What is Matter Management?

Matter management refers to the systematic approach and method used in overseeing legal matters, particularly within corporate legal teams or law firms. It encompasses processes, practices, and tools to organise, monitor, and track all aspects of a legal case or matter. Effective legal matter management ensures optimised resource usage, streamlined processes, and improved outcomes in legal proceedings.

Understanding Legal Matter Management

At its core, legal matter management is the central system around which all legal operations revolve. It involves managing case details, documents, communications, and tasks related to a particular legal matter.

Challenges in Matter Management

• Fragmented Information: In the absence of a centralised system, information may be scattered across multiple platforms and missed by legal teams.
• Communication Gaps: Miscommunication between the legal department and wider business can hinder case progress.
• Manual Processes: Relying on manual operations can be time-consuming and error-prone.

Key Components of Effective Legal Matter Management

While technology lies at the heart of effective legal matter management, it is only a tool in helping encourage best practices from the user. The outcome of matter management is ensuring that legal processes are streamlined and robust. The key components of effective legal matter management include:

• Centralised Case Repository: Maintaining a single source of truth where all case-related legal documents, notes, and communication are stored, ensuring easy access and retrieval.
• Effective Triage: Prioritising matters based on urgency, importance, and resources available. Critical matters receive immediate attention and that the correct subject matter expert is assigned to the task.
• Collaboration and Communication: Streamlining interactions puts internal and external stakeholders on the same page to ensure clarity, prevent miscommunication, and foster teamwork.
• Monitoring and Reporting: Keeping track of case progress, ensuring milestones are met, and generating regular reports for internal or client review.

The Benefits of Effective Legal Matter Management

• Risk Mitigation: With effective management, potential legal and operational risks are spotted early and handled appropriately.
• Streamlined Processes and Increased Efficiency: Organised workflows and document management strategies eliminate redundancies and expedite the case handling process.
• Data-Driven Insights and Improved Decision Making: Using data and analytics can provide insights into team performance, trends, and areas for improvement.
• Enhanced Communication and Collaboration: Integrated communication tools promote seamless interactions, reducing chances of missed messages or miscommunication.

Implementing Matter Management Strategies

Matter management strategies are becoming increasingly important for legal teams and corporate organisations. While manual methods might be adequate for smaller teams or less intricate cases, larger and more dynamic legal operations necessitate the use of advanced solutions. These types of digital platforms offer functionalities that manual systems can’t match, providing scalability and efficiency. With all processes relating to legal matters organised and streamlined, these systems allow efficient management of resources, communications, and data. Implementing such systems can dramatically enhance the way legal matters are handled, ensuring precision, accessibility, and productivity.

• Features and Functionalities to Look for: Key considerations include customisation options, integration capabilities with other tools and systems, user-friendly interfaces, and robust reporting functionalities with insightful data analysis.
• Case Studies and Successful Implementations: Understanding how other legal teams have integrated and benefited from matter management systems can be illuminating. Case studies can offer valuable insights into the potential benefits and best practices when implementing such systems, ensuring that they are tailor-fitted to the specific needs of the firm or legal department. Solutions providers should provide case studies to showcase their capabilities.
• Customisation and Integration with Existing Workflows: Any new tools should not upend existing workflows but rather enhance them. It’s essential to select a solution that can be customised to the firm’s needs and seamlessly integrated into current practices, minimising disruption and learning curves.
• User Training and Adoption Strategies: Transitioning to software-driven matter management systems requires some adjustments. Provide comprehensive user training for a smoother implementation process. To foster consistent use, employ strategies such as regular check-ins, establishing user feedback loops to identify and address issues, and incentivising system adoption to drive engagement and familiarity.

Steps to Achieve Successful Matter Management

1. Identify Matter Categories: Group matters into broad categories like​‘contract disputes’,​‘personal injury’, relevant to the needs of the organisation.
2. Differentiate Matters Based on Nature and Complexity: Not every legal matter has the same level of complexity. Some may require expert interventions while others are straightforward.
3. Create a Hierarchy for Classification: Streamline case assignment and handling by creating a hierarchy based on relevant parameters such as complexity and importance.
4. Gather Data Documentation: Every case requires comprehensive data collection. Efficient document storage systems ensure that all necessary information is available when needed.
5. Collect Relevant Information Efficiently: Utilise tools and systems that speed up data collection and minimise errors.
6. Implement Document Management Systems: Streamline document access, sharing, and storage.
7. Legal Triage: As before, prioritise cases and deal with the most crucial matters first.
8. Assign Tasks and Responsibilities: Clear task assignments prevent overlap and ensure every aspect of a case is handled.
9. Communication and Collaboration: Use tools to enhance stakeholder communication.
10. Facilitate Cross-Functional Collaboration: Engage different departments or experts to deliver the best outcome for the case.
11. Monitor and Progress Tracking: Use tools that provide real-time insights into case progress.
12. Implement Milestones and Checkpoints: Divide the case timeline into measurable milestones.
13. Real-time Tracking and Reporting: Regularly update stakeholders on case progress.
14. Risk Assessment and Mitigation: Continuously evaluate potential risks and have strategies ready for mitigation.

Case Study: Optimising Legal Case Handling

Ocado Group, a leading online grocery retailer and solution provider, faced productivity bottlenecks stemming from an inefficient legal matter management system. Headed by Amy Brookbanks, the team identified these challenges in the laborious processes and the lack of transparency in triaging, tracking, and updating of legal requests.

To address these issues, they implemented the Plexus Matter Management tool, which was tailored to sort and triage Ocado’s specific legal support requests. Additionally, a custom app was designed to handle the complexities of Ocado’s contract approval processes. This technology overhaul streamlined the legal intake and approval procedures so only high-risk triggers demanded the attention of the legal team. Upon contract approval, they were digitally signed and archived within Plexus, providing a centralised repository and complete audit trail. The rollout of this transformative solution included intensive workshops, continuous feedback loops, and a widespread internal marketing campaign.

The result? Faster response times to legal inquiries, reduction of unnecessary communication, and a more strategic allocation of the legal team’s time, emphasising their role as business allies rather than just administrative support.

Best Practices for Efficient Matter Management

In the modern legal landscape, efficient matter management is paramount for ensuring optimal outcomes. This requires not just a combination of technology and human expertise but also an ongoing commitment to refining processes. Below are best practices that legal departments can adopt to enhance their matter management efficiency:

Automating Repetitive Tasks

• Why It’s Important: Repetitive tasks, such as data entry, status updates or document management, can be time-consuming and error-prone when done manually. By automating these tasks, legal professionals can dedicate more time to higher ROI work.
• Implementation Tips: Use legal management software that offers automation capabilities. Identify routine tasks within the legal process and set up workflows to handle them automatically, ensuring consistency and freeing up time for higher-value work.

Regular Auditing and Data Validation

• Why It’s Important: Inaccurate or outdated data can lead to misinformed decisions, compromising case outcomes. Regular audits and document management ensure data accuracy and reliability.
• Implementation Tips: Schedule periodic audits of all databases and systems. Use automated validation tools where possible, and ensure that there’s a clear protocol for data entry and updates to maintain data integrity.

Continuous Process Improvement

• Why It’s Important: Like all industries, the legal profession evolves over time. Once-proven processes can become outdated or less efficient. Continuously reviewing and improving these practices keeps the legal team agile and responsive while managing resource allocation.
• Implementation Tips: Encourage a culture of sharing feedback among team members. Use data analytics to track performance metrics, and identify areas where process adjustments can lead to greater efficiency. Consider implementing lean or agile methodologies to streamline workflows.

Balancing Technology and Human Expertise

• Why It’s Important: While technology offers powerful tools for enhancing efficiency, the nuanced nature of legal work often requires human judgement. Striking a balance ensures that technology amplifies human expertise rather than replacing or undermining it.
• Implementation Tips: Ensure that all technology implementations are complemented by the coordination of adequate training so that legal professionals understand not just the how, but also the why behind tech tools. Foster open communication channels where team members can discuss and address any challenges or hesitations related to technology. Lastly, always prioritise critical thinking and ethical considerations in all case handling, reminding professionals that technology is a tool, not a decision-maker.

Incorporating these best practices into daily operations can dramatically enhance matter management, driving better results and optimal use of resources.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the primary goal of matter management?

The primary goal of matter management is to streamline and organise legal processes and tasks, enhancing efficiency and ensuring timely and effective outcomes.

2. How does matter management differ across industries?

Matter management varies across industries based on their specific regulatory requirements, operational nuances, and the nature and complexity of legal matters they handle. For instance, healthcare might emphasise patient privacy concerns, while the finance industry may prioritise compliance matters.

3. What role does technology play in modern matter management?

Technology is pivotal in modern matter management, facilitating automation of repetitive tasks, ensuring accurate data storage and retrieval, and enabling real-time monitoring and reporting capabilities, thus enhancing overall efficiency.

4. Are there any common challenges in implementing matter management systems?

Yes, challenges can include resistance to change, integrating with existing systems, ensuring data accuracy during migration, and adequately training staff to use new tools effectively.

5. How can matter management contribute to improved risk management?

Matter management helps identify potential legal risks early, ensures compliance with regulatory requirements, and provides a framework for consistent documentation and review, thus minimising potential legal vulnerabilities.

6. Can matter management be effectively integrated into existing workflows?

Absolutely. With customisation and thoughtful implementation, matter management systems can be tailored to align with and enhance existing workflows.

7. How does matter management impact decision-making within organisations?

By providing centralised access to crucial data, up-to-date status on legal matters, and insights from past cases, matter management empowers organisations with the information they need to make informed, strategic decisions.

8. What are the potential future trends in matter management?

Future trends may include increased integration of artificial intelligence for predictive analytics, expanded use of cloud-based systems for greater accessibility, and enhanced focus on cybersecurity to protect sensitive data, especially in corporate legal departments.