Matter Overview Page

Each Matter Overview page contains tabs at the bottom of the page. These tabs provide access to additional information on the matter, including assigned law firms, documents, tasks, or staff. A number on a tab represents the associated items contained within that tab.

This article covers the following:

Depending on your client's configuration and your role assignments, you may not have access to all of these options.

Main Details on the Matter Overview
All Tab
Financials Tab
Law Firms Tab
Participants Tab
Journal Tab
Invoices Tab
Documents Tab
Tasks Tab
Related Matters Tab
Staff Tab
Calendar Tab
History Tab

Main Details on the Matter Overview

The Matter Overview page is divided into the main details area at the top and individual tabs at the bottom.

Viewing the Top Section of Overview

The main details area displays high-level information about the matter, including matter type, matter number, details and status, law firms assigned to the matter, contacts, matter spend, and several other useful details.

The top section of the page includes the name, number, status and Matter Type.

Using the Plus Icon

Click the plus sign in the upper-right corner to reveal a drop down where you can perform the following actions:

Action	Details
Add Calendar Event	Click this to add a calendar event to the matter.
Add Journal Entry	Click this to create a journal entry on the matter.
Add Document	Click here to add a document to the matter.

Using More Actions

Click the More Actions option (vertical three-lines) to reveal a drop down where you can perform the following actions:

Depending on your role assignments, you may not have access to all of these options.

Action	Details
Calendar	Click this to access the Calendar for the matter.
Change Log	Click this to view the matter's change log.
Change Request	Click this to submit a change request to the fee offer or fee structure for the matter.
Email Matter	Click this to email a link this matter to another user.

Viewing Matter Basics

This section shows the Matter Type, when it was created, and a description of the legal event. Matter Value displays only if your client has it enabled; it is used only if they wish to set a matter value for reporting purposes.

Viewing Recent Invoices

This section shows some recently submitted invoices, including a link their Invoice Overview page, the date they were submitted, the total that was submitted, and their current status.

Viewing Matter Contacts

This section shows the Matter Contact, Invoice Contact, and the Contact Office. Click View All Staff to access the Staff Tab at the bottom of the page. Click on any contact name to view details for that user.

Viewing Matter Financials

This section shows an overview of the financial details, including Matter Spend and budget. Click See More Details to access the Financials Tab at the bottom of the page.

Viewing Matter Additional Information

The Matter Additional Information section includes custom fields created by the client. You may find relevant details about the matter in this section.

All Tab

The All tab contains all of the tabs available on the Matter Overview page arranged into a collapsible, vertical list. Click the arrow on the right-hand side of the page to expand a section or collapse it. Explore the rest of the sections on this page for more information on each tab.

Financials Tab

The Financials tab shows a high-level break down of all fees and expenses billed, adjustments made, prompt pay discounts, and net to pay. It also includes collapsible sections of budgets that have been added to the matter.

Although not displayed in this area, your client may ask you to submit accrual amounts. See this topic for more information.

Law Firms Tab

The Law Firms tab displays all law firms that have been assigned to the matter. Here, you can view information related to the law firms, including their fee structure, Volume Discounts, workflow, and rule set.

Performing Actions on the Law Firms Tab

If you have the Admin role, you can edit the staffing list from this tab.

Law Firm Details	Description
Name	Name of the law firm assigned to the matter.
Law Office Status	Status of the law office for the matter. The following law office status types are available: Fee Structure Change Requested – When either the client or law firm has requested a change to the fee structure. Cannot invoice when this status is active. Modify Fees Change Requested – When either the client or law firm has requested a change to the fees, which is part of a fee structure. No invoicing is possible with this status. Pending Staffing List Approval – When the client needs to approve or decline the provided staffing list. No invoicing is possible with this status. Pending Staffing List Request – When the law firm needs go to select staff for the matter and submit to the client for approval. No invoicing is possible with this status. Variable Change Requested – When either the client or law firm has requested a change to a variable (number of parties or cash value) which is part of a fee structure. No invoicing is possible with this status.
Date Accepted	Date when the law firm accepted the matter.
P.O. Number	Purchase order number that is assigned to the invoice of the matter.
Matter ID	The corporate customer matter number that is auto-generated when the matter was created.
Fees & Discounts	Type of fee structure or volume discount that has been selected for the matter. When you click the link under this column, the Fee Structure window displays with the rates that apply for the matter to that specific law firm. For Detailed Billing Fee Structures, if the rates are locked at the matter level for a law firm, the window displays the matter-level rates for that law firm. If the rates are not locked at the matter level for that law firm, the window displays the rates from the most recent approved fee offer.
Workflow and Rule Set	The invoice workflow and rule set that has been defined for the matter.

Participants Tab

The Participants tab shows all of the people involved on the matter. Participants could include a judge, plaintiff, defendant, opposing counsel, opposing attorney, witness, consultant, or internal stakeholder.

Viewing Existing Participants on the Participants Tab

Once a participant is added, you can view general information about them.

Some of the information available for a participant depends on what is completed in their Contact Information.

Column	Description
Participant Name	Name of the participant.
Business Name	Name of the business with which the participant is associated.
Participant Role	Role assigned to a participant (e.g. Plaintiff, Defendant, Consultant, Witness, Opposing/Adverse Attorney).
Contact Type	The Contact Type that was assigned to the participant when they were entered as a contact (e.g. individual, employee, attorney, vendor, law firm).
Status	Current status of the participant (Active or Inactive).
Phone	Phone number of the participant.
Email	Email address of the participant.

Journal Tab

The Journal Tab on a matter contains journal entries regarding the matter made by your client and your firm. These entries store matter updates, notes, and a summary of events. It provides a central location where you can review this matter information.

Performing Actions on the Journal Tab

You have several options to manage journals in the Journal tab. Click this topic to learn more.

Action	Description
Add	Click this button to add a journal entry to the matter.
Delete	Once you've selected one or more journal entries, click this button to delete.
Edit	Once you've selected a journal entry, click this button to make updates or changes.
Add Comment	Once you've selected a journal entry, click this button to add a comment to a journal entry. You can also edit or delete your existing comments here if needed.

Viewing Existing Journal Entries on the Journal Tab

Once a journal is added, you can view general information about them.

Some of the information available for a participant depends on what is completed in their Contact Information.

Column	Description
Subject/Details	Displays the subject name of the entry and the description. Click on the subject name to access a slide-out window with more details.
Category	Displays the category of journal entry. The category types are unique and specific to each of your client’s configuration.
Entered	Displays the date when the entry was created and by who.
Last Commented	Displays the last time a comment was made on the entry.
Privacy	Displays either Private or Shared, depending on the client's decision to share with your firm.

Invoices Tab

The Invoices Tab on the Matter Overview page displays a list of invoices that your firm has submitted to the matter. Here, you can go directly to a particular Invoice Overview page or perform various actions, such as creating or importing an invoice.

Performing Actions on the Invoices Tab

You can submit an invoice by creating one in CounselLink or importing one from your billing software.

Action	Description
Create	Click on this to create a new invoice.
Import	Click on this to import an invoice.

Viewing Invoices on the Invoices Tab

Once your firm has submitted an invoice to a matter, you can view general details about it in the Invoices tab.

The columns listed below cannot be removed from your view. Click the gear icon () in the top right corner of the tab to adjust the columns displayed on your tab view.

Column	Description
Invoice#	Displays the number that was automatically assigned to the invoice when it was created. Click the number to go directly that invoice's Invoice Overview page. Additionally, you may see the following icons below the invoice number: Approved: The invoice has been approved. Comment: The invoice contains one or more comments. Hover over the icon to reveal the number of comments or click on the icon to view display Comments window. New Review Cycle: The invoice is currently in a new review cycle. Threshold Warning: The invoice is approaching the budget threshold. Threshold Exceeded: The invoice has exceeded the budget threshold.
Law Firm Invoice#	Displays the law firm invoice number as assigned by the law firm.
Law Office	Displays the law office where the invoice was submitted.
Status	Displays the current status of the invoice.

Documents Tab

This tab contains documents that are attached to the matter. Here, you can view records related to the matter, such as receipts, correspondence, videos, or other pertinent information. Your clients can also add, edit, delete, download, and check in/check out documents. Additionally, they can add documents and share them with you as well.

Performing Actions on the Documents Tab

Once you've selected a document from the list, you can perform a number of different actions. See this topic for more information.

You must be the document owner or have the Document Administrator role to perform these actions.

Viewing Documents in the Document Tab

Once a document is attached to the matter, you can view some general information about it in the list.

Column	Description
Name	Displays the name of the attachment. Click the name to go to the Document Overview page.
Last Modified	Displays the date the last modification was made to the document.
Category	Displays the category of the document.
Owner	Displays the owner of the document.
Size	Displays the document size.
Access	Displays the access level of the document (public, private).

Using the Document Overview Page

Clicking on the name of any document will take you to the Document Overview page.

The main details area displays the information about the document, including the owner, description, and access level. Click the three-lined dots to

The overview page also contains the following tabs:

Comments: This tab allows you to add notes internally and externally about the document.
Versions: This tab displays information regarding the different versions of the document.
History: This tab displays the history of changes made to the document.

Tasks Tab

The Tasks tab on the Matter Overview page allows you to manage any tasks that have been added to the matter.

Performing Actions on the Tasks Tab

You can add new and manage existing tasks directly from this tab. Click this topic to learn more.

Action	Description
+Add Task	Click this button to add a task to the matter.
Edit Task	Select a task and click this button to edit an existing task.
Delete Task	Select one or more tasks and click this button to delete the selected item(s).
Reassign Task	Select a task and click this button to reassign a task to a different user.
Change Status	Select a task and click this button to change the status of the task(s).

Viewing Tasks in the Tasks Tab

Once a task has been added to the matter, you can view some general information about it in the list.

Related Matters Tab

The Related Matters tab allows you to view a series of matters that are related in some way. Clients relate matters in order to view their spend holistically.

This feature must be enabled by your client in order to view the tab on the Matter Overview page.

Matters can be related based on any criteria relevant to your client. Some typical uses for this feature include:

Class action cases
Insurance claims
Types of litigation
Cases related by practice group
Cases managed by the same attorney within an organization

Related Matters are established using a parent-child relationship. A matter can have only one 'parent' but as many 'children,' or subordinate matters, as necessary.

Viewing Related Matters in the Related Matters Tab

Once a matter has been added as a sub-matter, you can view general information about it in the Related Matters tab list.

Column	Description
Matter Number	Displays the number of the sub-matter. Click the number to be taken to its Matter Overview page.
Matter Title	Displays the title of the matter. Click the title to be taken to its Matter Overview page.
Matter Status	Displays the status of the matter.
Matter Contact	Displays the contact for the matter.
Law Office	Displays the law office(s) assigned to the matter.

Staff Tab

The Staff tab on the Matter Overview page displays the client users that have access to the matter. This tab provides user role and contact info should you need to communicate with them. For example, you might use this page to find a contact to discuss invoices, the matter, or a fee offer change.

See the Editing Staffing List topic for more information on how to activate or deactivate staff on a matter.

Viewing Staff on the Staff Tab

Once staff has been added to the matter, you can view general information about them in the Staff tab.

Column	Description
Name	Displays the name of the user. Click on a name to find general information about the user.
Type	Displays the roles assigned to that user.
Status	Displays the status of the user (Active, Inactive).
Phone	Displays the phone number of the user, if applicable.
Email	Displays the email for the user. Click on an email in the list to open a new message in your default email software.

Calendar Tab

The Calendar tab on the Matter Overview page shows specific calendar events that were created for the matter. You can create, delete, send invites, and view events here.

Click an event name to access the Calendar Event Overview page.

Performing Actions on the Calendar Tab

You can add new and manage existing events directly from this tab.

Action	Description
+Create Event	Click this button to add an event.
Delete	Select an event and click this button to delete it.
View Calendar	Click this button to view the calendar for the matter.

All matter staff can create an event for the matter's calendar. If you use similar events across multiple matters, you can save time by utilizing calendar templates instead of creating events independently. You need the Calendar Administrator role to apply Calendar Templates.

History Tab

The History tab on the Matter Overview page shows all change events that have occurred on the matter since its creation.

Viewing Events in the History Tab

You can view general information about the list of matter events and changes on the History tab.

Column	Description
Event Description	Displays the change that took place on the matter (e.g. Budget Deleted, Sent Assignee email)
Event Date	Displays the date the change was made or the event happened.
Initiated By	Displays the user that performed the change or initiated the event.
Details	Displays specific details about what was changed or the event that took place.

Using the Change Log on the History Tab

You can also click the Change Log button to display the Change Log window. This window displays more information about the specific changes that happened on the matter.

Column	Description
Field	Displays the field on the matter that was changed.
Old Value	Displays the field value before the change (if applicable).
New Value	Displays the field value after the change.
Changed By	Displays user that performed the change.
Change date	Displays the date the value was changed.

Column	Description
+Add	Click this button to add a document to the matter.
Edit	Click this button to edit any details associated with the document.
Copy	Click this button to make a copy of your selected document. This will bring up the Document Details page.
Delete	Click this button to delete your selected document(s).
Move	Click this button to move your selected document(s) to another folder location within the matter. Choose the folder location from the drop down and click Save.
Check Out	Click this button to check out a document. Use this option if you wish to make edits. Items that are checked out by a user can not be edited by another user until they are checked back in.
Check In	Click this button to check a document back in.
Download	Click this button to download a copy of the selected document(s).

Column	Description
Task	Displays the name of the task. The description is displayed below the name if it contains one. Click the name of the task to access a slide-out panel with the task details. Clicking the three-lined icon in the corner allows you to perform task actions, including adding a comment and showing the task history.
Task Type	Displays the type of task, whether Internal or Client.
Assignee	Displays the name of the user assigned to the task. Click the name of the user to view details, or click the pencil icon next to the name to reassign the task.
Due Date	Displays the date which the task is due (if the task contains a due date).
Status	Displays the current status of the task. Click the status on any task to change it.

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CounselLink Answer Center for Law Firms