Users can bring Outlook into LOIS by connecting with their Microsoft 365 account. Search your inbox, read email threads, and pull client communications into the matter you're working on without switching windows.
Heads Up!
The connection works with Microsoft 365 only. Users cannot connect LOIS to personal Outlook.com accounts, locally-hosted Exchange servers, or Microsoft's government clouds.
Overview
The Microsoft 365 connector allows the LOIS Console to do the following:
- Search, retrieve, and summarize Outlook emails and calendars. Use plain language to browse a folder, check unread mail, or search by details like the sender, recipient, keywords, or date range. Ask questions about the full text of an email and the rest of its conversation. Ask about meetings and events by date range, with recurring meetings and meeting links included.
- Work the case and the mailbox together. In one conversation, LOIS can look up the project in Filevine and the related mail in Outlook.
- Save generated summaries to the Filevine project. After referencing Outlook emails and events to generate a summary or analysis, Filevine customers can save the resulting artifact(s) to the relevant project.
However, the connector has the following restrictions in place:
- The connection is read-only. Emails and events do not “sync” between Microsoft and LOIS, and LOIS cannot create, edit, or delete emails in Outlook.
- LOIS pulls the text, not the files. LOIS does not access the .eml file or attachments. LOIS can read the email text and the attachments’ name, type, and size—nothing else.
- LOIS cannot see shared or delegated mailboxes. The connection interacts with the user’s own mailbox and calendar only. Shared mailboxes, shared calendars, and delegate access are not supported.
Microsoft 365 Connector vs. Outlook Add-In
Filevine’s Outlook add-in allows users to interact with Filevine projects, and even chat with LOIS, directly within Outlook. The Microsoft 365 connector and the Outlook add-in do different jobs, and firms can use both.
| Microsoft 365 Connector | Outlook Add-In | |
| Where the user works | LOIS Console | Outlook |
| What LOIS can see | the entire mailbox and calendar | the email that is currently open |
| Draft a reply in Outlook | No | Yes |
| Save an email to Filevine, including the .eml file and attachments | No, it can only save a summary or note to Filevine | Yes |
| The Microsoft app IT approves | LOIS | Filevine |
Setup
To allow users to connect with Microsoft 365, an Account Admin can click Build in the sidebar of the LOIS Console. Select Connectors, and then select the Firm tab. Next to the Microsoft 365 connector, click Enable.
Once enabled, each user can connect their own Microsoft 365 account in the Personal tab of the Connectors section. Next to the Microsoft 365 connector, click the plus button. In the window that appears, sign in using your Microsoft 365 credentials.
Permission Required
The first user in your organization to sign in to the connector will typically see an error after their first login attempt. A Microsoft 365 administrator can resolve this error by approving LOIS in Entra. After this one-time approval step, the user will be able to sign in successfully.
To approve access in advance, a Global Administrator or Cloud Application Administrator can use the admin consent link for LOIS.
Once you successfully sign in, the Microsoft 365 connector will display a Connected status chip.
Disable Connection
Users can disable their individual connection to Microsoft 365 by clicking the ellipsis icon ⋯ next to the Microsoft 365 connector and selecting Disable. In the confirmation modal, click Disable again to confirm.
The user will no longer be able to search and chat with Outlook emails and events via LOIS, but their data will remain unchanged in Outlook.
In the Firm tab, an Account Admin can disallow all users from connecting with Microsoft 365 by clicking the ellipsis icon ⋯ next to the Microsoft 365 connector and selecting Disable. In the confirmation modal, click Disable again to confirm. This action will disable all active user-level Microsoft 365 connections and prevent new connections.
Use
You can ask LOIS about Outlook emails and events the same way you would make any other request. For inspiration, take a look at the following example prompts.
Tip
For the best results, make sure to mention “Outlook” explicitly in your prompt. Otherwise, LOIS may use emails in Filevine to answer.
Find and Read
- Summarize my Outlook emails about the Delgado matter from the last two weeks.
- What is unread in my Outlook inbox today, and which of it needs a reply?
- Find the Outlook thread with the adjuster on Delgado. What have they offered so far?
- What's on my Outlook calendar this week?
- What do I have on my Outlook calendar on November 4?
Note
The connection reads calendar events in days or weeks at a time. To query a longer range, like a month or quarter, break up your prompts into week-by-week increments.
Analyze Case and Mailbox Together
- Look up opposing counsel on the Delgado project, then find their latest emails in my Outlook. What have we agreed to?
- Check my Outlook calendar for this week against the deadlines on the Delgado project. Am I missing anything?
Save to Filevine
- Summarize my Outlook thread with the adjuster on Delgado and save it as a note on the Delgado project.
- Make a note on the Delgado project of every Delgado meeting on my Outlook calendar this week.
Note
As a reminder, LOIS cannot create, edit, or delete Outlook emails and events. You can draft within the console, and then either download the file or save it to Filevine.
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