Matter Detail Page

Field

Description

Matter Tab

Matter ID

Matter id is automatically assigned based upon the format the system administrator has specified in Matters Preferences.

Client Sort

Client sort fills in automatically based upon the first client contact on the General tab in ProLaw.

Description

Matter description is usually the matter’s narrative, the client v. opposing party title, or the name of the patent or trademark.  

Client Information

Add Button

Click this button to add information for a new client contact.

Delete Button

Click this button to delete the current client contact information.

Company

The company based upon the first client contact on the General tab in ProLaw.

Full Name

The full name based upon the first client contact on the General tab in ProLaw.

Class

The contact's class or role in the matter.

Phone

The contact's phone number.

Notes

Enter any notes about the client contact.

Address

The client's address.

Client

Select this check box if the contact is a client for the matter. A matter may have more than one client contact.

Billing

Select this check box if the contact should receive a bill for the matter. Split bill matters will have more than one billing contact. If Billing is selected, enter the percentage of the bill the contact should receive. The total percentage for all billing contacts must equal 100%.

CC

Select this check box if the client is not the billing party but should receive a carbon copy of the bill. For example, this could be used to send a copy of the statement to the insured party (the billing CC) if their insurance company is responsible for paying the bill (the billing party).

Client Correspondence

Use these option buttons to determine how recipients of document types that are marked as client correspondence receive the correspondence.

Additional Matter Information

Area of Law

The matter's area of law.

Type

The type of billing, i.e., hourly fee, contingent, or percentage.

Opened

The date when the matter was created

Status

The status of the matter (for example, Open, Closed, Inactive.)

Status Date

The date that the status was assigned or last changed.

Professionals Grid

This grid displays the professionals responsible for the current matter, including billing and originating professionals. If more than one professional of the same type is responsible for a matter, the Percentage field indicates the percentage of responsibility. These percentages can be used to determine a professional’s compensation for activity on the matter, whether they performed the work or not.

Notes Tab

Notes Text Box

Use this text box to enter additional information related to the Matter. For example, perhaps a narrative describing the automobile accident that generated this matter would be entered in Notes. The contents of the Notes field can be queried.

Client Pronoun

Client party pronouns can be used in document assembly so that the same document type can be used whether it should reference him, her, them, or it, etc.

Opposing Party Pronoun

Opposing party pronouns can be used in document assembly so that the same document type can be used whether it should reference him, her, them, or it, etc.

Category Grid

Use categories to track sub-areas of a practice area or the office from which a matter originated. Categories are user-defined picklists and can be anything at all. These are just two examples of uses for the grid. Click the Add New Record button to add a category to the grid.

Billing Tab

Task Codes

Task codes are used when entering transactions. Similar to a component, they label the transaction's activity with a code that has a corresponding description. Typically, firms would only use task codes if their client requires them on the statement.

Activity Codes

Activity codes are used when entering transactions. Similar to task codes, they label the transaction with a code that has a corresponding description.  Typically, firms would only use activity codes if their client requires them on the statement.

Rate Level

Rate levels adjust the matter's billable rate. Make adjustments to the rate level in the +/- field.

Compensation

Compensation formulas are used by firms that split up fee income postings based on origination, transaction professionals, firm overhead, etc. Compensation formulas are defined by deciding what percentage goes to assigned professionals and transaction professionals, possibly leaving some left over for a firm fee income account.

Periodic Retainer

Periodic Retainers are used when a client is required to pay a set amount each billing cycle, regardless of the time entered on each matter. During the statement run, ProLaw generates a fee transaction for the amount specified automatically. If fee transactions already exist for the matter, ProLaw writes the existing transactions up or down to the specified amount.

Abbreviations List

Matter level abbreviations are useful when the client requires specific phrasing on a statement for certain tasks.

Note Events Tab

Event No.

The event number.

Event Date

The date of the event.

Matter ID

The matter ID of the matter to which the note event is attached.

Event Notes

The text of the note event.

Related Contacts Tab

Related Contacts Grid

Use this tab to attach additional related contacts, such as attorneys and expert witnesses. Click the Add New Record button to add an additional related contact to the grid. To delete a related contact, click the related contact to select it, and then click the Delete Selected Record button.

Related Matters Tab

Related Matters Grid

Use this tab to add a related matter to the selected matter. One reason to relate matters to other matters is because both matters should have the same events. It is possible to relate matters to each other for any reason. (For example, both matters have the same opposing party, or there are separate cases around one incident and you want to link them.)

Click the Add New Record button to add an additional related matter to the grid. To delete a related matter, click the related matter to select it, and then click the Delete Selected Record button.

Inquiry Tab

Inquiry Grid

The Inquiry tab displays a summary of the financial picture of the matter. It displays the totals of the Batch, WIP and Billed transactions broken down by component type. It displays the name of the trust account and the trust balance amount. It displays the matter's total write-ups and downs and discounts, budget and the difference between the budget and actual activity. It displays summarized billing, payment and write-off history. Click the Refresh Inquiry button to display the most up-to-date information.

Custom Tabs

[Custom Tab Name]

Custom tabs that are created in Desktop ProLaw are displayed in ProLaw Portal and can be edited. Custom tabs cannot be created in ProLaw Portal. The fields on a custom tab display vertically in ProLaw Portal; they are not in the same position as they are in Desktop ProLaw.

Note: When Custom tabs are designed in ProLaw, the fields on the tab are entered in an XML file. The fields are ordered in the XML file in the same order that the designer enters the fields in the user interface. If the designer changes the order, location, or size of the fields in ProLaw, the XML file is updated with the new X,Y coordinates, size, etc. However, the order of the fields in the XML file is not changed. ProLaw Portal displays the fields in the same top-to-bottom order that the fields display in the XML file. Therefore, changing the order of the fields in the ProLaw user interface does not affect the order of the fields in ProLaw Portal.