Let’s look at how to measure partner performance in a human, subjective way with 15 metrics. Typically, data and analytics contribute to how to measure partner performance, but this blog post looks...
In the law department, legal metrics provide the foundation for measuring value, success, performance, and a range of other criteria. As quantitative measurements, legal metrics evaluate the effectiveness...
Companies support their executives in various ways, and many are intentionally focused on improving business acumen, which elevates corporate functionality and performance. If a company is running legal...
On May 6, 2025, from the CLOC Global Institute tradeshow in Las Vegas, LexisNexis® Legal & Professional unveiled the commercial preview of Protégé in CounselLink+™ with Lex...
Before we dive into the what and why of contract playbooks in the legal department, it’s important to explore contract lifecycle management , what that is, and why it is important to the legal team...
The rapidity and complexity of legal matters require in-house counsel to utilize efficient matter management tools, a critical component of software infrastructure in the corporate legal department. As part of the enterprise legal management platform, matter management is the core of the solution that drives cohesive collaboration and internal and external communication with outside counsel.
In the legal department, matters may originate with business stakeholders internally, and the work intake feature of the enterprise legal management system brings that issue to the legal team’s attention. Other matters emanate from external sources, and these can happen quite quickly. Having matter management tools at the fingertips of the lawyers working on a case is critical to the success of the matter.
To refresh, for anyone who isn’t familiar with matter management, it refers to the comprehensive process of organizing, tracking and managing aspects of legal matters within an organization. Matters encompass everything from initial intake to final resolution, including document handling, deadline tracking, resource allocation, and financial oversight.
In the corporate legal department, everyone is involved with aspects of matters, and that means everyone needs access to matter management tools. For example, legal operations professionals need the tools to assess vendors and outside counsel. They prefer to utilize dashboards within the enterprise legal management solution that help with law firm analysis and scoring.
Legal operations managers can use vendor management features to develop metrics and analytical reporting for leadership. In addition, developing a budget for each matter can be done within the enterprise legal management system as an important component of matter management tools.
Lawyers, meanwhile, need matter management tools to do exactly that – manage matters.
Sometimes, people confuse matters with cases. Case management tools help centralize and organize legal matters, from work intake and matter management to documents, calendars and billing.
For lawyers working either in-house or at a law firm, the powerful features in case management include:
While often used interchangeably, matter management and case management have distinct differences. Case management typically focuses on litigation-specific activities and court proceedings. Matter management, however, is broader in scope and includes non-litigation legal work such as contracts, compliance and advisory services. To put it in simpler terms, case management often refers to single projects. Matter management is like overseeing an entire department with multiple project types. Matter management tools are designed to handle this broader scope while maintaining granular control over individual matters.
In legal terms, a matter is used to describe various legal activities. These may include cases involving litigation:
Within an enterprise legal management solution, matter management tools offer sophisticated features. Lawyers and legal professionals can use these tools for:
Enterprise Legal Management software represents the evolution of matter management tools, offering a comprehensive solution that combines multiple legal operations functions:
This integrated approach offers several advantages that include:
As legal technology continues to evolve, matter management tools are incorporating advanced features like artificial Intelligence for document review and analysis; predictive analytics for resource allocation; machine learning for improved workflow automation; natural language processing for contract analysis; and blockchain for secure document verification.
The choice between standalone matter management tools and comprehensive enterprise legal management solutions depends on your organization's specific needs. For many legal departments, an integrated enterprise legal management platform that combines matter management with contract lifecycle management, budget management, and vendor management offers the most value. This approach provides a single unified workspace for all legal operations, improving efficiency and enabling data-driven decision-making. Having robust matter management tools is no longer a luxury; it's a necessity. Contact us to learn more.
* The views expressed in externally authored materials linked or published on this site do not necessarily reflect the views of LexisNexis Legal & Professional.