A dispute is brewing. Leadership asks the simplest question that is never simple: what, exactly, happened, and when? The record lives everywhere – emails, RFIs, minutes, letters, program snapshots. Memories don’t match, the clock is ticking, and the stakes are real.

This is where Lupa earns its keep: it turns scattered documents into a defensible, source-linked timeline you can stand behind in front of counsel.

How Lupa builds the chronology (and why it matters)

1) Ingest the record set

Drop in mailboxes, RFIs, letters, meeting minutes, site diaries, logs, schedules—even scanned PDFs. Custodians, filenames, and dates are preserved.
Why it matters: You start from the contemporaneous record, not recollection. Nothing falls through the cracks because a format was inconvenient.

2) Parse with layout awareness

Lupa extracts text with page anchors; tables, headers, stamps, and bullets remain in context. Scans are OCR’d; attachments stay tied to parent emails.
Why it matters: Every event is click-to-verify at the exact sentence and page—a standard that judges and arbitrators expect.

3) Normalize parties, packages, and dates

Aliases and variants (e.g., “ABC Ltd.” vs “ABC”) resolve to one entity; codes like RFI-007/“RFI 7” map to a single thread; timestamps reconcile across formats and time zones.
Why it matters: Cleaner filters, fewer false conflicts, and consistent labeling throughout your matter.

4) Extract events from the text

Lupa identifies who did what and when: notice issued, response received, instruction given, inspection failed, variation proposed, mitigation agreed, milestone moved, access granted, and more—each with actors, time, and a pointer to the sentence/page.
Why it matters: You get a usable as-built story, not a pile of search hits. Events are evidence-ready the moment they appear.

5) Link related records across sources

Correspondence threads to minutes, schedules, and logs. An RFI links to the ensuing change order and the program revision that moved dates.
Why it matters: Cause-effect chains emerge: “this notice → that response → this date shift,” all on one line, every step cited.

6) Deduplicate & flag conflicts

Duplicates collapse into one event; contradictions and suspicious gaps get flagged.
Why it matters: You spend time on the issues that move entitlement and quantum, not noise-cleaning.

7) Review, tag, and lock

Confirm or adjust labels, tag events by claim head or delay driver, add notes, then lock a version for a matter.
Why it matters: Lupa handles the heavy lift; you control the framing. Locked cuts ensure everyone argues from the same facts.

8) Explore the living timeline

Filter by party, package, location, topic, or date range; zoom from months to a three-day window. Click any item to the exact source.
Why it matters: Early case assessment goes faster. You brief counsel with a tight, navigable story and answer follow-ups in the room.

9) Export evidence-packed bundles

Export to PDF, Excel, or PowerPoint; events retain citations, file paths, and page anchors; an audit trail records changes.
Why it matters: Handovers to experts, counsel, and opposing parties carry built-in verification, shortening debates about the facts.

10) Keep it secure & scoped

Role-based access, matter-level segregation, and watermarked exports protect sensitive work.
Why it matters: Bring in the right specialists without oversharing your repository.

What does this change mean for your team?

• Faster early case assessment – Move from allegation to a verified skeleton chronology before the kickoff call; shape discovery with confidence.
• Facts stop being a debate – Every event is a clickable citation; disagreements return to interpretation, not “who said what when.”
• Acceleration for delay & quantum – Cause-effect chains are stitched; analysts spend time on modeling and entitlement, not hunting.
• Quicker, cleaner bundles – Exhibits ship with page-level anchors and consistent labels; the page you see is the page they find.
• Better settlement posture – When contemporaneous evidence speaks early, leverage improves and timelines compress.

A day-in-the-life example

You’re preparing an EOT position on the façade package. You ingest the last 90 days of emails, minutes, and program snapshots. Search the package code. Lupa surfaces the notice email, the minute when mitigation was proposed, the contractor’s reply, and the schedule version that pushed installation by seven days.

The timeline reads: notice issued → mitigation discussed → temporary access agreed → date moved.

You click each event to read the sentence in context, tag the critical ones, and export a one-page chronology with sources for counsel. Ten minutes later, you’re not guessing—you’re showing.

Under the hood (built for scrutiny)

This isn’t a pretty summary – it’s a chain of evidence. Deduplication keeps repeats tidy. Conflict flags highlight contradictions. Access controls respect matter boundaries. And because exports carry citations, any stakeholder can verify a point in one click.

TLDR – short and straight

• Messy data? Normal. If text is extractable, it’s anchorable. Scans are OCR’d with page references.
• Partial repositories? Fine. Start with what you have; add more later and the timeline extends without breaking.
• Conflicting documents? Expected. Lupa highlights conflicts so you can resolve them quickly, with both sources visible.
• Sensitive matters? Yes. Scope access by team, package, or workstream; watermark exports for distribution.