For most in-house legal teams, documents are everywhere: in shared drives, email chains, contract repositories, and even personal desktops. Matters, the projects and cases those documents relate to, are often tracked separately in spreadsheets or generic project management tools.

The problem? Documents without matters lack context. Matters without documents lack substance. When managed in silos, legal teams waste time, increase risk, and miss opportunities to report value back to the business.

Here, we’ll unpack the difference between document management and matter management, explain why they’re inseparable, and show how combining them creates a true, single system of record for in-house legal teams.

What is document management in the context of legal?

For in-house counsel, document management is the process of storing, organizing, and controlling access to legal documents and emails in a secure, centralized repository.

Key functions include:

• Secure storage
• Advanced search capabilities
• Version control and audit trails
• Permissions and sharing for internal/external stakeholders
• Workflow automation

In short, document management ensures that legal teams can quickly find, use, and share the right file or email at the right time. It also helps in-house teams streamline workflows, ensure compliance, and enhance collaboration and visibility.

What is matter management?

Matter management is the practice of tracking, organizing, and managing all legal work a team is responsible for – whether it’s a contract negotiation, litigation, HR issue, or compliance project.

Core features include:

• Centralized list of matters.
• Triage, assignment, deadlines, and status tracking
• Notes and communications tied to each matter
• Reporting on workload and outcomes

In short:, matter management provides visibility into what the legal team is working on, who owns it, and what the outcomes are.  It also saves time and reduces complexity by streamlining workflows, centralizing communication, and keeping critical information and tasks connected in one place.

The problem with managing documents and matters separately

Many legal teams adopt one tool for document storage (like SharePoint) and another for tracking matters (such as spreadsheets or ticketing systems). While this might seem workable, it creates major issues:

• Context is lost – a contract saved in a drive doesn’t tell you what matter it relates to
• Search takes longer – teams must cross-reference multiple systems to find the right file
• Reporting is impossible – without linking documents to matters, you can’t show leadership metrics like cycle times, volume, or risk trends.
• Duplication and errors creep in – multiple versions of the same document may live in different systems
• Workflows slow down – managing matters and documents independently creates extra steps and manual effort, delaying turnaround times
• Wastes valuable time

A recent IDC study revealed, “attorneys likely have to jump between collaboration apps, document management systems, email, and intake tools just to complete a single task. These systems do not communicate between themselves, so the legal team member has to manually route the workflow as well… 71 percent of business leaders indicated that technology investment is needed to deliver automation and improve efficiency in legal functions.”

Why invest in document management and matter management

1. Contextualized work

Almost every matter has or results in related documents and emails – from the initial business request to contracts, filings, policies, and advice memos. By linking them directly, teams gain the full story: not just what the document is, but why it exists.

You can think of a matter-centric document management system like the virtual file cabinet to store (and manage) documents, email, and notes for any matter.

2. Faster search and retrieval

When documents are tied to matters, you can search by matter type, business unit, jurisdiction, or issue – not just by file name. And don’t forget email – which is a critical part of the record for your work; without a central way to store and search email threads, teams struggle. The ability to search emails, documents, and matter detail together drastically reduces wasted time.

“Full-text search has truly saved hours upon hours of time we would otherwise have spent trying to track work down.” – Matt Pentz, Assistant Town Attorney, Cary, NC

3. Stronger reporting and insights

Integrated systems allow teams to measure:

• Average matter cycle time
• Volume of documents per matter type
• Risk patterns across the portfolio
• Usage patterns of policy documents and other assets in your legal knowledge base

4. Reduced risk

Version control is simplified, deadlines are clearer, and audit trails are complete. The chance of missing obligations or working off outdated information drops significantly.

5. Better collaboration

Business stakeholders and outside counsel can see documents in the context of the work being done, creating transparency and reducing repetitive questions.

This article explains more about the benefits of investing in an in-house legal document management system from a business perspective.

Integrated document management and matter management elevates legal’s value

When document and matter management are unified in a consolidated system, like a legal workspace, legal teams move from reactive firefighting to proactive business partners.

• For the legal team: less time spent reconciling systems → more time on strategy.
• For the business: faster answers, clearer visibility into legal’s workload, and better collaboration
• For leadership: meaningful data and insights into how legal supports business outcomes.

Platforms like the LawVu Legal workspace bring these together natively – eliminating silos and making documents part of the bigger picture of legal work.

“Everyone in the legal team at the Co-op is using LawVu now. Before LawVu, there was a significant risk around documentation – it was scattered throughout emails. I now have a much more robust record of what’s happening, and LawVu has reduced our exposure for not having complete matters.” – Andrew Hay, Head of Operations, Legal & Secretariat, Co-op

The future: AI-enabled document and matter management

The next frontier is AI. When documents and matters are linked, AI can:

• Suggest relevant precedents automatically.
• Flag obligations tied to specific matters.
• Predict resourcing needs based on document/matter volume.

Without integration, AI lacks the structured data it needs to deliver insights. With integration, it becomes a powerful driver of efficiency and risk reduction.

See this guide for tips and advice on how to prepare for, choose, and implement the best AI tools for AI-enabled document management and legal matter management.

Gain context, reduce risk, and unlock legal reporting and insights

Document management ensures legal teams can find and control their files and emails. Matter management ensures they can track and manage their workload. But separately, they’re incomplete.

Together, they form the backbone of a true legal system of record, one that gives context, reduces risk, streamlines workflows, and unlocks reporting and insights.

For in-house legal teams ready to reduce wasted time and improve collaboration, bringing document and matter management together isn’t optional. It’s the only way forward.

To learn more about document management and it’s winning features in the LawVu legal workspace, click here.

* Source: IDC White Paper, sponsored by LawVu, Legal Friction: The Real Cost to Your Business, #AP15041X, April 2025