Sharing a Case File from the Desk

A junior associate needs to see a draft before a hearing. A client wants to look at the agreement you generated without you forwarding a copy that then lives permanently in their inbox. A co-counsel wants the reviewed version of a filing, not the marked-up original. Sharing from the Desk is built for that: a link that shows exactly what you choose, to exactly who opens it, for a limited time, without handing over an editable copy.

What can be shared

Two things can be shared from the Desk. A whole standard folder can be shared as a unit, which puts every document inside it behind the same link. Or, inside one of the three system folders, drafts, briefings and reviews, a single document can be shared on its own without exposing the rest of that folder. The control on a standard folder reads "Share this folder (read-only)"; inside a system folder it is "Share files."

Either way, what the recipient gets is read-only. They can view and, where enabled, download, but they cannot edit the document or the folder from their end.

Who can share, and who can open a link

Sharing is available on every signed-in tier, including a blocked account that can otherwise only view and delete on its Desk. A visitor cannot create a share.

Opening a shared link is not open to the public either. The person you send it to has to sign in to a Legalise account before the contents load. This is a deliberate choice: a link that worked for anyone who clicked it would mean case material sitting in whatever inbox or chat thread it was forwarded through, readable by anyone who found it there.

The limits, and why they exist

A share allows up to 12 distinct people to open it, and it expires automatically after 90 days. Once 12 people have viewed it, nobody else can, even inside the 90 days.

Neither limit is meant to be restrictive for ordinary use. Twelve viewers covers a chamber, opposing counsel, and a client with room to spare, and 90 days covers most matters that need a shared reference at all. What the limits do is keep a share from quietly becoming a permanent, uncontrolled distribution channel for something that was meant to be seen by a specific small group for a specific stretch of time.

Turning a share off, and back on

Switching a share off removes access immediately. Switching it back on issues a new link rather than reactivating the old one, and starts the recipient count and the 90-day clock over. This matters if you ever need to cut someone off from a share you have already sent to several people: turning it off and back on resets who has access, rather than leaving the earlier recipients with a link that still happens to work.

What a recipient sees

The shared page is a plain, read-only view of the document or folder, using the same viewer you see on your own Desk, with any attachments shown inline. If the link has expired, hit its viewer cap, or been revoked, the recipient sees a plain notice that it is no longer available rather than any detail about why, so a share link never becomes a way to learn something about the sender's account.

A habit worth keeping

Share the specific document a person needs rather than the whole folder out of convenience, and revoke a share once its purpose is served rather than letting it sit for the full 90 days unused. A link nobody is actively using is not doing any harm sitting there, but a shorter list of active shares is a shorter list of things to remember you have out.