A matter is a project you are creating in DISCO that scopes documents, users, workflows, depositions, and evidence for a single case.
Permission Requirements
To create a matter, you must be an Organization Admin or a Matter creator in your DISCO Organization
Create a Matter
Organization admins and Matter creators can create matters, leveraging a step-by-step workflow.
To create a matter from the Matters Page, select the "Create" button in the upper right corner.
The creation wizard begins with the Matter Information page. Provide the following details to create a matter:
- Style: (Required) Provide the full, descriptive name of the matter.
- Short style: Provide a shortened version of the matter name.
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Display name: (Required)Choose how the matter name appears across DISCO Review. You may either:
• Provide a custom display name, or
• Use the short style as the display name by selecting "Use short style".
The display name is shown throughout DISCO. - Client matter number: Enter a unique identifier provided by the client to reference and track this specific legal matter.
- Primary Matter Type: (Required) Select a "Primary Matter Type" (e.g., intellectual property) from a dropdown menu. This attribute will help organizations build a better understanding of their DISCO usage by matter type.
- Description: Add a brief description to provide additional context about the matter.
After clicking "Next", users will by default be prompted to enter the Details for creating a review database associated with the new matter.
If a review database does not need to be created at this time, users can select "Skip review database creation" to simply move forward with matter creation.
If users choose to skip review database creation, the matter will still be created and will appear in the Organization Manager list.
To utilize complete disco platform worklfows for the matter, you must later add the respective database(s):
- Review database
- Case database.
These databases can be added at any time from the matter card.
Create a Review Database
A review database is the workspace within DISCO where legal teams review, analyze, and manage documents and matter data. It scopes documents, users, workflows, and compliance controls for a single matter.
There are two ways to create a review database from Organization Manager
- To create a review database for an existing matter, click the "Add review database" button from the matter card.
- To create a review database alongside creating a new matter, simply proceed through the creation wizard workflow.
The review database creation wizard begins with the review database details page. Provide the following details to create a review database:
- Review database name- Provide a name for database. This helps your team easily identify it within the matter, especially if the matter contains multiple databases.
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Time zone- Select the time zone for the review database. All dates and times (such as document timestamps) will be normalized to this time zone during processing.
Note: The time zone cannot be changed after the database is created. Users can add a default timezone in Organization settings which will be selected by default for all databases. - Schedule a complimentary consultation with DISCO experts- Choose whether you would like to schedule a free workflow consultation with a DISCO expert. This session helps you set up review workflows, best practices, and configurations tailored to your matter.
- Copy elements from other databases- Select this option if you want to copy settings from an existing review database.This can save time and help keep workflows consistent across matters.
For information on how templates works, see the following article: Review Database Template
The next step is to enter billing contact information associated with the review database being created, as well as any third-party billing notes or special payment terms.
Lastly, if you decide to move forward with a consultation for the review database, the Consultation step allows you to schedule the session directly from this workflow. Simply select from the available times based on what works best for you and your team. After scheduling the consultation, a calendar invite will be sent to our internal support teams and anyone you chose to include in the session.
When finished, you can click "Create" in the bottom right corner to create the review database. From there, you will be returned back to the Organization Matters page.
Users can view the created database on the Organization Matters page.
Create a Case Database
A case database provides tools to structure case data, organize evidence, and connect related materials across documents, custodians, and timelines.
To create a case database for an existing matter, click the "Add Case" button from the matter card.
When you click Add case:
• A case database is created and automatically added to the matter.
• The case database name is set to the matter display name by default.
• Each matter can have only one case database.
Once created, the case database appears in the matter card and is visible on the Organization Matters page.
Users can navigate to the dedicated Case database and review workspace by clicking on Case Builder and Ediscovery button on the matter card or by clicking on the database name from the list.