CounselLink Answer Center for Clients

Creating and Managing Contacts

  • Updated

This article covers the following:

You must have the Contact Administrator or Contact Setup role to perform actions on this page.

Creating a Contact

A Contact record represents a person, company, or entity. Once created, a contact can be assigned to a matter (as a Matter Participant) or to a legal hold (as a Custodian).

You must have the Contact Administrator or Contact Setup role to create a new contact.

  1. Access the Create Contact page by one of the following ways:

    • From the Homepage

      Click Create Contact in the Contacts panel on the homepage.

    • From the Contact Search page

      Click +Create Contact on the Contact Search page.

    • From the Add Participants Window

      Click Create Contact on the Add Participant window of the Matter Overview page.

    • From the Contact Group Overview Page

      Click Create Contact under the More Actions drop-down of the Contacts tab on the Contact Group Overview.

    The Create Contact page displays.

  2. Provide the required information in the Contact Information section.

    Contacts must have an email address, business name, or last name. These fields are searchable on the Contact Search page, so entering complete information improves search results.

    Field Description
    Contact Type Select one or more options from the drop-down list. Individual is selected by default.
    Prefix Select from the drop-down list, if applicable.
    First Name Enter a first name.
    Middle Name Enter a middle name.
    Last Name Enter a last name.
    Suffix Select from the drop-down list, if applicable.
    Title Enter an organizational title, if applicable.
    Business Name Enter company name, if applicable.
    Email Enter an email address.
    Address Enter a physical address.
    City Enter a city the contact is located in.
    County/Region Select an option from the drop-down list.
    State/Province Select an option from the drop-down list.
    Zip/Postal Code Enter a zip or postal code.
    Business Phone Enter a business phone number.
    Mobile Enter a mobile phone number.
    Fax Enter a fax number.
    Description Enter a description for the contact.

  3. Provide information in the Contact Details section.

    Field Description
    Employment Status Select from the drop-down list.
    Business Unit Enter a business unit if not supplied by a custom data feed.
    Alternate/Back-Up Enter emergency or back-up contact information.
    Payment Currency Select a currency from the drop-down list.
    Manager Enter a manager name.
    Record ID Enter the unique identifier exactly as originally assigned. This helps prevent duplicates during import.
    Date Of Birth Enter the date of birth, if applicable.
    Edit Restricted Visible only to users with the Contact Administrator role. If set to Yes, only a Contact Administrator can delete the contact.
  4. Click Save.

Tips for Importing Contacts

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When using the Contact template file:

  • Limit each import to about 400–500 rows when possible.
  • For frequent large imports, consider setting up an ongoing system integration. Contact your account manager for more information.
  • You can import new or updated records only. Contacts cannot be deleted by import.
  • Use the Record ID column when your organization has a unique identifier for each contact. This helps prevent duplicate contacts.
  • Keep the file in the downloaded template format.
  • Do not rename column headers, change the column order, add new columns, or add duplicate columns.
  • Leave optional fields blank when they do not apply.
  • Remove extra spaces before or after values, especially in fields with allowed-value lists.
  • Use the built-in dropdowns where available.
  • Review the Import Summary after upload. Rows with errors are not created or updated until the errors are corrected and the file is imported again.

How CounselLink Matches Existing Contacts During Import

CounselLink uses Email and Record ID to determine whether a row updates an existing contact.

  • If the Email matches an existing contact, CounselLink updates that contact.
  • If the Record ID matches an existing contact, CounselLink updates that contact.
  • If both Email and Record ID are supplied, they must refer to the same existing contact.
  • If neither Email nor Record ID matches an existing contact, CounselLink creates a new contact when the required fields are valid.

To create a contact, provide at least one of these fields:

  • Last Name
  • Business Name
  • Email

Adding Information to the Contact Template File

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After downloading the template:

  • Click Enable Editing in Excel, if prompted.
  • Start entering contacts on row 2.
  • Do not change the column order or headers.
  • Do not rename columns. For example, “First Name” must remain exactly as shown.
  • Do not add extra or duplicate columns.

The template is intentionally blank. The header row is frozen and protected to help prevent accidental header changes, but the data-entry rows remain editable.

Required columns are bolded or labeled accordingly.

Required or Restricted Fields

Field Guidance
Edit Restricted (Required) Required. Enter Yes or No. Select Yes only when the contact should be restricted so only Contact Administrators can delete the contact.
Contact Status (Required) Required. Enter Active or Inactive. New contacts must be imported as Active. Use Inactive only when updating an existing active contact.
Last Name Conditionally required. Required when Business Name and Email are both blank.
Business Name Conditionally required. Required when Last Name and Email are both blank.
Email Conditionally required. Required when Last Name and Business Name are both blank. Email is also used to update existing contacts and is required when importing custodians for a legal hold.
Country/Region Required when State/Province is entered.
State/Province Optional. If entered, Country/Region must also be entered.

Fields with Specific Allowed Values

Some fields must match existing CounselLink options. If an import error says a value must exactly match an existing option, update the cell to a valid value or leave the cell blank if the field is optional.

Field Valid values or guidance
Prefix Optional. Use Dr., Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Hon. Include the period and do not add extra spaces.
Suffix Optional. Use Jr., Sr., or Esq. Include the period and do not add extra spaces.
Employment Status Optional for standard contact imports. Use Current or Terminated. Required when importing custodians for a legal hold.
Contact Type Optional. Use an existing contact type option in your CounselLink environment. Common options include Attorney, Company, Consultant, Individual, Internal Business Unit, Other, and Vendor. If entering multiple contact types, separate them with semicolons.
Payment Currency Optional. Use a valid currency code configured in CounselLink, such as USD.
Country/Region Use the full country or region name, or the CounselLink country code.
State/Province Use the full state/province name or the CounselLink state/province code for the selected Country/Region.

Importing Contacts

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You must have the Contact Setup or Contact Admin role to import contacts.

  1. Click the Contacts tab from the All Pages tool bar.

  2. Click Import Contacts.

    The Import Contacts window displays.

  3. Click Contact_Template.xls to download the Contacts template.
  4. Populate the template and save the file.
  5. Drag and drop the completed file into the upload area, or click Choose a File.

  6. Click Import. The contacts in the file are imported into and will appear in future searches.

    When importing contacts, existing records are updated if there is a match on either Email or Record ID columns. These are the only two entries that determine the uniqueness of a contact. You must provide at least one to update a record.

An Import Summary page displays, showing the total number of contacts imported. This page also shows any errors and allows you to print a report detailing the import process.

Fixing Common Import Errors

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Error or issue How to fix it
The field name Prefix value is invalid. Change the Prefix value to Dr., Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Hon., or leave Prefix blank. Include the period and remove extra spaces.
The field name Suffix value is invalid. Change the Suffix value to Jr., Sr., or Esq., or leave Suffix blank. Include the period and remove extra spaces.
The field name Contact Status (Required) is a required field. Enter Active or Inactive. For new contacts, use Active.
Inactive status is not valid for new contacts. Change Contact Status to Active, or provide the Email or Record ID for an existing contact that should be updated to inactive.
The field name Edit Restricted (Required) is a required field. Enter Yes or No.
Invalid Contact Type Use an existing contact type from your CounselLink environment. If entering more than one, separate each value with a semicolon.
Invalid State/Province Enter Country/Region and use a valid state/province for that country or region.
Insufficient data Provide at least one of Last Name, Business Name, or Email.

Activating or Inactivating Contacts or Contact Groups

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Contacts and Contact Groups are automatically activated when created. You may inactivate them (to prevent assignment) and reactivate them later.

You must have the Contact Administrator role to activate or inactivate a contact.

Activating or Inactivating from the Overview Page

  1. Open the Contact Overview page or Contact Group Overview page.
  2. Click More Actions in the upper right corner.
  3. Select Activate or Inactivate.

  1. Click Confirm on the confirmation window.

The selected Contact or Contact Group is activated or inactivated.

Activating or Inactivating from the Contact Search Page

  1. Click the Contacts tab in the top All Pages toolbar.
  2. Select the checkbox next to the Contact(s) or Contact Group(s).

  3. Click Activate Contact or Inactivate Contact.

If you receive an error message, click Show Details to view affected records.

Deleting One or More Contacts

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You need the Contact Administrator or Contact Setup role to delete contacts.

  1. Find the Contact(s) on the Contact Search page.

    Use the Type filter to select only Contact in your search results.

  2. Place a check mark by the Contact(s).

  3. Click Delete Contact.

  4. Click Yes, Delete in the Delete Confirmation window. The Contact(s) are deleted.

Sending Emails from a Contact Search

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If enabled for your organization, you can email Contacts or Contact Groups directly from the Contact Search page.

If a selected contact does not have an email address, the system will display an error.

  1. Click the Contacts tab in the top All Pages toolbar.
  2. Search for Contacts or Contact Groups.
  3. Select the checkbox next to the desired records.

  4. Click Email Contact. The Email Contact(s) window displays.

  5. Enter a Subject for the email.
  6. Enter the message in the Body field.
  7. Optional: Select a level of importance.
  8. Click Send.