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How to keep matters and run a conflict check

Give one client several matters, each with its own number and the other people in it, link related clients, and check new names against everyone you have worked with.

Updated 2026-10-25

A law or accounting firm often does several pieces of work for one client: a lease dispute, a will, a company sale. Each is a matter, with its own number, practice area and the other people in it. Before taking on a new client or matter, a conflict check searches every name against everyone you have worked with, and keeps a record of what was found and decided.

Matters and conflict checks are there for a legal, accounting or finance business.

Open a matter

  1. Open the client from Contacts (your business may call it Clients).
  2. Under Matters, press New matter.
  3. The Number is filled in for you, such as 2026-0001, counting up through the year. Change it if your firm numbers matters its own way. Two matters can never share a number.
  4. Type a Name, such as "Smith v. Jones", and if you like the Practice area, who is Responsible and the day it was Opened (today if left empty).
  5. Under Other people in the matter, type each person's name, their company if any, and pick their role: Opposing party, Opposing counsel, Spouse, Related company, Co-party, Witness or Other. Press Add a person for more.
  6. Press Save.

The client's timeline gets a line saying the matter was opened. To close it, open the matter, press Closed under Status and press Save; the day it closed is kept. Press Open to reopen it.

Link clients to each other

A husband and wife who file together, a company and its owner, two business partners: link them so each card shows the other.

  1. Open one client's card and scroll to Linked clients.
  2. Press Link a client and pick the other client, or type a new name to add them.
  3. Pick what the chosen client is to this one: Same household, Spouse or partner, Parent, Child, Employer, Employee, Owner, Company they own, Business partner or Other. For a company, pick its owner and Owner.
  4. Press Link.

The link shows on both cards, each from its own side: the company's card says Ann Lee is its Owner, and Ann's card says the company is a Company they own. Remove asks first, and takes away only the link. These are the same links as households in Giving, so a business with Giving switched on keeps them there instead.

Run a conflict check

Only someone who manages the business can run a conflict check, because it has to see every client. A check run by someone who sees only their own clients would miss the rest.

  1. In Contacts, press Conflict check. From a matter, press Check conflicts instead: the names of the people in it are filled in.
  2. Under Names to check, type one name a line: the new client, the other side, their company.
  3. Press Check.

Otto searches every client's name, company and email, every matter's name and the people in it, and every note on a client's timeline. For a client it finds, it also lists the clients linked to them, such as the owner of a company. The words of a name can be in any order, so "Smith, John" finds John Smith. For each name you see what was found, or "nothing found".

Record what you decided

Under the results, type a Note if you like, then press:

  • No conflict,
  • Conflict, or
  • Waived, which needs a note saying why, such as "Written consent from both clients".

Each check is kept with the names, what was found at that moment, who ran it and what was decided. Earlier checks lists them, newest first; press one to see it again or change the decision. What was found never changes, even when clients are added later.

Good to know

  • Running a check changes nothing else, and nothing is sent to anyone.
  • Otto does not decide whether something is a conflict. It finds the names; you decide.
  • Each search shows up to 50 results of each kind for each name.

If it doesn't work

  • Conflict check is not in Contacts: your position does not manage the business. Ask the owner or a manager.
  • Save grayed out with "Give the matter a name": type a name first.
  • "Matter 2026-0001 already exists. Choose another number.": another matter has that number. Type a different one.
  • Waived grayed out with "Say why in the note first": type the reason in Note.