How we define an open matter for Hong Kong practice groups

Before we draw a single chart, we sit with practice heads and ask what they mean by open. For some groups it is every file with an unpaid invoice; for others it is only matters with active court dates or client instructions in the last ninety days.

In Hong Kong engagements we usually settle on three layers: formally open in the practice system, commercially active (time or correspondence in a recent window), and awaiting client or counterparty action. Mixing those layers in one total is what makes leadership packs feel unreliable.

We write the chosen definition into a one-page metric dictionary and attach sample matters that sit on the boundary. That packet becomes the reference when someone later challenges a number in a partners' meeting.

If your firm uses different practice systems across offices, we map each system's status codes to the same three layers rather than forcing a single software field to carry the whole story.