Legal Definitions - caseload

A caseload refers to the total number of active legal matters or cases that a legal professional, such as a lawyer or judge, or a legal entity, like a court or law firm, is currently responsible for handling.

• Example 1: Public Defender's Office
  Imagine a public defender who is assigned to represent individuals who cannot afford a lawyer. If this defender is simultaneously handling 70 active criminal cases, ranging from misdemeanors to serious felonies, their caseload is 70. This high volume can impact the time and resources they can dedicate to each client, highlighting the pressure associated with a large caseload.

• Example 2: Family Court Judge
  Consider a Family Court judge whose daily schedule includes presiding over five divorce hearings, three child custody disputes, and reviewing paperwork for two adoption cases. The total number of these active legal proceedings and matters that the judge is responsible for managing constitutes their caseload. A heavy caseload might mean longer waits for families seeking resolution to their legal issues.

• Example 3: Corporate Law Firm
  A large corporate law firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions might have a caseload that includes advising on three major company takeovers, negotiating two joint ventures, and drafting agreements for four private equity investments, all concurrently. Each of these distinct projects contributes to the firm's overall caseload, indicating the breadth of their active legal work and the resources required to manage it.