.

Why Use Planner for Case Evaluations?

Planner isn’t just a to-do list. It’s a living record of every step you took to move the case forward—if you use it consistently. Intake tasks, discovery deadlines, mediation prep, trial exhibits, settlement negotiations—when they’re logged in Planner, they become measurable data points.

And here’s the caveat: garbage in, garbage out.

If you’re not adding tasks and updates into Planner throughout the life of a case, you won’t have the full picture later. But if you are, you’ll have a goldmine of data ready for review.

The Post-Case Autopsy

When the case closes:

1. Export the Plan to Excel.

   In a few clicks, you’ll have a spreadsheet of every task, its status, deadlines, owners, and notes.

   
   

2. Ask Copilot to Analyze It.

   Open Excel, click into Copilot, and start asking questions. For example:

   • “Analyze completion rates by phase of litigation and highlight where deadlines were missed.”

   • “Identify the most common bottlenecks in this case.”

   • “Summarize average task completion time compared to due dates.”

   • “Generate recommendations for improving future workflows.”

     
     

3. Turn Insights into Action.

   With Copilot’s analysis, you’ll see exactly where your team excelled, where deadlines slipped, and where standardized procedures could prevent problems in the next case.

Option 2: Use a SharePoint Copilot Agent

If your firm runs a matter-centric SharePoint site, you can also create a Copilot Agent scoped to that site. Instead of working only with Planner and Excel, the Agent can evaluate the case holistically by pulling from:

• Documents (pleadings, discovery, settlement agreements)

• Lists (records trackers, medical summaries, deadlines)

• Planner tasks (case plan execution)

• OneNote (case notes and strategy sessions)

• Calendar entries (hearings, depositions, trial dates)

• Emails (communications, conversations, internal memos)

The key is prompting with precision. A broad request like “Tell me how we did in this case” may produce only a surface-level summary. Instead, break it into segments:

• “Evaluate task performance and highlight missed deadlines.”

• “Summarize opposing counsel delays reflected in notes, calendar, and email.”

• “Compare actual workflow execution against our standard procedures.”

This hybrid approach—structured Planner data + SharePoint Agent insights—gives you both the metrics and the context you need for meaningful post-case reviews.

Beyond the Case

This method isn’t just for one-off reviews. Build it into your firm’s culture:

• Annual Performance Evaluations: Export all closed cases for the year and run batch analysis.

• Workflow Identification: Spot recurring bottlenecks and redesign workflows for efficiency.

• SOP Development: Use real data to clarify and standardize procedures across your litigation team.

• Profitability Tracking: Compare actual time and effort with case outcomes to refine your intake criteria.

Try This Prompt in Excel with Copilot

“Review this exported Planner data from a personal injury/wrongful death civil case. Provide a summary of key performance metrics including: (1) tasks completed on time vs. late, (2) phases of litigation with the most delays, and (3) recommendations for improving workflows and standardized procedures for future cases. Present findings in a clear table with recommendations in bullet points.”

Ethical Tip: Supervision Still Matters

Copilot will show you patterns, but only you and your team can decide what to do about them. Use these insights to guide judgment, not replace it. Always weigh the human factors—unexpected client needs, opposing counsel delays, court backlog—before drawing conclusions.

Final Thoughts on Post-Case Evaluations with Copilot

A settlement check may close the case, but it shouldn’t close the book on your firm’s growth. With Planner and Copilot—or a SharePoint Copilot Agent—you can turn years of hard work into actionable intelligence.

Don’t just move on to the next case—move forward smarter.

Stay tuned for Tip #6 in this series: Drafting Legal Memos with SharePoint Copilot.

💬 Do you already run post-case reviews? Or are you thinking of starting? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Misty Murray

Author | Owner | CEO | Paralegal Boss

Arrow Consultants, LLC

#LegalTech #Copilot #Microsoft365 #ParalegalBoss #LawFirmInnovation

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At Arrow Consultants, we help legal professionals all over the world create better systems and build sustainable law firms using the full power of Microsoft 365. From case management to training, our mission is to make legal operations smarter, leaner, and built to last.