Conflict checking on matter creation

Open a new matter on /collections/new with kind=matter — Kodori runs a debounced hybrid search across existing matters and surfaces potential conflicts inline before you create the duplicate.

Updated 2026-05-04

Every law firm runs a conflict check before opening a new matter — typically a paralegal manually searching the firm's existing matter list for the opposing party. /collections/new automates it.

**The flow:**

1. Open /collections/new. Type the matter name (e.g. "Smith v. Acme — 24-cv-1234"). Pick kind = "matter". 2. Optionally add a description with parties, jurisdiction, or scope notes — used as additional signal for the conflict check. 3. As you type (debounced 600ms), Kodori runs the new `previewMatterConflicts` MCP tool. Two passes: - **Name match** — case-insensitive substring against existing collection names. Catches "Smith v. Acme — Phase 2" duplicating "Smith v. Acme". - **Document match** — runs hybrid search on name + description; each hit maps back to its collection memberships; those collections surface as conflict candidates. 4. Results appear inline in an amber-tinted warning panel. Each conflict shows: matter name (link to open in new tab), kind, member count, match reason, and up to 4 doc-hit snippets explaining the link. 5. If conflicts appear, the submit button requires explicit confirmation — check "I've reviewed the conflicts above and want to proceed anyway" before Create unlocks.

**No conflicts found** → a green confirmation banner so operators get a positive signal even when the check returns clean.

**Non-matter kinds skip the check.** Folder / project / cabinet / drawer / custom collections don't carry the implicit conflict-of-interest duty.

**Programmable.** `previewMatterConflicts` is an MCP tool — the agent can do the same check from natural language ("check this matter description for conflicts before I open it"). Returns the same structured shape the UI consumes.

**Coming next:** per-tenant adverse-party metadata for stricter conflict signaling beyond name + content match (e.g. a firm-maintained list of "we've represented this party" / "we've represented adverse to this party"); per-conflict severity scoring; auto-flag matter docs that mention adverse parties from the firm's adverse-party list.