You are covering a colleague's hearing tomorrow. The shared folder contains three drafts called “reply”, and the diary says “for reply”. Has anyone filed it? A handover note should let you answer that question before you leave chambers. Here is a format you can copy into your matter file.
Copy this case handover note
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Matter and appearance | Case title, case number, court, party represented and covering advocate |
| Next listing | Date, purpose, and where and when the listing was checked. Add the court and item number once available. |
| Last direction | Order date, relevant paragraph or page, and a link to the order |
| Position today | What has been done, who confirmed it, and where the supporting record is filed |
| Open task | One action per row, with an owner, a time to follow up and the document that will confirm completion |
| Working papers | Exact folder and filenames for the order, current draft and any filing acknowledgement |
| After the hearing | Who will record the outcome, update the diary and brief the client |
Worked example for a colleague covering a hearing
In this fictional matter, Rao Traders is the defendant in Civil Suit 18/2026. An interim application is listed on 13 November. Meera prepared the reply and Arjun will cover the hearing. Their note, updated at 4 pm on 12 November, reads as follows.
| Question Arjun needs answered | Entry in the handover |
|---|---|
| What happened last time? | The 4 November order records time for the defendant's reply. See page 2 of Orders/04-Nov.pdf. |
| What can I confirm? | The signed reply is in Application-2/Reply-signed-12-Nov.pdf. Meera checked the signature page. Filing is unconfirmed. |
| Who checks filing? | Dev will check the filing record by 5 pm today. If he finds an acknowledgement, he will save it beside the signed reply and tell Arjun the reference. |
| What if the check is still open? | Arjun will call Dev before the matter is taken up and confirm the position with lead counsel. |
| What do I send back? | Arjun will send Meera the outcome and next date after the hearing. Meera will check the written order when available and update the matter diary. |
The signed PDF answers one question. The acknowledgement answers another. If Dev finds a receipt for a different application in the same suit, he should keep the filing task open and record the mismatch. That detail gives Arjun something precise to check before he addresses the court.
Update the note when the position changes
Suppose Dev finds the correct acknowledgement at 4:40 pm. He can add a dated entry recording the application number, filing reference and receipt filename. Arjun can now open the receipt alongside the signed copy. Keeping the earlier entry also explains why a 4 pm email described filing as unconfirmed.
Before handing over, ask the covering advocate to open the last order and the current reply using only the note. A broken link, an inaccessible matter folder or an ambiguous filename is easier to fix while both colleagues are still in chambers. For a file with several disputed dates, keep the event history in a separate case chronology and link the relevant entry from the note.