Matter Management for
in-house legal teams
A matter management system isn't just about keeping the legal lights on – it's your department's crystal ball into daily operations. Without proper visibility into your team's activities, you might find yourself playing an endless game of legal whack-a-mole, extinguishing urgent fires instead of crafting the strategic initiatives that actually move the needle for your organization.
A matter management system breaks your workload into manageable chunks, which is the secret sauce to maintaining your sanity.
A robust matter management software serves as your legal department's command center, offering:
› X-ray vision into team workloads and deadlines
› Automated reporting that turns your matter data into insights about your department performance
› Contract management built-in to your matter workflow, without the need for a separate tool
› A treasure trove of metrics covering everything from matter outcomes to budget tracking and legal spend
› A streamlined approach to legal operations that makes efficiency look effortless
› A seamless bridge between your in-house team and outside counsel
What is Matter Management?
Think of matter management as that overachieving colleague who color-codes their calendar and never misses a deadline – except it's a sophisticated system designed to rescue legal teams from their daily battle with inbox mayhem.
At its core, matter management encompasses everything that makes a corporate legal practice tick. It's the backbone that defines how your team tackles new work, collaborates on projects, and maintains visibility across operations. Without a unified system, you might find yourself playing digital hopscotch across multiple apps, sending "friendly reminders" about deadlines, excavating ancient emails for that one crucial detail, and trying to decrypt who's doing what. And when someone dares to take a vacation? Well, let's just say chaos doesn't begin to describe it. This fragmented approach often leaves legal teams feeling more like distant relatives than collaborative professionals.
Enter the matter management platform – your department's single source of truth and digital peace of mind. From streamlining intake and triage to managing documents and generating actionable insights, it's the anchor that prevents your department from drifting into the seas of disorganization.
Why is matter management important?
Let's talk about why matter management solutions are essential:
1. You're constantly asking "where's that document?"
› Your matter management system finds documents faster than you can say "billable hours"
› No more email chains longer than your law school textbooks
2. The "who is doing what?" conundrum
› Your matter management solution tracks tasks better than your fitness watch
› Collaboration smoother than your best legal jargon
3. You have no view into the impact of your team
› Your matter management system turns chaos into charts
› Makes you look like a data wizard in management meetings
What are the key components of an effective matter management solution?
When it comes to selecting a matter management system, let's talk about the essential features that separate the "nice-to-haves" from the "absolutely-must-haves." Think of these as your non-negotiable criteria – the core elements that transform legal chaos into calculated efficiency.
1. In-house Legal DNA : Your system should be purposefully designed for in-house legal teams, not retrofitted case management software. Because using software meant for outside counsel is like trying to parallel park – technically possible, but unnecessarily complicated.
2. Simple but powerful : The user experience should be intuitive enough that your morning coffee hasn't kicked in yet, but you can still navigate it with ease. Think clear workload visibility across team.
3. Integrates with your contracts : Managing contracts are second nature to in-house legal systems and a matter management solution should have this functionality built in, to avoid you needing to shop for contract management software as well.
4. Built-in document management : Document management and team collaboration should flow as smoothly as your best legal argument. You should be able to easily assign team members, and loop them in when needed.
5. Matter management that works like your team : the matter management system should be easily configurable to your matter types, data fields, and legal intake requests, so you have all the information and context you need to triage work effectively. the matter management system should be easily configurable to your matter types, data fields, and legal intake requests, so you have all the information and context you need to triage work effectively.
6. Integrates with your systems : Your matter management solution should play nicely with your existing tools – Gmail, Outlook, Word, Slack, Teams, SharePoint, and Salesforce. Because toggling between 15 different tabs is a headache.
7. Insights and metrics : Reports and analytics shouldn't just tell you what happened – they should help you understand why it matters and what to do about it. Data that drives decisions, not just decorates dashboards.
8. Top-level security : Your client data deserves better protection than your personal Netflix password. Industry-leading security measures ensure everything stays exactly where it should – safe and secure.
Remember: The right matter management system isn't just about organizing work – it's about transforming how your legal department operates. Choose wisely, and your future self will thank you (probably with a much lighter inbox).
Finding the right matter management solution is like dating – you need to find one that:
› Understands your needs
› Doesn't judge your document naming conventions
› Makes your life easier, not more complicated (looking at you, every matter management system that requires a PhD to operate)
› Speaks legal and human
› Handles your team's "unique filing system" (chaos)?
Matter management system implementation: the strategic guide
How to get started with a matter management solution:
- Admit you need a better system (Step 1 is acceptance)
- Choose your matter management solution (swipe right for efficiency)
- Implement your matter management system (easier than explaining legal jargon to non-lawyers)
- Watch your team become suspiciously organized
Warning: Side effects of implementing a matter management solution may include:
- Suspicious levels of organization
- Unexpected bursts of productivity
- The urge to tell everyone about your new matter management system (like CrossFit, but for legal organization)
What's the best management software for in-house legal teams?
Imagine your legal department's ideal digital command center – where contracts and matters live together in perfect harmony, and tab-switching becomes a thing of the past. A comprehensive matter management software delivers exactly that: one unified space for all your legal operations.
This workspace approach gives you something invaluable: complete visibility into your department's activities. From matter tracking to contract management, everything lives in one place, like having a legal GPS that shows you exactly where every project stands and who's driving it forward.
But here's the real power move: this consolidated approach transforms your entire workflow. The bottom line? When your matter management lives in a unified legal workspace, you reclaim precious time and reduce the risk of things falling through the cracks. Because the only scattered things in your department should be the empty coffee cups, not your workflows.
Try Xakia and join the matter management revolution
Ready to revolutionize your legal department with a matter management solution that actually works? Here's how to join our slightly obsessive club:
Remember: Your matter management system should be like your favorite legal precedent – reliable, powerful, and occasionally surprising in its effectiveness. Unlike your legal precedents, however, it should definitely be from this century.
Simple. Powerful. Affordable. Try Xakia.
Legal matter management for in-house legal teams who need to ruthlessly triage the chaos