Matter
A matter is the primary unit of work in ContactsLaw. It groups together all of the documents, invoices and tasks pertaining to a particular legal service, consultation, prospect or administrative topic.
Types of Matters
- Client - Intended for the provision of legal services.
- Prospect - Used to marketing and other pre-engagement activities.
- Administration - Used for managing the business.
Properties
Matters have the following properties:
- Code derived from the client number
- Description and optional court action
- Contacts in various categories and roles
- Workgroup that determines the semantics and behaviour of the matter
- Storage (electronic or hard copy)
- Notes
- Quotes for pre-filling invoices
- Fields for storing arbitrary information
- Tags
Matter Contacts
Clients
At minimum, every matter has a primary client that is used for display purposes, and to determine the matter code. When a contact becomes a primary client (in a particular business) for the first time, a client number is also assigned. A matter may have additional clients, however client numbers are not assigned except in special circumstances (e.g. guest access).
Liaison
An individual contact can be nominated as the matter liaison, which allows correspondence to be directed to a single person. When the primary client is an entity contact, a liaison must be nominated.
Members
At minimum, every matter has a manager member who is granted implicit permission to administer it. A matter may have multiple managers (if permitted by the workgroup).
Matters may also have supervisor member(s). Supervisors behave identically to managers, with the following exceptions:
- Supervisors can resolve potential conflicts of interest
- Supervisors are reported separately on the matters overview
Members in other roles can be associated with the matter according to the definitions on the workgroup.
Court
A court contact can be added to model the jurisdiction of the matter.
Judicial Officers
Judicial officer contacts in specific roles can be associated with the matter according to the definitions on the workgroup.
Parties
A party is defined as a client or other contact in a specific role on the matter. The available roles are determined by the definitions on the workgroup.
Where a party is an individual contact, you can nominate an associated entity that gives context to the individual. If omitted, it is assumed that the individual does not act in respect of any particular entity.
For non-client contacts, you can nominate a representative (with an optional reference number).
Where a party acts in a particular capacity for some other contact, you can add these details as well.
Third Parties
Additional contacts can be associated with the matter for convenience purposes. Third party contacts can also include remarks which are displayed on the matter summary.