Documents

Each matter and contact has a Documents tab for its files: pleadings, contracts, correspondence, evidence. Every document keeps all its versions.

Upload documents#

1. Open the Documents tab and click Upload documents.
2. Choose up to 20 files at a time. Each becomes a document.
3. Upload them. Then set each document's category, status and tags with Edit details.

Document details#

Open a document's actions and choose Edit details to change:

• Name: the name it downloads with (the file's extension is added).
• Status: none, draft, in progress, in review, approved, signed or archived. Archived hides it from the list.
• Category: from your firm's document categories.
• Tags and the date it was Received at.
• Share with client: see below.

Viewing documents#

PDFs and images (PNG, JPG, GIF and WebP) open inside Mattersimple: click the document's name, or choose View from its ⋯ menu. The viewer has a Download button. In Version history, the eye icon opens an older version in a new tab. Other files, such as Word or Excel documents, download when you click them.

Every view is recorded on the record's audit trail, like a download.

Asking a client to sign#

A client with portal access can sign a PDF in the portal. You need to be able to edit the document, and the client portal must be on.

1. On the document's ⋯ menu, choose Ask for a signature. (Only PDFs can be signed: save a Word file as PDF first.)
2. Pick the Signer: the contact the document is on, or one of the matter's clients who can sign in to the portal. Add a Message if you like.
3. Click Send for signature.

The client is emailed a link. The document is locked straight away, so its file can't change while they read it, and Mattersimple records a fingerprint (SHA-256) of the exact file sent. The document shows Awaiting signature.

In the portal the client reads the PDF, types their full legal name, draws or types their signature, ticks their consent to sign electronically, and clicks Sign document. They have 30 days; after that the request shows Expired and you can send it again.

When they sign:

• The document shows Signed and stays unchanged and locked. Unlock it if you need to add a new version.
• A signature certificate is added beside it as its own document, "{document} (signature certificate)": what was signed (with its fingerprint), who signed, when, from which IP address and browser, their signature and their consent. It isn't shared in the portal, since it holds the signer's details; the client gets it by email. It's tagged Signature, so you can list every certificate with the tag filter.
• You (and, on a matter, its responsible lawyer) are notified in Mattersimple and by email.

The client can also Decline to sign, saying why, and you're told the same way. To withdraw a request, choose Withdraw signature request on the ⋯ menu; the client is told they no longer need to sign. Every request, signature, decline and withdrawal is on the audit trail.

This is a click-to-sign electronic signature, the kind accepted for most engagement letters and consents under laws such as the US ESIGN Act and UETA and Canada's provincial electronic commerce acts. Some documents, such as wills, deeds and certain affidavits, still need a wet signature or a witness in many places: check your jurisdiction's rules before relying on it.

Versions#

Choose Upload new version to add a newer file to the same document. Version history lists every version, with the Current one first; you can download any of them. Documents and versions are never deleted: archive a document you no longer need.

Locking#

Choose Lock for editing to stop anyone, you included, changing a document while you work on it. The lock shows who locked it and when. Anyone who can edit the record can Unlock it.

Stars and filters#

Star the documents you use often; stars are yours alone. Filter the list with Search documents, category, tag and Starred only.

Sharing with the client#

With the client portal on, tick Share with client to put the document's latest version in the portal: for the contact on a contact's document, or for the matter's clients on a matter's document. Shared documents are marked Shared. Clients only ever get the latest version. Untick it to stop sharing.

Who sees and edits documents#

Documents follow their record: anyone who can see the matter or contact sees and downloads them, and anyone who can edit it can upload, edit, lock and share. Every download is recorded in the audit trail.