Closing, Archiving, and Deleting Matters

When a case wraps up, you can close it, archive it, or delete it. Closing and archiving change the matter’s status and keep all of its data. Deleting removes the matter from FluentCase.

Note: This article covers archiving a matter (changing its status). To download a zip file of a matter’s documents, see Archiving Matter Documents.

How Matter Statuses Work

Every matter status your firm uses is classified as Open, Closed, or Archived. The classification controls where matters with that status appear:

  • Open - Available everywhere in FluentCase
  • Closed - Available in the Matters list, but hidden everywhere else
  • Archived - Hidden everywhere except the archived matters list. Time tracking is not allowed on archived matters.

Your firm can create several status labels (for example, “Settled” or “Referred Out”) and assign each one of these classifications.

Firm administrators manage these labels in Firm Settings → Matter Status Labels. See Firm Settings.

Tip: The Archive button on the Matters list is only available when at least one status uses the Archived treatment.

Closing a Matter

  1. Open the matter
  2. Go to the Overview tab if not already there
  3. Locate the Summary & Dates widget and click its Edit button
  4. Under Details, set Matter Status to a status your firm treats as Closed
  5. Under Dates, set the Closed date
  6. Click Save

The Closed date appears in the Summary & Dates widget.

Reopening a Matter

  1. Open the matter and click Edit on the Summary & Dates widget
  2. Set Matter Status to a status your firm treats as Open
  3. Under Dates, set the Reopened date
  4. Click Save

Archiving a Matter

Archived matters no longer appear in the main Matters list. You can archive a matter from the Matters list or from inside the matter.

From the Matters List

  1. Click Matters in the left sidebar
  2. Find the matter, then hover over its row to show the row actions (on touch devices, tap the ellipsis on the row)
  3. Click Archive

The message Matter archived. appears and the matter is removed from the list.

From Inside the Matter

  1. Open the matter
  2. Click Edit on the Summary & Dates widget
  3. Set Matter Status to Archived (or another status your firm treats as Archived)
  4. Click Save

Viewing Archived Matters

  1. Click Matters in the left sidebar
  2. Click Show Archives in the table header

The Archived Matters list opens. To return to active matters, click Back to Matters.

Un-archiving a Matter

  1. Open the archived matters list (see Viewing Archived Matters)
  2. Hover over the matter’s row
  3. Click Un-archive

The message Matter un-archived. appears, followed by the status the matter was moved to. FluentCase picks a non-archived status automatically, preferring a Closed status. To choose a different status, open the matter and update Matter Status in the Summary & Dates widget.

Deleting a Matter

Warning: Deleting removes the matter from FluentCase. If you may need the matter later, archive it instead.

  1. Click Matters in the left sidebar
  2. Find the matter and hover over its row
  3. Click Delete
  4. In the Please confirm dialog (Are you sure you want to delete this matter?), click Yes, or click Cancel to keep the matter

The matter is removed from the list.

Tip: On a desktop, holding Shift while clicking Delete skips the confirmation dialog. Use this with care.

Permissions

  • Archiving and un-archiving require permission to edit the matter.
  • Deleting requires permission to delete matters.
  • If your role doesn’t allow an action, the button appears unavailable. Contact your firm administrator for access.

See User Roles and Permissions for details.

Related Articles

Creating and Managing Matters Matters Archiving Matter Documents Documents User Roles and Permissions Administration