Clients & Matters

Two records carry the whole workflow: a client and a matter. A client is a reusable record of a person or entity you represent. A matter is one specific legal engagement for that client. Get this distinction crisp and everything that follows — outline, draft, review, export — has a place to live.

What a client is

A client is the person or entity you represent, kept as one reusable record. You add a client once; that record holds their biographical facts and stays available for every engagement you ever open for them.

You find your clients in the left rail under Clients. Opening a client gives you a record organized into tabs:

• Client — the biographical record: name, contact details, and the facts you re-use across cases.
• Matters — every engagement you've opened for this client.
• Files — documents linked to the client.
• Drafts — drafts generated for this client.
• Briefs — brief-type work product for this client.

Some clients you represent once. Others you work with across years and many cases. Either way, you enter their details one time.

What a matter is

A matter is one specific legal engagement — a petition, a waiver, a brief, an RFE response — tied to a single client. Every matter belongs to exactly one client, and each matter carries two pieces of context that define it:

• Case type — the kind of work, named in plain terms (for example, "I-601A Unlawful Presence Waiver").
• Jurisdiction — where the case is filed or pending (a USCIS service center, a specific immigration court, an appellate forum).

The case type is more than a label. It drives how DraftyAI routes the matter — which specialized flow a draft resolves to, and which templates attach automatically. You set it once when you open the matter.

A note on terminology: the record is labeled Matter everywhere you work, and the underlying route is /cases. If you ever see "case" in a URL, it's the same record — the matter.

One client, many matters

A single client can have many matters, and that is the point. Picture a client you first represent on an employment-based petition, then, years later, on an adjustment based on marriage. Same person, two different engagements: different case types, different jurisdictions, different documents, different statuses.

Separating the client from the matter is what powers reuse:

• You enter biographical data once. The client record carries name, background, and contact details into every matter you open for them — you don't re-type it per case.
• Each matter pre-fills from what it already knows. A draft launched from a matter starts with the client's details, the case type, and the jurisdiction already in hand, so you're confirming rather than re-typing. (See Answering Fewer Questions.)
• Each case tracks on its own. Every matter keeps its own status, files, drafts, and history, so two engagements for the same client never blur together.

The matter is the container

The matter is where the rest of the workflow happens. It is the screen you live on, and it is the record everything saves back to. Open a matter and it holds, in one place:

• Outlines — risk-first strategy passes that map your evidence and flag deadlines, with one set as the matter's primary outline.
• Drafts — petitions and briefs, grouped alongside letters, translations, and improved documents.
• Client files — the documents you upload or link to ground a draft and the outline analysis.
• Status — where the matter stands, from not started through in progress, review, filed, approved, denied, or archived.
• Event history — a running timeline of what's happened on the matter, which feeds a recommended next step.

This is why the matter is the unit the rest of the documentation is organized around. Its workspace gives you a progress strip — outline, draft, review, drafts ready — plus the quick actions to produce or transform a document, a panel to attach client files, and a list of everything created for the matter. For a full tour of that screen, see The Matter Workspace.

Creating a matter is free

Opening a matter costs nothing. You can create a matter, set its case type and jurisdiction, and attach files without consuming anything from your plan.

The per-matter charge is deferred to your first generation on that matter — the first time you run a chargeable AI step, such as generating a draft. From then on, every later generation on that same matter is included; you're charged once per matter, ever. For how the case allowance and overages work, see Plans & Billing.

Importing existing clients

If your firm uses Clio, you may be able to import existing clients into DraftyAI rather than re-creating them by hand (availability may vary).

Once a client is in DraftyAI — imported or added directly — it behaves like any other client. You open matters for them, link files, and start drafting.

Important: you review and own every filing

Clients and matters organize your work and carry context forward so you re-enter less. They do not change who is responsible for the filing. DraftyAI accelerates drafting; it does not replace your review or judgment. You review, edit, and own every document that leaves your firm.

DraftyAI accelerates drafting; it is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. You review, edit, and are solely responsible for every document you file.