12 Best Legal Matter Management Software Tools in 2023

Let’s be honest, legal case management can be hard. You’ve got to communicate with everyone: colleagues, clients, and internal and external counsel. There are sensitive documents, research, and case information to manage and store. Then you’ve got all those checklists of tasks to assign, track, and tick off. 

To make matters worse, legal tech has traditionally lagged behind other industries. And even when there have been new innovations, legal has been slow to adopt them — if at all. In a recent study, 86% of law firms agreed that intelligent automation was a key factor in driving business growth and efficiency, but just 17% were using technology that enabled it.¹ 

But it doesn’t have to be that way. After years of struggling to keep up with the curve, legal technology is now bringing the industry into the 21st century, helping to simplify and streamline matter management and legal case management. 

In this article, we’ll look at some of the best legal matter management tools on the market, what they offer, and whether they’re the right fit for you. 

But first, let’s answer an important question…

What is legal matter management software?

Legal matter management software streamlines and automates the processes and tasks associated with legal matter management. It creates a dedicated workspace where you can track, manage and collaborate on everything matter-related — from documents and checklists to communication and collaboration. 

When only 15% of firms are using online legal tech for matter status updates and just 37% of firms using any kind of legal tech, legal matter management software that improves and streamlines legal processes can have a transformative effect.²

There are plenty of options when it comes to choosing the best matter management software solution. So, without further ado, let’s dive into our list. 

1. Lupl

Lupl is a plug-and-play legal project management system that rethinks the way law teams manage matters and collaborate. It’s not just about tracking hours, nor is it a newer version of Excel with a better UI — it’s about streamlining legal work.

Features

• Keep everyone and everything on track: Lupl keeps everyone on the same page from the start, providing real-time visibility into what needs doing, by whom, and when 
• A central hub for all your tech: Connect your favorite tools and systems to Lupl, bringing your legal tech stack together in one place
• Collaboration made easy: Lupl facilitates secure collaboration and communication across teams, departments, and firms
• Secure and compliant: With encryption, SOC2 compliance, single-sign on capabilities, and recipient notifications, Lupl takes security and compliance seriously
• Matter templates: Save time with our pre-made matter management templates — or create custom versions of your own
• Powerful integrations: Seamlessly connect with critical external platforms and apps, such as WhatsApp, iManage, and NetDocuments. 
• Document management: With Lupl, you can link documents and tasks, collaborate within documents, and organize documents in subfolders on Lupl Drive
• Matter management on the go: Available on desktop, laptop, or mobile, Lupl allows you to manage matters wherever and whenever you want
• 24/7/365 support: Our support team is available around the clock to provide you with the help you need in real-time.

Is Lupl a good fit? 

Lupl is designed to transform the way legal teams work, collaborate, and share information. So if you’re tired of jumping between a muddle of different tools, fed up with endlessly searching for files, or struggling to keep track of who’s working on what task, Lupl is a great fit. 

Designed specifically for legal workflows, you won’t need to spend time customising it to your needs. Nor will you need any heavy lifting to set it up: it takes 57 seconds to get started. And there’s no compromise on security: sector secure and compliant, confidentiality, encryption, privacy and legal privilege protection are baked in.

By bringing together your legal tech stack, Lupl provides a central hub for all matter-related files, communication, and tasks — all while ensuring your platform is secure. If you want a micro innovation to provide macro impact, Lupl is the tool for you. 

2. HighQ

HighQ is a cloud-based platform that simplifies legal operations, improves collaboration, and boosts client satisfaction and business growth. 

There are three versions of the solution: HighQ for law firms, HighQ for corporate legal, and HighQ for government legal.

Features

• Project management capabilities: assign tasks, collaborate on documents and communicate on matters
• Integration: Integrate with the rest of your tech stack, including Microsoft Office tools
• Security: A range of security options, including single sign-on, permissions, activity tracking and reporting
• Templates: Create reusable solution templates
• Social collaboration: A range of social collaboration options, including private messaging, activity streams, and user profiles
• Dashboard view: Configurable dashboards allow a single view of matter information and statuses.

Is HighQ a good fit?

HighQ has a solid range of functionality to improve matter management, offering all the options you would expect from this software category. But HighQ can take time to set up, requiring some heavy lifting from the IT team. And high-grade functionality such as AI-based document analysis, workflow automation, and data visualisation is only available on the Premium plan, however. 

3. Clio

Another cloud-based software platform, Clio helps law firms manage matters from one central place, making processes faster and more efficient, from client acquisition through to payment. Here’s what it offers: 

Features

• Onboarding: Powerful client intake tools allow you to onboard clients with ease
• Document storage: Unlimited document storage in the cloud, with e-signature capabilities
• Automation: Automate repetitive tasks and record time and expenses easily, with invoice templates to make getting paid easy
• Mobile: Communicate securely with clients via Clio’s mobile app
• Integration: Integrate with all your favourite apps, including Lupl
• Compliance: GDPR and SRA compliance built-in.

Is Clio a good fit?

Clio is a popular choice thanks to its broad range of features, with a strong focus on invoicing and payment. Clio also integrates with Lupl, allowing you to seamlessly bring financial and billing data from the former to the latter. Support, however, is available 24/5 rather than 24/7. 

4. Tessaract

An ‘end-to-end business management software,’ Tessaract offers cloud-based solutions for insurance, consultancy, accountancy, and asset management businesses as well as law firms. The platform focuses on task automation and efficiency, covering client acquisition, case management, and payment and billing. Key features include: 

Features

• Automation: Automated client onboarding and customer management, including intake documents, email reminders, and notifications
• Document management: Secure document sharing, set tasks with customisable tags and receive real-time updates
• Tracking: Track expenses and income automatically
• Billing management: Manage all aspects of billing and payments in one place
• Integrations: Unlimited integrations — including Lupl!

Is Tessaract a good fit?

Tessaract has a broader audience than most matter management solutions on this list, with legal firms just one of their target audience. With its focus on automation, Tessaract is a solid choice for firms looking to streamline processes and do more with less. 

5. Filevine

Filevine offers a range of tools to help automate legal work, covering the entire legal case lifecycle. Unlike some options on this list, Filevine has a strong focus on lead tracking and acquisition, allowing law firms to scale their operation with ease. Let’s take a look at some key features:

Features

• Central hub: A central hub for the legal experience, covering task automation, client communication, analytics, and document management
• Lead management: A range of lead management tools to see where your leads are coming from, allowing you to optimise your marketing strategy
• Tracking: Track billable hours, expenses, and damage summaries
• Invoicing: Generate invoices quickly in Filevine, or connect it to your accounting software
• Data analysis: Rich data insights, including task completion rates, ROI, and open cases by phase.

Is Filevine a good fit?

Filevine’s focus on lead acquisition will certainly appeal to firms looking to rapidly grow their client base. Their core product offers a basic solution for legal matter management, while various upgrade plans cover advanced functionality for document management, lead acquisition, and time and billing. 

6. PracticePanther

PracticePanther is a cloud-based legal practice management software that automates and simplifies legal tasks through an intuitive, easy-to-use interface. Features include: 

Features

• Security: Secure, encrypted client relationship management through encrypted data and IP-specific access ensure that data is safe and secure
• Collaboration and case management: Case management, with one-click templates and automated workflows, with the ability to collaborate on files in real-time
• Calendar management: Advanced, syncable calendars with automatic reminders
• Billing: Legal billing options, including multiple invoice templates and automatic payment reminders

Is PracticePanther a good fit?

PracticePanther has three different plans: Solo, Essential, and Business. Where Solo provides basic functionality associated with matter management, expense tracking, and collaboration, some critical features and services are only available on the Business plan, such as e-signatures, data migration, and website integration. 

7. 3E Mattersphere

Made by Thomas Reuters, the same company behind HighQ and a range of other business solutions, 3E Mattersphere is described as ‘case management software’ and aims to improve matter workflow processes, break down information silos, and enhance organisational efficiency. Here’s what it offers:

Features

• Data display: View all data relating to documents, tasks, cases, and finance in one place
• Mobile: Mobile app that provides matter management on the go
• Client communication: Streamlined communication with clients via the integrated client portal
• Automation: Save time by automating tasks and document production.

Is 3E Mattersphere a good fit?

While 3E Mattersphere covers case management, it has limited functionality in areas such as document management, payments and billing, and client onboarding. Law firms looking for a complete solution might want to look elsewhere.

8. LEAP

Described as a ‘legal practice productivity solution,’ LEAP is primarily a case management platform that streamlines processes around document management and creation, accounting, payments and billing, and time recording.

Features

• Centralised hub: A single place to manage and collaborate on matters
• Mobile: Mobile app allows lawyers to be productive wherever they are
• Automation: Fully automated legal forms
• Communication capabilities: Connect and communicate with clients, manage appointments, and take enquiries
• Time management: Accurate time recording, invoicing, and billing capabilities
• Reporting: Produce strategic reports using real-time data.

Is LEAP a good fit?

LEAP is specifically aimed at the needs of small-to-mid-sized law firms, covering all common practice areas of law. In-house legal departments and large firms may want to look elsewhere. 

9. LawVu

Described as a ‘legal workspace’, LawVu aims to simplify the processes and tasks associated with matter, contract, and spend management. Unlike other options on this list, LawVu is designed specifically for in-house legal teams rather than law firms. Here’s what it has to offer:

Features

• Matter management: Complete matter management, including intake and triage, collaboration, task management and tracking, and time/fee tracking
• Automation: Contract automation and templates, advanced contract management, and approval workflows
• Billing: E-billing, overall spend, and external counsel management
• Reporting and analytics: An analytics and reporting tool that helps legal teams understand performance, spend, and success
• Document and knowledge sharing: Document management capabilities, a knowledge base and self-service guides to solve issues quickly yourself

Is LawVu a good fit?

If you are an in-house legal team, LawVu has the functionality to meet your needs. It’s the only solution on this list designed specifically for that niche. Law firms, on the other hand, should look for another option. 

10. Legatics

Legatics is described as legal transaction management software for law firms and corporate legal departments. Here’s what it offers:

Features

• Document tracking: Flexible lists allow you to track documents, actions, statuses, and comments. Alongside this, there are document and e-signing management capabilities 
• Dashboards: Intuitive dashboards provide a complete view of legal transactions
• Matter templates: Reusable matter templates speed up repeat actions
• Personalised permissions: Customisable permissions allow you to control access to documents, lists, sections, and more.

Is Legatics a good fit?

If you are looking for a simple way to track and manage legal transactions and close deals, Legatics is a good choice. But it doesn’t offer functionality around areas like lead management, client onboarding, and payments and billing. 

11. App4Legal

App4Legal has two main products: App4Legal Core, a legal practice management solution, and Contra, an Agile Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) and Document Automation tool. Here’s what they offer:

Features

• App4Legal Core: A range of legal management tools, including workflow and task automation, case and matter management, client intake, time and billing, and custom dashboards
• Contra: Advanced document management, including automated document creation, real-time in-document collaboration, configurable approval processes, and e-signatures

Is App4Legal a good fit?

While App4Legal Core proposes to have ‘everything legal teams need to manage cases,’ they have an additional product for document management. This splitting of functionality across two tools may put off law firms who want a single tool that can handle everything.

12. Microsoft Excel

This may be a little tongue-in-cheek, but Microsoft Excel remains one of the most-used tools in the legal world, with 75% of lawyers using Excel or nothing for legal project management.³ Scary, eh?

Features

• Build spreadsheets for any kind of data
• Apply formulas to automatically calculate values
• Filter data to hide information that’s not relevant
• Analyse and summarise data sets

Is Excel a good fit? 

The short answer is no. Excel can be time-consuming and clunky to use. While Excel is fine for some specific tasks, treating it as your go-to tool for matter management will leave you at a huge disadvantage.

Which is the best legal matter management software 2023?

As this list goes to show, there’s no shortage of options for legal teams and firms looking to streamline the way they manage matters. That said, no two tools are the same. Some are suited to in-house legal teams, while others are aimed at law firms of various sizes. 

Lupl, on the other hand, is designed to work with every legal team, department, or law firm — regardless of size. Our matter management software is designed by lawyers, for lawyers, allowing you to bring your tech stack together in one central place. It doesn’t just focus on one area of matter management, it transforms the way legal works — from communication and information sharing to task management.

To find out more about how Lupl could transform the way your legal team or firm operates, get in touch today and book a demo. 

¹  UK Law Firms Falling Behind in Tech Investment and Utilisation

²  Technology and Innovation in Legal Services 

³  2022 Technology Survey Access – ILTA