States of a Matter: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 15:55, 16 October 2024

The lifecycle of a matter in a legal practice involves several distinct states, each representing a critical phase in its management.

The lifecycle states of a matter are:

Matter Created
Matter Commenced
Matter Concluded
Matter Archived
Matter Destroyed

The following outlines the key stages of a matter's lifecycle, with a focus on the archival process.

1. Matter Creation

When a new matter is created, it enters its initial state. Depending on the configuration of the workgroup, this state may either automatically commence the matter or leave it in a pre-commencement phase. The pre-commencement phase is particularly useful for tasks such as conducting conflict checks before officially starting work.

In this initial state, the matter appears in the system but is not yet active. This approach allows for the preparation of all necessary details before the matter is officially commenced.

2. Matter Commencement

Once the matter is commenced, it becomes active, triggering any predefined requirements associated with it. These requirements, which may include entering specific contacts or completing certain fields, must be met at this stage. These requirements are only enforced once the matter has been commenced.

3. Matter Conclusion

Upon the completion of all required work, the matter can be concluded. Concluding a matter signals to the system that the work has been finalised, causing the matter to drop off active lists and marking it as no longer active.

4. Matter Archival

After all records have been finalised, payments received, and transactions reconciled, the matter may be archived. Archiving a matter moves it into a historical state where no new transactions can be recorded, and no new documents can be uploaded. The matter becomes a historical record, accessible for reference but no longer part of active operations.

5. Matter Destruction

Following a specified period of archival, typically seven years, a matter becomes eligible for destruction. The destruction process minimises the data footprint by deleting documents, cleaning up records, and retaining only essential financial information. This process is designed to comply with legal retention policies, ensuring that only necessary information is preserved.

It is important to note that certain prerequisites must be met before proceeding through these stages. For example, a matter must be commenced before it can be concluded, and it must be archived before it can be destroyed. This systematic approach ensures that all steps are followed in the correct order, maintaining the integrity of legal records.

While the typical timeline for destruction is set at seven years, this period can be customised within system settings. The destruction function may be visible before this period has elapsed, but it will only execute once the requisite time has passed.

Understanding the lifecycle of a matter—from creation through to destruction—enables the efficient management of legal tasks and records. The archival process, in particular, is crucial in transitioning a matter from an active state to a historical one, ensuring that a firm remains organised and compliant with legal requirements.

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-'''File archival''' is the activity in ContactsLaw which represents the end of the lifecycle of a file. It ensures that all outstanding trust, debtor and disbursement balances are resolved, as well as managing the archived file's storage location. Once a file has been archived, it is effectively read-only and is excluded from most reports, displays and the search.
+The lifecycle of a matter in a legal practice involves several distinct states, each representing a critical phase in its management.
+== The lifecycle states of a matter are: ==
+# Matter Created
+# Matter Commenced
+# Matter Concluded
+# Matter Archived
+# Matter Destroyed
-During the archival process, the file goes through a number of states:
-# '''Closed / archival requested''' - The file appears in grey on lists and ledgers. This state indicates that the matter has concluded and is pending authority to archive.
+The following outlines the key stages of a matter's lifecycle, with a focus on the archival process.
-# '''Archived / pending storage''' - Following this step, the matter is regarded as 'archived'. It will no longer appear in lists of active files, its ledgers are locked and no further documents may be generated or registered to the file.
-# '''Stored''' - Applies to paper/packet files only. This step relates to the storage of the hard-copy of the file, and the addition of storage details to the file record.
-The storage step is only performed if the file is marked as 'paper' or 'packet'; 'electronic' files are not subject to storage.
+== 1. Matter Creation ==
+When a new matter is created, it enters its initial state. Depending on the configuration of the workgroup, this state may either automatically commence the matter or leave it in a pre-commencement phase. The pre-commencement phase is particularly useful for tasks such as conducting conflict checks before officially starting work.
+In this initial state, the matter appears in the system but is not yet active. This approach allows for the preparation of all necessary details before the matter is officially commenced.
-Ultimately, file archival is followed by file destruction, however until this occurs, the data remains accessible.
+== 2. Matter Commencement ==
+Once the matter is commenced, it becomes active, triggering any predefined requirements associated with it. These requirements, which may include entering specific contacts or completing certain fields, must be met at this stage. These requirements are only enforced once the matter has been commenced.
-=== <big>Documents on archived files</big> ===
+== 3. Matter Conclusion ==
-If a long-term document archive has been configured, all of the documents on the file will be moved into the long-term archive upon archival. This process can take some time, as each document must be separately downloaded from the main library and re-uploaded to the archive library. If the ContactsLaw Daemon is installed, this process occurs on the application server.
+Upon the completion of all required work, the matter can be concluded. Concluding a matter signals to the system that the work has been finalised, causing the matter to drop off active lists and marking it as no longer active.
+== 4. Matter Archival ==
+After all records have been finalised, payments received, and transactions reconciled, the matter may be archived. Archiving a matter moves it into a historical state where no new transactions can be recorded, and no new documents can be uploaded. The matter becomes a historical record, accessible for reference but no longer part of active operations.
-While you may use data on archived files to build new (outgoing) documents, they cannot be placed on the file. Instead, you must nominate one or more contact(s) that will determine their location.
+== 5. Matter Destruction ==
+Following a specified period of archival, typically seven years, a matter becomes eligible for destruction. The destruction process minimises the data footprint by deleting documents, cleaning up records, and retaining only essential financial information. This process is designed to comply with legal retention policies, ensuring that only necessary information is preserved.
+It is important to note that certain prerequisites must be met before proceeding through these stages. For example, a matter must be commenced before it can be concluded, and it must be archived before it can be destroyed. This systematic approach ensures that all steps are followed in the correct order, maintaining the integrity of legal records.
-New (incoming) documents may be registered to archived files, however you should consider un-archiving the file if significant new work is being performed.
+While the typical timeline for destruction is set at seven years, this period can be customised within system settings. The destruction function may be visible before this period has elapsed, but it will only execute once the requisite time has passed.
-=== <big>'Ready for archival' indicator</big> ===
+Understanding the lifecycle of a matter—from creation through to destruction—enables the efficient management of legal tasks and records. The archival process, in particular, is crucial in transitioning a matter from an active state to a historical one, ensuring that a firm remains organised and compliant with legal requirements.
-The 'ready for archival' indicator is an alternative mechanism for marking a matter as having concluded, despite not all pre-archival conditions having been met. The file remains in the list of active files, but will appear in grey text. Matters which are marked 'ready for archival' can be hidden from certain file lists.
-Files are marked 'ready for archival' via the file summary or as a menu option on the Files tab. If a file cannot be archived due to unreconciled transactions, ContactsLaw will prompt the user to mark the file as 'ready for archival' as well as generate a follow-up task.
-=== <big>Unallocated funds</big> ===
-If unallocated funds are detected on the debtors ledger for the file, ContactsLaw will issue a warning and allow the user to cancel the activity and investigate further. If there has been an allocation error (e.g. receipting funds before a bill was issued) and there are GST implications, these should be addressed before archiving the file.
-Practice managers can restrict the archival of files with unallocated funds; this is done via the 'Restrictions on file archival' permissions category. If a member does not have permission to archive such files, they will be prompted to delegate the task to an authorised member.
-=== <big>Auto-archival</big> ===
-Auto-archival is a feature designed for large numbers of trivial matters. It allows the files to be archived non-interactively and en-masse, without the user interface being displayed. In order to qualify for auto-archival, matters must:
-* Be electronic-only (not requiring storage)
-* Have zero balances for trust, disbursements and debtors
-* Not require a trust statement to be printed upon archival (these can be printed separately using the trust statement wizard)
-Auto-archival will fail if any of the other conditions for file archival are not satisfied; however, if one matter fails to auto-archive, it will not abort the batch.
-=== <big>Unarchiving files</big> ===
-You can unarchive (re-open) a file at any point prior to its destruction. It may be necessary to do this if the file was archived prematurely or in error. In cases where there is a physical file, remember to remove it from the archive box/packet. When the file is subsequently re-archived, the shelf location may change.