Legal Matter Management entails overseeing all operations related to corporate legal activity. This differs from case management, which alludes to actions particular to a law firm. According to a Hobson & Company study on the ROI offered by matter management software, there are two major business problems that this kind of solution aims to solve. Several significant US firms’ assistant general counsel, directors of IT, directors of legal operations, and administration were interviewed to learn more about these two challenges, which are as follows:
- Inadequate standardisation of processes
- Systems for controlling outside counsel that are ineffective
A matter management solution must handle all corporate legal problem categories in order to be really effective. These tasks can include:
- Litigation and Disputes
- Transactions and Contracts
- A claim of Intellectual Property
- Governance and compliance in legal research
There is a significant chance that some details may go overlooked accidentally if you are managing several projects, matters, and cases manually or using a combination of spreadsheets, programmes, applications, and software. Missing hearing dates, important deadlines, or appointments could result in negative effects on your client, the case, and your reputation.
A management tool provides a cloud-based system for managing legal matters that enables you to view and manage all matter-related data with a single click, from any location, at any time. A secure, searchable, and centrally located repository houses all of the information.
This allows a user to zoom in on a matter’s minute details and zoom out for a comprehensive picture of it. Through a single screen, you can examine all the issue-related information with this law matter management software, including tasks, documents, communication & messages, activities, team members, client contacts, court hearings, time entry, and key dates.
Software for Legal Administration can:
- Add descriptions, classify matters, add owners, parties involved, and contact information.
- Record and update variables such as court information, subject type, topic information, category and issues, opposing party, and lawyers’ information.
- Share files instantly and securely, with access restrictions.
- Create, edit, and keep track of document versions.
- Scan and submit numerous documents pertaining to the matter.
- Establish ownership, team participation, and notification requirements.
- Maintain Document Confidentiality
- Keep track of all important upcoming dates and deadlines for each matter.
Using Software for Matter Management Has Many Advantages
- Case and client information is centrally stored and searchable: anyplace, anytime, one point allowed access to online task collaboration and communication, reducing the need for phone calls and emails.
- Built-in auto alerts and reminders to remember every deadline and important date
- A transparent dashboard communicates the state of the case to all parties involved.
- Reports, statistics, and analytics across tasks and activities aid in planning and strategy.
Legal software applications, first and foremost, provide a company with immediate benefits (and ROI). Research by Hobson & Company found that businesses with an effective matter management solution experienced ROI multiples of 7–10x. Simply said, having a single solution enables more effective and efficient management of outside counsel, which contributes to some of the ROI earned.
In addition, there are three major advantages of deploying an issue management solution:
- Lowering the time and effort required to open new cases. This software cuts the time it takes to open a new matter from 60 minutes to 15 minutes by automating matter opening, leveraging templates, and providing uniform processes.
- Establishing one site as the hub for all issues. Legal software can guarantee a thorough and accurate database with a single source of truth in place, which can later house extensive analytics to spot trends and proactively reduce risk.
- Proactive cost management. Legal teams can better manage matter workloads and expenses by centralising matter data and improving their visibility into matters, which results in annual external legal savings of 1.5%.