This article states the difference between Matter Roles and a Contact Type.
Matter Roles
A contact's role related to the Matter is defined when it is assigned to a Matter. Roles can be anything from Opposing Counsel, Family Member or Other Interested Party. Roles are Matter specific and contacts can have different roles in other Matters.
When you are sending out matter related emails, our Smart Suggest feature shows you a list of all these contacts and their roles.
Contact Types
Contact Types define how the Contact relates to your firm. Some examples of this are Client, Friend, Networking contact, etc. You can either add a new type, or select one that you have previously added.