Let Actionstep workflow steps move work in your other systems too.
We connect Actionstep matters, participants and workflow to your docketing, document management and Microsoft 365, so a step change or a new date in Actionstep reaches every system that needs it.
Actionstep integration, built around your firm
Actionstep is built around configurable workflow: each matter type has its own steps, custom data collections and participant roles. That makes it a good source of truth for what stage a matter is at, who is working on it and the dates and details that matter to the case.
Those steps and fields rarely reach the systems around Actionstep. A matter moves to a new stage but the docketing calendar doesn't know, a filing date is recorded in a data collection and then typed again elsewhere, and a lawyer added as a participant still has to be given access to the matter everywhere else by hand. The workflow your firm designed stops at the edge of Actionstep, and staff carry it the rest of the way.
We connect them using the Actionstep API and its REST hooks. The code runs in your firm's Microsoft 365 / Azure tenant, follows rules your firm approves, and routes anything uncertain to a person for review. Your firm owns the code and can see every change it makes. If Actionstep's own integrations already cover what you need, we'll tell you.
The Actionstep data we work with
Matters (actions)
Create matters from a matter type, update names and status, and read the assigned lawyer, matter type and current workflow step.
Participants
People and companies, and the participants on each matter by role, such as client, lawyer, paralegal or other side.
Custom data and workflow
Data collection fields where your firm records court, case number and key dates, and workflow steps, including moving a matter to its next step.
Calendar appointments and tasks
Create and update appointments on Actionstep calendars linked to a matter, and tasks with due dates and assignees.
Time and disbursements
Time entries and disbursements on a matter. Bills can be read for reporting but not created.
Documents and file notes
Matter documents and folders, including chunked uploads, and file notes that leave an audit trail of what the integration did.
How the Actionstep integration works
- Credentials issued by Actionstep. Actionstep issues API credentials after an integrator application, starting with a sandbox that is a copy of your own database, then production credentials after review. Single-firm integrations self-certify at review. Actionstep Express editions have no API access.
- A dedicated API user. Every call runs as the user who authorized it, with that user's permissions and restricted-matter rules. Following Actionstep's guidance, we use a dedicated licensed API user rather than the system administrator, and its credentials are held in your Key Vault.
- REST hooks, with a watchdog. Actionstep sends REST hooks for matters, participants, documents, custom data, workflow steps, tasks, file notes and time. They are not signed, so each one is treated as a signal and the record is re-read from the API. Actionstep disables a hook after a failed delivery, so a scheduled job checks the hooks and re-registers any that have been disabled.
- What has to be polled. Calendar appointments have no hooks, and Actionstep advises that its timestamps are not reliable for synchronization. Calendar changes and a full reconciliation run on a schedule outside working hours. Restricted-access matters do not send update hooks, so they are handled by the reconciliation.
- Runs in your tenant, in your region. The integration runs in your firm's Azure subscription under its own identity and calls the Actionstep region your data lives in. Your IT team can revoke it at any time without us.
Where Actionstep fits
Two-way matter sync: practice management ↔ docketing
One matter, identical in every system, without anyone keying it twice.
Signed client → matter open everywhere at once
Matter opening goes from days of handoffs to minutes, and every system starts with the same data.
Matter migrations that don't break everything around them
A migration you can verify, with your integrations still working on day one.
Often connected with
Questions about connecting Actionstep
Can you test without touching our live data?
Yes. Actionstep provides a sandbox that is a copy of your database, and development and testing happen there. Production credentials are only issued after Actionstep's review, and the first production run is checked by a person before it goes further.
We rely on restricted-access matters. Will the integration respect them?
Yes. The API user only sees what its Actionstep permissions allow, and access to the matter in other systems is limited to the users allowed on it in Actionstep. Restricted matters don't send update notifications, so their changes are picked up by the scheduled reconciliation rather than instantly.
Can a workflow step trigger work in other systems?
Yes. Actionstep notifies us when a matter changes step, so a step such as proceedings issued can prompt the docketing team to enter a trigger date or open a workspace. A person confirms anything that sets a court deadline.
Does this replace Actionstep's own task date rules?
No. Actionstep's task trigger dates are workflow reminders, not court rules. We leave them working as they are and connect them to your docketing system where that helps, so the two don't compete.
Running Actionstep with other systems?
Tell us what you use and where your staff re-key data. We’ll tell you honestly what’s possible, and what your vendors already cover.