User manual
How Lawvera works, in plain language
No technical knowledge needed. Work through these eight steps once and you will know the whole platform. Ten minutes, start to finish.
1 · Create your workspace
Click Sign in, then choose “New to Lawvera? Create a workspace”.
Enter your full name, work email and a password of at least six characters. That is your account — no invitation code needed.
Your free week starts the moment the workspace is created. Nothing to cancel, no card required.
2 · Open your first matter
Go to Case Desk. A “matter” is simply one file: one client, one dispute.
Fill in the client name, a short title (for example “Ndlovu v RAF — loss of earnings”), the matter type (RAF, CCMA, divorce settlement, letter of demand, maintenance, labour, delict, IP, small claims and so on), and the forum or court division.
Stage tells everyone where the file stands: Intake, Pleadings, Discovery, Trial, Settlement or Closed. Change it as the file moves.
3 · Upload documents safely
Open a matter and use the documents panel to upload PDFs, Word files or scans.
Files are never stored inside a public folder. Each download creates a private link that expires within minutes, so a copied link is useless to anyone else later.
Mark a document as signed once the client has signed, so the file history stays honest.
4 · Never miss a deadline
Add a reminder to a matter with the date and time it is due — a notice of intention to defend, a CCMA appearance, a court date, a discovery deadline.
Lawvera plays an audible alert while you have the workspace open, and overdue items turn red on the Case Desk.
The speaker icon in the top right mutes or unmutes those sounds.
5 · Track money owed
Each matter carries a balance due in rands and a status: Pending, Part-paid or Paid.
The Case Desk totals pending invoices for you, so you can see at a glance what the firm is owed.
6 · Supervise the firm (partners)
On Supervision you either create a firm or join one with the eight-character join code the partner gives you.
Whoever creates the firm is the named partner. A partner can see every member's open matters, overdue deadlines, outstanding fees, work status (in office, remote, on leave, in court) and a fourteen-day trend.
Everyone sets their own work status. A partner can change a member's role; nobody can promote themselves.
7 · Lock down your account
On Security you can switch on two-step verification with any authenticator app: scan the code, type the six digits, done.
The same page shows the audit trail — every upload, view, download, signature and deletion, with a timestamp. Those records cannot be edited or deleted by anyone, including us.
8 · The client's view
Client Portal is the friendly, jargon-free summary of a matter: stage, next deadline, documents and balance. Use it when you sit with a client.
Intake is the public form a new client fills in; it lands as a fresh matter on your Case Desk.
Common questions
- What happens when the free week ends?
- Nothing is deleted. You can still read every matter and download every document — you simply cannot open new matters or upload new files until a subscription is active.
- Can other people see my clients' files?
- No. The database checks who is asking on every single request. You see your own matters; a named partner sees the members of their own firm only.
- Is this POPIA-friendly?
- Files are encrypted in storage and in transit, downloads use short-lived private links, and every access is logged in a trail that cannot be altered.
- What if I forget my password?
- Use the sign-in page and ask for a reset email, or tell your administrator and they will help you back in.
Feedback is the point of this week. Note anything that felt slow, confusing or missing — wording, court divisions, matter types, the invoice view — and send it through. It gets built.