Who's responsible for a matter, and who can access it

Rather than a single "owner" and "manager" model, MatterSuite separates responsibility (who's accountable for the matter) and access (who's allowed to view or work on it), giving you more flexibility in how you structure your team around a case.

In this article:

• Key roles on a matter

• Permissions and access groups

• Related contacts

Key Roles on a Matter

Every matter tracks a few key roles directly within its details:

• Responsible Attorney – The attorney accountable for the overall progress and outcome of the matter. This is typically the lead on the case.

• Originating Attorney – The attorney who originally brought the matter in, which may differ from who's currently responsible for running it.

• Paralegal – The paralegal supporting the matter, if one has been assigned.

• Subscribers – Anyone who wants to stay updated on the matter's progress without necessarily being the one driving the work.

Together, these roles make it clear who's doing what on a matter, without needing a strict owner/manager hierarchy.

Permissions and Access Groups

When creating or editing a matter, the Permissions section controls who can actually access it. You can choose from:

• Default Groups – Quick options like Me (only yourself) or Everyone (all members of your organization).

• Other Groups – Custom groups your firm has set up, such as a specific team (e.g., "Criminal Cases Team"), letting you restrict a matter to just the people who need it.

This keeps sensitive matters visible only to the right people, while still making it easy to open a matter up to your wider team when needed.

Related Contacts

Matters can also be linked to external contacts relevant to the case. Under Related Contacts, you can:

• Select an existing contact from your firm's contact list.

• Create a new contact on the spot if they aren't already saved.

• Define a contact relation — clarifying how that contact relates to the matter (e.g., client, opposing counsel, witness) using New Contact Relation.

• Click Add Related Contacts to link additional contacts as needed.