Run every matter from one workspace.
A matter is a single case or engagement: a lawsuit, a contract, an estate plan. It is the container everything hangs off, so the tasks, events, documents, notes, time, and invoices for a case all live in one place.
Set the stages once, then reuse the setup
Matters open in a list or on a stages board, and the lanes come from the practice area rather than from us. Save a matter's setup as a template and the next one of that kind opens pre-filled.
A template captures the setup of a matter, so the next case of the same kind arrives pre-filled instead of being typed out from scratch.
Matter templatesPractice areas you define
Each area brings its own stages and its own matter types.
Templates for repeat work
Pre-fill the setup steps and tasks for the next case of a kind.
Configured per case, not per firm
Firms rarely bill every case the same way or let everyone see every file. A matter carries its own billing method, its own team, its own visibility, and the custom fields your practice tracks.
Set up your matter workspace.
Browse the docsFAQs
Stages, practice areas, templates, visibility, billing, and import.
What is a matter?
A single legal case or piece of work you handle for a client: a lawsuit, a contract, an estate plan. It is the record everything else attaches to, so the tasks, documents, time entries, communications, and invoices for that case are gathered in one workspace rather than scattered across the app.
Can I change the stages a matter moves through?
Yes, and they are set per practice area rather than firm-wide. Each practice area carries its own ordered list of stages, which become the lanes on the Stages board, plus its own types for sub-classifying a case. Family law and personal injury can move through completely different sequences.
What does a matter template save me?
The setup. A template carries the practice area and its starting stage, the team and their revenue split, view permissions, billing, the custom fields, and a starting task list, so those steps arrive pre-filled rather than typed out again. It never carries a client, a related contact, or any custom-field values, so you still add the people for the case in front of you.
Can I restrict who sees a matter?
Yes. A matter can be open to the firm or limited to specific members, which matters for sensitive family, employment, and internal work. Anyone you assigned to the matter is always included and cannot be removed from that list.
How is billing set on a matter?
Per matter, when you create it. Choose hourly, flat rate, or contingency fee. An hourly matter can carry custom billing rates that override firm or member rates for that case only, plus an optional budget. A flat rate takes a fee recipient and an amount, and a contingency takes a recipient and a percentage.
Can one matter be billed to more than one party?
Yes. When a matter has more than one bill recipient across its customers and related contacts, and the method is hourly or flat rate, a split invoice section appears so you can divide each invoice between them by percentage. Contingency-fee matters cannot be split.
Where does discussion about a case live?
On the matter. Its Overview tab carries a comment thread, so case strategy, a question for the responsible attorney, and the handover note for whoever picks the file up next sit with the case rather than in an inbox. Mention a colleague with @ and they are notified, and anyone who can work the matter can reply or react.
Can I record information Esqase does not ask for?
Yes, with custom fields. Fields you add on a matter attach to that matter only, while the firm-wide library of fields and field sets is managed in settings, so you can standardize what every case of a kind records and still add a one-off where a case needs it.
Can I import matters from another system?
Yes. Matters import in bulk from a CSV, up to 50,000 rows in one pass, and the template Esqase generates carries a column for every matter custom field your firm has added. Each row names a practice area you already have, so set those up first. Esqase checks the file before anything is written and shows what will import and what will be skipped, then hands back a report naming the skipped rows and why. The importer only ever opens new matters, so it never merges into one you already have.