Matter Fields Explained (for Vendors and Law Firms)

This article is for vendors and law firms.

When viewing, requesting or creating a matter, you may not be familiar with the terminology used. Outlined below is a description of all core matter fields. The fields on a matter request form are configured by your client, and they may include Custom Matter fields (not included in this list). Reach out to your client if you need more information on details to include.

• Matter Name: The name of the legal project or case.
  
  
• Matter Reference: A unique reference number/ID for this matter. The standard format generated by Brightflag shows as BF_REF_(number), but your client can update this.
  
  
• Customer Matter ID: An additional reference number/ID for this matter. The standard format generated by Brightflag shows as BF_M_#(number), but your client can update this. 
   
• Firm Matter Reference: A unique reference for your firm to use internally. This reference is only editable by your firm. Some clients may not have this enabled. 

• Currency: The currency in which the matter spend figure will appear (on the client end). This does not affect the currency in which the invoices need to be submitted.
  
  
• Matter Category: The type of legal work this matter relates to.
  
  
• Entity: The legal entity of the customer that instructed this matter.
  
  
• Budget: The overall cost that has been budgeted for this matter (will default to a Periodic 6-month budget).
  
  
• Department: Often the function (department) that instructed the matter. The use of this field varies depending on the customer.
  
  
• Internal Matter Lead: The lead in-house attorney within your client that is managing this case.
  
  
• Country: The location where this matter takes place. Often the same location as the vendor office on this matter but not necessarily.
  
  
• Lead Outside Counsel: The lead attorney in the vendor that manages this case.

If the field you are looking for is not listed, it's likely to be a Custom Matter Field - which is configured by your client. Reach out to them directly to find out more about what to include.