Setting Up an Ethical Wall

To avoid conflicts of interest, files can be restricted so certain users won't have access to them. This article walks through the three parts to this process: 

• Creating the tag.
• Creating a restricted user group.
• Setting access permission for a file.

Part 1: Creating the tag:

1. In Legal Accounting, go to Contacts > File Manager. 
2. Expand the Tags section.
   
   
3. Click Add. The New Tag window appears.
4. Enter the name of the tag in the field (e.g., Ethical Wall 22-1) and click OK.
5. Click Save at the bottom of the page.

Part 2: Creating a restricted user group:

1. In Legal Accounting, click the Administrator Settings icon and go to Users > Groups.
2. Click Add. The Group Editor page appears. 
3. Enter a Group Name and Description.
   
   
4. Select a user who should not have access to the file in the Available Users lists and click the right arrow to add them to the Users in Group list.
   
   
5. Click Submit to save your changes. 

Part 3: Setting access permission for a file: 

1. In Legal Accounting, click the Administrator Settings icon and go to Users > Security. 
2. Expand the Contact and Case Files section.
3. In the Groups list, select the group that you created in Part 2. 
4. Toggle Assign Permissions for Group so that it's enabled. 
5. Click the arrow to expand the Contacts section. 
6. Toggle View clients so that it's enabled. 
   NOTE:  If you want the wall to be applied at client level, you can move the tag under Contacts from Available to Deny Always.
7. In this same section, click the arrow to expand the Case Files section.
   
   
8. Select View custom access.
   
   
9. Scroll down to view the Available section.
10. Select the tag you created in Part 2 and, using the arrows, move it from the Available list to to the Deny Always list.
11. Click Save at the bottom of the page.
    NOTES:
    - The steps outlined above assume the user is already part of another group that has access to File Manager.
    - If the user is an Admin and/or Power User, the ethical wall will not work since both of those groups are meant to have access to all files.
    - There are some cases that users are unable to access all other files that they are supposed as an effect of other security restrictions in place. If this happens, move Fee Earners and Areas of Practice to the Allow list.