Creating or Editing Matters
With the appropriate access rights, you can create and edit matters at any time.
Note: Before creating a new matter record, first search for records that may already exist in the database. See Searching for Specific Records for more information.
The following topics apply to creating or editing matters:
- Creating a Matter Using a Wizard—Create a matter using a quick, guided process.
- Creating a Matter Manually—Create a matter starting from a blank matter record.
- Editing a Matter—Make changes to a matter.
Creating a Matter Using a Wizard
A wizard provides a quick, step-by-step way to create a new matter record. The wizard prompts you to enter basic information, such as the name of the matter, people you want to assign to the matter, outside counsel billing on the matter, and budget information, and then stores the matter in the system.
Each page of the wizard may also have a Finish button, which allows you to stop the wizard and saves any information that you entered. Later, you can open the saved matter record and provide additional details and updates.
The wizards for creating matters may prompt you to do the following:
- Select the appropriate matter type
- Enter certain details about the matter, such as a description, important dates, and names of involved parties
- Set the matter security, so that the record can be accessed by the entire legal department or only by the specified user group or the users assigned to it
- Assign the matter to users and specify a role for each assignee
- Select outside counsel
- Create budgets for the matter
A wizard may be one of the options or the only option available to create a new matter.
Wizard Pages in the Left Pane
When you open a wizard, the sequence of steps is also listed in the left pane in the order of the steps in the wizard definition. Each page is displayed with a number and the page title. Only steps that the user already opened are displayed as links so that it is easy to return to a previous step to make changes. The page that is currently open is always highlighted. This makes it easier to view the number of steps in the wizard.
To create a matter using a wizard
- Click the Legal tab.
- Click the appropriate matter type under the tab bar.
- Click the New drop-down, and then select the appropriate wizard. The wizard opens to the first page.
- Complete all of the required fields, and any additional fields.
- Click Next to continue to the next page, or click the appropriate link in the left pane.
The next page that opens depends on the pages defined for this matter type and this wizard.
If a Finish button appears on any page, click it if you want to save the matter with only the information that is currently entered. This is useful if you do not have complete matter details or if you only need to generate a matter ID. Once the matter is saved, you can add additional information whenever you receive it.
If you need to make changes on a previous page of the wizard, click the Back button or the appropriate page in the left pane; if you want to cancel the wizard, click Cancel. - When you get to the end of the wizard, click Finish.
The matter is saved in the Intake phase and is opened to its General page. To change the phase, see Changing Matter Phases.
Once the matter is saved, you can add or edit information at any time. See Working with Matters for more information.
Creating a Matter Manually
Creating a matter manually lets you create a matter starting from a blank matter record.
Note: Your company may allow you to create a matter record using a wizard only, so the option to create a matter manually may not be available. See Creating a Matter Using a Wizard for more information.
To create a matter manually
- Click the Legal tab.
- Click New, and then click New Dispute, New Transaction, or New Advice and Counsel. The matter record opens to its General page.
- On the General page, enter the appropriate data in the available sections, including all required fields. See the Advice and Counsel General Page Field Descriptions and Dispute and Transaction Matter General Page Field Descriptions for more information.
- In the left pane, click the Categories link, and then add the appropriate categories to indicate the nature of the matter. You cannot save this record unless you assign it to a category. See Relating Involved Parties for more information.
Important: For certain categories, new blocks of fields may appear on the General page. Click the General link in the left pane and complete these fields before you save this record. - If necessary, enter or edit the appropriate information on the additional matter pages listed in the left pane. See Working with Matters for more information.
- Select a save option.
The matter is saved and set to the Open phase. To change the phase, see Changing Matter Phases.
Advice and Counsel General Page Field Descriptions
The tables below contain the default fields for Advice and Counsel matters. The fields that you see may vary based on your system settings and assigned rights. Field descriptions are listed in alphabetical order and may display in a different order in the application.
General Information Section
|
Field (* = required) |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Current Phase |
The phase that is currently assigned to this matter. See Changing Matter Phases for more information. |
|
*Name |
The name of this matter. If you are unable to edit this field, matters of this type are named automatically. Note: If one of the fields used in the automatic naming sequence is changed, the name of the matter may change. For example, if the Contact field is used for naming matters and you select a different contact, the matter name will change when you save the record. If this field is editable, type a descriptive name according to your organization's standards. |
|
Matter ID |
The number assigned to this matter. If you are unable to edit this field, matters of this type are numbered automatically. If this field is editable, type a number according to your organization's standards. Note: After you save the record, you may not be able to change this number. |
|
Opened On |
Date and time that the record was opened. These values are set automatically when the matter record is created. |
Details Section
|
Field (* = required) |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Action Type |
The action that was taken to resolve this matter. |
|
Follow-up Date |
The scheduled date on which the follow-up action should be taken. |
|
*Follow-up Needed |
Whether or not this matter needs follow-up action. Options: Yes or No. If you select Yes, you must enter a Follow-up Date. |
|
Notes |
Details that may pertain to this matter. |
|
Notification Date |
The date on which the notification was received. |
|
*Notification Type |
The method that was used to notify the necessary parties, such as fax, email, or phone. |
|
Other Notification Type |
A notification type not listed in the Notification Type field. |
|
Proactive or Reactive |
Whether this matter is proactive or reactive. |
|
Requested By |
The contact who requested the matter discussion. Click the search icon to locate the appropriate contact. |
|
*Topic |
The category which most closely describes the type of matter being discussed. Advice and counsel matters do not have categories. Instead, they use topics to categorize the matters. Topics do not provide the show/hide behavior to groups of fields, but they do help with categorizing and searching for matters. |
Dispute and Transaction Matter General Page Field Descriptions
The table below contains the default field information for Dispute and Transaction matters. The fields that you see may vary based on your system settings and assigned rights. Field descriptions are listed in alphabetical order and may display in a different order in the application.
General Information Section
|
Field (* = required) |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Current Phase |
The current phase of the matter. If this is a new matter, this field is blank until it is saved. |
|
Matter Description |
Describes details about the matter. |
|
Matter Security |
The name of the security group that has access to this matter. |
|
Media Sensitive |
Whether or not this matter is important to the media. Options are Yes or No. If you select Yes, it is recommended that you complete the Media Statement Prepared field. |
|
Media Statement Prepared |
Whether or not a statement has been prepared for the media. Options are Yes or No. |
|
*Name |
The name of this matter.
|
|
*Number |
The number assigned to this matter.
|
|
Opened On |
The date and time that the matter was opened. These values are set automatically when the project record is created. |
|
Significant Matter |
Whether or not this is an important matter. Options are Yes or No. If you select Yes, you must complete the Significant Reason field. If this is a significant matter, it is also listed in your Significant Matters collection. See Managing Collections for more information. |
|
Significant Reason |
The details of why this is a significant matter. You must complete this field if you selected Yes in the Significant Matter field. |
|
Status Summary |
The current status of the selected matter. |
Additional Details on the General Page
Based on the category that you select for this matter, you may see additional sections and fields on the General page. These are custom fields that may have required information that you have to complete before you can save a matter. For more information, see Setting Category Details for more information.
Outside Counsel Section
If outside counsel is defined for this Dispute matter, details are in this section. See Dispute and Transaction Matters for more information.
Editing a Matter
With the appropriate rights, you can add or change matter information on any page associated with a matter.
To edit a matter
- Click the Legal tab.
- Click a matter type under the tab bar.
- In the list view, click the edit icon
for the matter that you want to edit.
The matter opens to its General page. - On the General page, make any appropriate changes. See Advice and Counsel General Page Field Descriptions and Dispute and Transaction Matter General Page Field Descriptions for specific field information.
- In the left pane, click the link of any additional page where you want to make changes. See Working with Matters for more information.
- Select a save option.