1.Overview

Multi-party litigation requires careful matter organization while maintaining unified case management. Projects enable separate defendant matters for conflict checking and billing while providing shared resources and coordinated case strategy.

2.Litigation Project Structure

In a multi-defendant case:

1. Primary Matter

Main matter for case (plaintiff vs. multiple defendants).

2. Defendant-Specific Matters

  • Separate matters for each represented defendant
  • Required for conflict checking (potential conflicts between defendants)
  • Enable separate billing by defendant
  • Maintain separate email and communications by defendant

3. Project-Level Organization

  • Project unifies all defendant matters
  • Project-level discovery management
  • Project-level trial coordination
  • Consolidated plaintiff analysis and case theory

3.Shared Resources Across Matters

While defendant matters remain separate, project provides shared resources:

Shared Briefcase

Project-level document repository for case-wide documents (court filings, plaintiff discovery, generic case materials).

Shared Timeline

Consolidated litigation timeline with deadlines applicable to all defendants.

Shared Expert Network

Centralized expert witness coordination across defendants.

Shared Research

Case law research and legal analysis applicable to all defendants.

4.Discovery Management at Project Level

Discovery management in multi-defendant context:

  • Plaintiff Discovery: Single discovery request set analyzed at project level
  • Defendant Response Coordination: Each defendant matter prepares own responses but project-level review ensures consistency
  • Opposing Party Deposition Coordination: Project-level coordination of depositions of common witnesses
  • Discovery Disputes: Project-level coordination of discovery disputes affecting multiple defendants

5.Trial Coordination

Trial preparation spans multiple defendant matters:

  • Unified Trial Strategy: Project-level case theory and trial themes
  • Witness Coordination: Coordination across defendants for common witnesses
  • Exhibit Coordination: Unified exhibit list with defendant-specific exhibits identified
  • Trial Scheduling: Coordinated trial preparation timeline ensuring all defendants are ready for trial

Frequently asked questions

A Project is a container organizing multiple related matters under a unified initiative. Projects provide organizational structures for complex legal work requiring coordination across multiple matters or transaction counterparties.

Use a Project when work spans multiple related matters—such as multi-defendant litigation (separate matters per defendant for conflict checking), acquisition transactions (legal, regulatory, IP, and closing matters), or investigations requiring unified management across workstreams.

The Project Dashboard provides unified visibility: matter list with status, consolidated timeline, team assignments, budget tracking with per-matter breakdown, key deadlines, and a consolidated risk summary across all project matters.

Transaction projects coordinate due diligence plans, data room management, finding compilation, closing condition tracking, and deal document coordination—including agreement versions, exhibit reconciliation, and closing document preparation across multiple workstreams.