| name | matters |
| description | Find and confirm the right matter for a piece of work from the firm's matter list and Microsoft 365 signals. Use when someone asks which matter does this belong to, look up a matter, list our matters, is this Laguna Beach or Pine Hollow, what's the matter for this client, or needs to map an email or meeting to a matter before billing. |
Matters
Get the matter right — a misposted matter is a misbilled client. The rate model and mapping rules live in ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/matters-and-rates.md; the current matter list is bundled at ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/matters.csv (a Clio matters export — number, name, caption, status, dates, responsible attorney, case no., property). Prefer a fresher export if the firm provides one at run time, and apply the working folder's learned-mappings.md overrides first. See ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/references/clio-exports.md for the full export map.
Use it to
- Resolve a matter from activity — given an email, meeting, or description, name the matter using the signal hierarchy (confirmed mapping → property/entity/party name → counterparty domain → thread continuity). Return the exact display name.
- Look up / list matters — answer "what matters do we have," "is X still open," from the current matters export. Never bill a closed matter; flag if status is uncertain.
- Disambiguate — some clients have several matters under one display name (
Infiniti Health ×3, S. Brower Living Trust ×7, Tomko ×4). The matter number tells them apart; don't guess which one — surface the options and ask.
Rules
- Use exact display names — a near-miss can mispost or fail import. Watch for stray near-duplicates (e.g., "Pine Hallow" vs "Pine Hollow Receivership Estate").
- Never invent a matter. If activity points to something not on the current matter list, say so and ask — then record the confirmed mapping in
learned-mappings.md.
- Non-client contacts (outside counsel, insurers, vendors) are not matters — never bill to them.
- When two matters are plausible, pick the higher-confidence one and flag the alternative.
The matter list isn't frozen in the plugin — it's loaded from the current export and is a strong prior, not gospel; confirm anything uncertain with the user.
