Navigating Matter Management Software: Enhancing Legal Efficiency with Integrated Solutions

Legal work is demanding—your tools shouldn’t be.

Most matter management software (MMS) is used to keep teams organized and improve visibility for General Counsels (GCs) and Chief Legal Officers (CLOs). But sometimes, it fails to solve issues like high volumes of incoming requests or inefficient task allocation.  

These gaps in addressing intake and triage—which is essentially the foundation of successful matter management—can slow work down in times when speed and efficiency matters most.  

That’s where Checkbox steps in. By adding automated intake, triage, and workflow capabilities to MMS, legal teams get a seamless, end-to-end solution that drives results faster.

In this blog, we’ll break down how MMS works, where it falls short, and how integrating software like Checkbox can transform your operations.

What is Matter Management Software?

Matter management software (MMS) is a tool for in-house legal teams that provides a central hub for organizing, tracking, and obtaining key details for legal matters. It’s designed to improve visibility, streamline workflows, and keep everyone in the team aligned.

At its core, MMS consolidates critical information—case files, deadlines, tasks, and updates—into one system, making it easier for legal professionals to stay on top of their work. For GCs and CLOs, it’s a way to maintain oversight and ensure that the overall team operates efficiently.

What does an MMS dashboard usually display?

• All legal matters and ongoing tasks

• Activity timeline showing a daily, weekly, or monthly view of performed duties

• Matter statuses, tasks, key dates, and deadlines

• Workload distribution and capacity of each team member

• Analytics and metrics on matter volume, types, completion rates, and more

Common Capabilities of Matter Management Software  

For in-house legal teams, MMS offers more than just organization—it provides tangible benefits that improve efficiency, collaboration, and decision-making. Here are some of the key advantages that MMS brings to in-house legal operations:

1. Improved Organization and Reduced Errors: Centralizing all matter-related information in one platform minimizes the risk of losing critical details. Legal teams can easily access documents, communications, and timelines, reducing errors and ensuring smoother workflows.

2. Enhanced Collaboration and Communication: With task management and shared visibility into matters, MMS helps legal teams work together and ensures that all members are on the same page. Users can use this one system to track progress, assign tasks, and communicate more effectively.

3. Data-Driven Insights for Better Decisions: Built-in reporting and analytics allow teams to monitor performance and workload trends. This data helps GCs and CLOs identify areas for improvement, allocate resources more strategically, and showcase their team’s value to the business.

4. Time Savings: Instead of relying on manual processes, MMS streamlines operations, ensuring consistent workflows and reducing delays. This allows legal teams to shift their focus from administrative tasks to strategic priorities like advising the business.

5. Compliance and Risk Management: Centralized data storage and automated workflows simplify compliance by standardizing processes. MMS ensures all actions—approvals, updates, and changes—are tracked, creating clear audit trails. This helps legal teams meet regulatory requirements and maintain secure records.

6. Scalability for Growing Teams: As in-house legal departments expand, the flexible framework of an MMS makes it easy to manage increasing workloads without sacrificing efficiency or speed.

However, it is important to note that while the foundational features of MMS focus on improving organization and visibility, tools that combine intake, triage, and workflow automation enable legal teams to build more efficient, end-to-end solutions.

Challenges in Implementing Matter Management Software

While matter management software offers significant benefits, its implementation can come with challenges that legal teams must navigate. Understanding these hurdles is key to ensuring a successful rollout and maximizing the value of MMS.

1. Overcoming Objections from Leadership

Securing buy-in from leadership and team members can sometimes be difficult. Leadership may question the return on investment (ROI), while legal teams might resist adopting new workflows or technology. To help overcome these objections, clearly communicate the benefits and choose a comprehensive yet scalable software solution with reliable customer support services.

2. Compatibility with Existing Systems

It is important that an MMS integrates seamlessly with other tools and platforms in an organization’s tech stack. Lack of compatibility can result in siloed information, redundant processes, and inefficiencies, which undermines the purpose of centralizing legal work. For example, tools like Checkbox’s Intake and Matter Management software connect directly with existing tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, DocuSign, and so on, allowing for a smooth integration and minimal change management.

3. Gaps in Intake and Triage

While MMS platforms are excellent for organizing matters, they often lack robust intake and triage capabilities. Without automated systems to handle incoming requests and route them appropriately, legal teams risk bottlenecks and delays that slow down workflows. This emphasizes the importance of choosing a comprehensive and flexible system.

How MMS Works with Intake and Triage Systems

While matter management software is great at managing the what, it sometimes struggles with the how:

• How do requests enter the system?

• How are they prioritized and routed?

• How are workflows initiated to ensure no steps are missed?

These are questions that standalone matter management software isn’t designed to answer, which is why choosing a solution with integrated intake and triage features is essential for achieving the high ROI it promises.  

By investing in an MMS with a built-in intake and triage system, legal teams can:

• Automate Request Handling: Intake systems streamline how requests are submitted, ensuring they enter the system in a consistent and structured format regardless of where they’re submitted from—email, Teams, Slack, and so on.

• Efficiently Route Work: Automated triage directs each request to the appropriate team member or legal professional based on predefined rules, reducing manual intervention and delays.

• Improve Collaboration and Transparency: With intake and triage features, legal professionals can gain visibility into request statuses and workflows from the very start.

So, integrating these capabilities transforms MMS into a comprehensive solution, allowing legal teams to manage work from the moment it enters the system to its resolution.

How Checkbox Bridges the Gap

As mentioned above, MMS organizes and tracks ongoing legal work but often leaves critical gaps in intake, triage, and workflow automation.  

Checkbox bridges these gaps by offering a legal front door—its integrated intake and triage feature—complementing traditional MMS benefits and creating a seamless, end-to-end solution.  

On top of the traditional uses of an MMS, here’s what else Checkbox can do:

• Automated Intake and Triage: Checkbox simplifies the process of receiving and managing incoming requests. Using AI-powered workflows, requests are automatically categorized, prioritized, and routed to the right team or individual, eliminating bottlenecks and manual errors.

• Workflow Automation: Checkbox allows legal teams to easily design and execute automated workflows that connect intake to matter resolution. From initial requests to document generation, every step is streamlined for consistency and speed.

• Enhanced Reporting and Insights: Checkbox provides advanced analytics that track not just matter progress but also intake trends, workload distribution, and team performance. This data empowers legal teams to make informed decisions and showcase their impact to the broader business.

Metrics for Success

You may be wondering: how can I measure the impact of my MMS and quantify its value for my organization? Well, by tracking the right metrics, legal teams can gain a better sense of their efficiency and growth with versus without the tool.

Here are some metrics to monitor:

• Time Saved: Track how long it takes to process and resolve matters before and after implementation. Reduced processing times indicate improved efficiency.

• Error Reduction: Measure the frequency of missed deadlines, incomplete requests, or manual mistakes. A decrease in errors highlights the effectiveness of automation and centralized systems.

• Request Resolution Speed: Monitor how quickly incoming requests are triaged, routed, and resolved. Faster response times point to streamlined workflows.

• Team Collaboration: Track task completion rates or feedback surveys to evaluate how well team members are working together. Improved collaboration often translates to better outcomes.

• User Satisfaction: Survey team members and stakeholders to gauge their satisfaction with the software. High adoption rates and positive feedback reflect a successful integration.

Key Takeaways

Matter management software can arguably be seen as an essential tool for in-house legal teams, offering organization, visibility, and structure to their work. But when combined with robust intake, triage, and workflow automation tools, its potential is amplified.

Integrating legal intake and matter management software like Checkbox empowers in-house teams to tackle inefficiencies, automate workflows, and scale their operations seamlessly. From smarter intake processes to real-time reporting, this tool provides the end-to-end efficiency that in-house legal teams need to succeed.

Ready to revolutionize your legal team’s workflows? Schedule a demo today to see Checkbox in action.