Page 1 of 5 Chapter 3: Deleting and Recycling Cases When you determine that case information no longer needs to be stored, you can delete a case from Needles. A deleted case retains basic case information, which is useful for management tasks such as checking for conflicts. Deleting a case is a separate function from recycling a case, which is used when a case folder or duplicate case is accidentally created. If you mistakenly create a case folder or duplicate a case in Needles, you can recycle the case folder and case number to clean up your data. 3.1 Deleting a Case 3.2 Recycling a Case 3.1 Deleting a Case When a case is deleted from Needles, the party names are preserved in the database. If retrieved, the case status deleted is noted, but you will be unable to retrieve any further information from Needles. A deleted case will display only the red case # and be marked as deleted under the status field in the Cases section of the Main Search screen. The delete cases feature is not appropriate for removing cases that were inadvertently created, such as duplicate case folders. Rather, use the recycling procedures below to clean up extra or duplicate cases. A case must first be closed before it can be deleted. Once closed, to delete a case: From the menu bar, select Utility > Delete Cases.
Page 2 of 5 Complete the fields: General tab Closed Cases Enter the date range of the case closed date. Case Range Enter a range of case numbers. Staff tab Select All Staff or Select Staff and select the staff from the list. While holding down the <Ctrl> key, click on the different names to select multiple staff. Case Types tab Select All Case Types or Selected Case Types and select the case type (s) from the list. Review the Case Deletion Report. If accurate, print the report, then click on Delete Cases.
Page 3 of 5 Click on Yes to permanently delete the cases. 3.2 Recycling a Case If you mistakenly create a case folder or duplicate case in Needles, you can recycle the case folder to clean up your data. The recycling procedure is used in conjunction with entering a new (valid) case in Needles. You attach the new party to the case folder, delete the bogus parties, and change the case type to refresh the case checklist. You can then continue to add parties and complete the case folder for the new case. To recycle a case folder, when you are ready to enter another new case in Needles: Retrieve the case that you wish to recycle. Note the case number. From the party tab, click on Add. Do not just type over the existing party in the tab! If you type over the existing name and save the tab, this will merely edit the party information for the existing party. You must create a new party entry, then delete the existing parties as instructed below. Attach the new client (for the valid case) to the case folder and assign a party role. From the main menu, click on Case > List Parties for Case.
Page 4 of 5 Select an old party from the case that you wish to recycle; click on OK. Click on Delete. Repeat the above steps to delete all old parties from the case folder. Click on the case tab. While in the case tab, from the menu bar, click on Edit > Change > Case Type. Select the case type for the new case; click on Select.
Page 5 of 5 In the Case Checklist field, select Delete ALL Checklist Items. In the User Defined Data field, select Delete ALL User Defined Data. Continue to add parties and enter case information for the new case. If using the Juris interface with Needles, please see Section 3, Chapter 23, subsection 23.3.3: Creating a New Juris Client/Matter By Changing the Needles Case Type for additional information on how a new Juris Client/Matter can be created by changing the case type of a case. If the case already exists in Juris and the Needles Case Type is changed,, the case type information will change in Juris accordingly.