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Matter Vault keeps one firm-wide address book — the Directory — and lets you link those people and organizations onto individual cases as parties. The same contact can appear on many cases without being re-entered.
The firm Directory

The Directory — your firm's full network of people and organizations

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At a Glance

One Directory

A firm-wide address book of people and organizations.

Team vs. Parties

Internal staff on the file versus the external people involved.

Parties on a Case

Link contacts onto a case, grouped the way a PI file breaks down.

Person vs. Organization

A person’s identity is locked; an organization’s details are editable.

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The Directory

The Directory is everyone in your firm’s network: clients, experts, opposing counsel, providers, and more. It separates People from Organizations with tabs, plus an All view that merges both.
When you add a person, you can record name, email, phone, address, and notes, and tag them with a profile type — for example Expert Witness, Medical Professional, Arbitrator / Mediator, or Judge / Court Officer. Choosing Expert Witness opens extra fields for their specialty, the side they testify for, hourly rate, and retainer.

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Two Different Things: Team vs. Parties

It is worth separating two ideas that both sound like “people on a case.”
Your internal staff working the file. The roles are Lead Attorney, Co-Counsel, Paralegal, Observer, Legal Assistant / Secretary, Billing Coordinator, and Supervising Attorney. Every file needs at least one team member.
The external people and organizations involved in the matter — the client, the other side, carriers, witnesses, experts, and counsel.

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Adding Parties to a Case

On a PI case, the Parties tab is grouped the way a PI file actually breaks down: Clients, Adverse Party and Insurance Carriers, Opposing Counsel and Witnesses, Experts, and Other Parties. Each group has its own add button — “Add Client,” “Add Carrier,” and so on.
The Parties tab

The Parties tab — grouped the way a PI file breaks down

Search or create the contact

When you add a party, you either search for someone already in your Directory or create them on the spot.

Fill in case-specific details

Then fill in the details specific to this case. General matters use a comparable set of party roles — Plaintiff, Defendant, Witness, Opposing Counsel, Corporate Entity, Expert, Third Party, Other.

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How a Person Differs from an Organization

A person on a case shows as a named individual with their contact details. To change who that party is, you remove them and add the right person — this is on purpose, so you do not accidentally rewrite one person into another.
An organization (a carrier, a firm, a company) shows with an editable name plus a structured address and the org’s own main phone and email. The practical difference: a person’s identity is locked once linked, while an organization’s name and details can be edited in place.