What is legal matter management software and why is it important?

Legal teams have a critical role in modern organizations, acting as both protectors and enablers. Without efficient processes or the right tools, they can find themselves pulled into repetitive manual work, leaving little time for the tasks that truly support the business.

Legal matter management software empowers in-house legal teams to streamline legal operations by standardizing workflows and processes, reducing manual administrative work, enhancing collaboration, and extracting crucial data and insights that help showcase the value that legal brings to the business.

By using a centralized system which is designed to manage legal matters faster and more strategically, legal teams can save time, reduce risks, be a better partner to the business and produce better business outcomes. To learn more about the benefits of in-house legal matter management software, check out our matter management guide.

In this article, we’ll explore what legal matter management software is, what distinguishes it from case management and legal project management, and essential features that every in-house legal team should look for when investing in a legal matter management solution.

To learn more about mastering matter management for in-house legal, check out our matter management webinars here.

What is legal matter management software?

At its core, legal matter management software for legal departments consolidates and centralizes all legal requests, workflows, documents, and data into a single platform. In-house legal matter management software should also include tools to automate and streamline workflows, especially repetitive tasks. At the end of the day, this technology provides in-house legal teams with structure and oversight from the moment a legal matter or project is requested to its resolution, and generates a central repository for historical work as well as work in progress.

By using this type of software, legal teams can move away from managing work using tools that are not designed for legal work and are prone to inefficiencies and errors – such as email inboxes, spreadsheets, and shared drives. And with a more streamlined process, legal teams can eliminate the frustration of searching for scattered data, unnecessary back-and-forth with other departments, and manually compiling reports, significantly boosting efficiency and productivity.

The relationship with case and legal project management

Case management, legal project management, and legal matter management are all interconnected yet distinct concepts. The confusion often arises from the interchangeable use of these terms. While the term “case” is generally only used within a litigation context, lawyers often refer to ” “legal projects,” and “legal matters” as though they are synonymous.

What’s most important for legal teams to think about in the context of legal matter management software is this: legal matter management serves as the overarching framework that encompasses all legal work, including case management and project management. It provides the tools required to optimize workflows, enhance collaboration with internal teams, and coordinate effectively with external counsel. By unifying these processes, legal matter management ensures greater efficiency and organization across the full breadth of a legal team’s operations.

7 essential features to look for in a legal matter management solution

When considering which legal matter management software to invest in, it’s critical to base your evaluation on the features that will have the biggest impact on your team’s core workflows and deliver value quickly. Here are seven essential features to look for in a legal matter management solution:

1. Purpose-built for legal teams

It’s not impossible to manage your legal workflows with generic tools or software. However, you will encounter limitations with these tools, as they are highly unlikely to address the unique needs of in-house legal teams. A legal matter management solution needs to be purpose built for the needs of your in-house legal team – this is the only way to target the right inefficiencies, ensure an easy path to implementation and adoption, and extract value more quickly.

Read this case study to learn how choosing a purpose-built legal matter management solution helped the Co-op’s in-house legal team operate more efficiently and effectively showcase their value to the entire business. 

2. Versatile and easy to use

Choosing a legal matter management system that can be seamlessly set up and tailored to your specific needs is essential, as no two legal teams are identical. The ideal solution should be easy to configure to your unique workflows and organizational structure. It should also feature an intuitive user interface which promotes ease of use, ensuring that your entire team can adopt it quickly.

Read this case study to learn how choosing an intuitive and flexible legal matter management system helped the legal team at Property Finder ensure swift adoption and improve their relationships across the business.

3. User-focused intake 

Legal teams frequently face a constant influx of requests, ranging from contract reviews to answering compliance questions. With an intake experience integrated into your legal matter management software, requests can be centralized and standardized right from the start. This streamlines the process, minimizes unnecessary back-and-forth with the business, and generates valuable structured data for reporting. An integrated intake system for legal matters should:

• Offer configurable forms for different request types to capture the data you need
• Support intuitive self-service portals that make it easy for business users to self serve their needs through a knowledge base offering guidance and templates, as well as ways to track the progress of their requests
• Support integrations with tools that the business uses (such as email, Slack, Teams and Salesforce) to bring legal requests together
• Allow business users to engage with legal on the go with a mobile app to keep workflows moving from wherever they are

Learn more about how in-house legal teams can boost efficiency and provide top-notch service by taking charge of legal requests. 

4. Seamless integrations

Legal teams already use various software tools, from email platforms (like Outlook and Gmail) to collaboration suites like Slack or Teams. Choosing a legal matter management solution which integrates with key tools that your legal team and business use will support collaboration and pull data into one central location – all while reducing manual effort. Additionally, having the ability to link with CRM platforms like Salesforce or document management systems like SharePoint will make workflows smoother and collaboration more effective – not just within legal but across all departments.

Learn more about the value of a legal workspace with seamless software integrations for your intake processes. 

5. Embedded document and email management

Legal documents are central to legal work, and a strong legal matter management solution which offers integrated document management and tools to manage these is essential. A robust document management system allows you to centralize document storage for better version control, ease of search and retrieval, and improved organizational productivity. The following features are an added bonus that will further enhance efficiency:

• Email capture to ensure that all correspondence related to legal matters is stored in the right place
• Full text search that allows users to quickly find things by searching file names, metadata, and content within documents
• Integrations, such as with document comparison tools or Microsoft Suite, to speed up work and compliance with business processes
• Knowledge base with customizable permissions to facilitate self-service for business users without compromising privacy and security measures

Read this case study to learn how a centralized document management system helps the legal team for the Town of Cary, NC, to better manage their high volume of work and optimize their productivity.

6. Easy to use, data-rich reporting

The best legal matter management software will collect data behind the scenes to help you turn your daily workflows into a story you can present to the business – one which clearly communicates your team’s value. Look for easy-to-use, out-of-the-box reporting and dashboard features that make it easy to get the visibility you need to track performance, support data-driven insights and decision making.

For a demonstration of how the right matter management system can optimize your reporting capabilities, try out the LawVu self guided tour.

7. Workflow management

Legal teams handle a wide range of workflows, making it essential to prioritize tools that will streamline workflows and reduce administrative burden as much as possible. An effective legal matter management solution should offer core features which enhance workflows and processes – but look for high value capabilities that can help you save even more time. Features like auto-assigning legal matter requests, built-in notifications, and automated templates can reduce or even eliminate manual matter management tasks entirely, allowing your team to work more efficiently and focus on higher-value initiatives.

Bonus feature reminder: you need a solution built on rock-solid security and compliance

Whether you’re dealing with contracts, sensitive legal matters, or regulatory issues, security is non-negotiable for in-house legal teams. Ensure that your software meets compliance certifications, such as GDPR or ISO standards, and that it offers encrypted storage to protect sensitive information. An added bonus is customizable permission control, allowing you to ensure that sensitive data is only accessed by those who need it.

Learn more about LawVu’s privacy and security here.

The advantage of a legal workspace approach

Now picture all those legal matter management features – not as standalone capabilities, but as part of an interconnected system for managing multiple legal workflows. That’s the beauty of a legal workspace like LawVu. When everything is managed in one place, you gain significantly higher efficiency and data insights across the full breadth of your legal work. A few key advantages of the legal workspace approach include:

• Efficiency gains: A centralized legal workspace eliminates duplication, minimizes context switching, and streamlines processes by keeping everything in one place.
• Faster time to value: Simplify operations with a single subscription and implementation process that reduces effort, speeds up time to value, and a more cost-effective solution.
• Higher adoption: Minimize onboarding and training time, enabling higher adoption rates, both within legal and with business partners.
• Consolidated data: Consolidate all data and workflows into a single source of truth, making it easier to extract meaningful insights and generate impactful reports.
• AI-powered benefits: Leverage the full power of AI across your legal workflows within a unified platform, avoiding the risks associated with fragmented or generic tools.

With a legal workspace, your team can focus on what truly matters – delivering strategic value to the business – while benefiting from a more connected approach to legal operations.

Transform your legal operations today

Choosing the right legal matter management software is a strategic decision that will pay off in the form of a more efficient, collaborative, and impactful legal team. The LawVu legal workspace offers all the features you need while consolidating legal workflows into a single, intuitive platform that allows you to extract maximum value and deliver results you’re looking for.

From intake to insights, the legal workspace provides a unified suite of productivity and collaboration tools with legal matter management at their core, as well as the ability to integrate contract and spend management. What’s more, it’s all supported by secure, easy-to-use AI capabilities, an interface that’s intuitive for both legal and the wider business, and seamless integrations with the tools you already use.

Book a personalized demo today to experience how legal matter management within the LawVu legal workspace could help your in-house legal team do its best work.