diff --git a/mcp-server/src/legal_mcp/services/db.py b/mcp-server/src/legal_mcp/services/db.py
index 1f3bdb2..8f52561 100644
--- a/mcp-server/src/legal_mcp/services/db.py
+++ b/mcp-server/src/legal_mcp/services/db.py
@@ -1713,7 +1713,12 @@ async def list_cases(
         where.append("archived_at IS NULL")
     where_clause = f"WHERE {' AND '.join(where)}" if where else ""
     args.append(limit)
-    sql = f"SELECT * FROM cases {where_clause} ORDER BY updated_at DESC LIMIT ${len(args)}"
+    # Archived list is ordered by archive date (newest-first) so the order is
+    # server-authoritative and the /archive page is correct on load, regardless
+    # of client-side sorting. NULLS LAST is defensive — the archived_only filter
+    # already excludes NULLs.
+    order_by = "archived_at DESC NULLS LAST" if archived_only else "updated_at DESC"
+    sql = f"SELECT * FROM cases {where_clause} ORDER BY {order_by} LIMIT ${len(args)}"
     async with pool.acquire() as conn:
         rows = await conn.fetch(sql, *args)
     return [_row_to_case(r) for r in rows]