> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.matter-vault.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Contacts & Parties

> Your firm's directory, and how people and organizations attach to a case.

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.

<Frame caption="The Directory — your firm's full network of people and organizations">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/layereightconsulting/vTgsqoZWajE8jIyz/images/how-it-works/directory.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=vTgsqoZWajE8jIyz&q=85&s=1e46971ca15c23f5ec7959fb4b1d4f05" alt="The firm Directory" width="2880" height="1800" data-path="images/how-it-works/directory.png" />
</Frame>

## At a Glance

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="One Directory" icon="address-book">
    A firm-wide address book of people and organizations.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Team vs. Parties" icon="users-between-lines">
    Internal staff on the file versus the external people involved.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Parties on a Case" icon="user-plus">
    Link contacts onto a case, grouped the way a PI file breaks down.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Person vs. Organization" icon="building-user">
    A person's identity is locked; an organization's details are editable.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## 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.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What you record on a person" icon="id-card">
    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.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Two Different Things: Team vs. Parties

It is worth separating two ideas that both sound like "people on a case."

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Team members" icon="user-group">
    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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Parties" icon="people-arrows">
    The external people and organizations involved in the matter — the client, the other side, carriers, witnesses, experts, and counsel.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## 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.

<Frame caption="The Parties tab — grouped the way a PI file breaks down">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/layereightconsulting/vTgsqoZWajE8jIyz/images/how-it-works/parties-tab.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=vTgsqoZWajE8jIyz&q=85&s=e308a2f063c37ac85d7593c784b927ce" alt="The Parties tab" width="2880" height="1800" data-path="images/how-it-works/parties-tab.png" />
</Frame>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Search or create the contact" icon="magnifying-glass">
    When you add a party, you either search for someone already in your Directory or create them on the spot.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill in case-specific details" icon="pen">
    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.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## How a Person Differs from an Organization

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="A person" icon="user">
    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.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="An organization" icon="building">
    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.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>