Make board Word exports use the firm's template

Lawyers export deal boards to Word to send the client a status report or to take a checklist into a meeting. Without a template, the export is a plain table on a blank page. With one, it comes out on the firm's letterhead, in the firm's fonts, with the table rows formatted the way the firm's own documents are. An organisation admin or practice support sets this up once, and every board export in the firm uses it.

Two questions shape the setup. Does every practice send the same kind of report, or do some need their own letterhead or layout? And do lawyers also export single tasks, such as one condition precedent or one workstream item, to send on its own?

Prepare the Word template

1. Start from a Word document (.docx) that already has the firm's letterhead, headers, footers and styles. Keep it under 10 MB.

2. Click Admin panel at the bottom of the sidebar, then Board export under Templates.

3. Click Template merge fields to show the tags. Under All board exports:

   Tag	What it is replaced with
   {{board_table}}	Board data table: the board itself, as a table
   {{board_name}}	Board title
   {{generated_date}}	The export date, such as "May 21, 2026"

   

4. In the Word document, put {{board_table}} on a paragraph of its own where the table should go. Every board template needs it; Juristic refuses the upload without it. Put {{board_name}} and {{generated_date}} wherever the title and date belong, such as the heading at the top of the first page. A tag the template leaves out is ignored.

Add the template

1. Under Board Word export templates, click Add template.

2. In Add Word template, give it a Name that lawyers will recognise, such as "Client status report", click Choose file, pick the .docx and click Save.

   

3. The template is listed with a thumbnail. Use the buttons on its row to download the file, rename it or delete it. Renaming changes only the name: to change the document itself, add the new version as a template and delete the old one.

Format the table rows

The board table has four kinds of row. Click the template's row to open its settings, and set each one:

For each row:

1. Choose a Word style under Select a style. The list is the styles in your template, with font and size, so the table uses the firm's own body and heading styles.

2. Set Fill and Text colours as hex codes, or click the swatch to pick a colour. Leave a field empty to keep the standard colours: a dark header row, tinted group rows and no fill on tasks. Text left empty is given a colour that reads against the fill; on a task row with no fill, the text keeps the colour of its Word style.

3. Set the borders: Border style (None, Single, Double, Dashed or Dotted), Border thickness (Thin, Medium or Thick) and Border colour. Default keeps the standard grey grid.

   

Each change is saved as you make it. Subtask rows take the task row's style and colours until you give them their own; their borders are set separately.

Offer more than one template

Add as many templates as the firm needs, for example one per practice or one for the client and one for internal use. When there is one template, every board Word export uses it without asking. When there are several, lawyers choose in Choose a Word template, which shows each template's name and thumbnail, before the export runs. When there is none, lawyers get the standard export, a plain table on a blank page.

Add templates for single tasks

Lawyers can also export one task to Word: they right-click it on the board and choose Export to Word. That export always uses a task template, so it only works once you have added one.

1. Make a .docx with {{task_data}} on a paragraph of its own, where the task's details go. Under Task export in Template merge fields, you can also use {{task_title}}, {{board_name}}, {{case_name}} (the matter name) and {{generated_date}}.

2. Under Task export templates, click Add template, enter a Template name, click Choose .docx file and click Save.

   

When lawyers export a task, Export task to Word lists the task templates under Choose a template, with Include comments to add the task's comments.

Tips from practice

• Test with a real board. After you add a template, export a full deal board with groups, tasks and subtasks, and read the result in Word. Styles that look right in the template can look different in a long table.
• Name templates for the reader. Lawyers pick by name and thumbnail, so "Client status report" and "Internal checklist" work better than "Template v2".
• Keep the letterhead in the header. The table can run over many pages; a letterhead in the Word header repeats on each one.

The firm's conditions precedent checklist has its own setup on the same page: see set up the firm's CP checklist export. For how lawyers use the template, see send the client a status report in Word.