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Deleting a Matter

In some cases, a matter should be closed, not deleted. Also, depending on the matter, budget, and invoice status, it might not be possible to delete the matter.

Deleting vs Closing a Matter

If a matter is closed, the matter information is retained in Tracker for historical or reporting purposes. If a matter is deleted, all the matter information is also deleted, including invoices, invoice attachments, documents, and status reports. The only exception is some of the invoice data, which is retained for audit purposes.A closed matter can be reopened, but a deleted matter cannot be restored.
In the following situations, you might want to delete a matter instead of closing it:
  • Your company has a retention policy for matter data that has expired.
  • The matter information is so wrong that deleting and recreating the matter is easier than editing it..
  • The matter was created in Tracker but never materialized, and no work was performed on the matter.

Restrictions on Deleting a Matter

A matter cannot be deleted in the following situations:
  • There are any internal time entries/allocations for the matter (only applicable to companies that have turned on the time entry module).
  • One or more live invoices have been posted to the matter. If an invoice has been posted but has not yet begun the approval process, the law firm can delete the invoice, and then the matter can be deleted.
  • The law firm started to post an invoice, but the invoice status is "Delivery on Hold."
  • Any budget (Company, Law Firm, or Department) has been posted to the matter for the prior, current, or a future fiscal year.
  • The matter is a matter group with at least one matter member.
  • Any service-of-process document type is auto-routed to that matter.
  • The matter was created by Tracker for billing purposes.
When a matter is deleted, all of the data in a matter is permanently deleted, including invoices, invoice attachments, documents, and status reports. The data cannot be restored. By ensuring that matters with live invoices cannot be deleted, an audit history of the invoice and the method used to post the invoice always remain in the system.

This article applies to:

  • PRODUCT: Legal Tracker
  • Subject: Matter
  • Audiences: Company