Buying the right solution: Essential purchase criteria for in-house matter management software

Selecting the right legal matter management software is one of the most critical decisions a corporate legal department can make. The wrong choice can lead to inefficiencies, excessive costs, and even employee turnover. With legal technology rapidly evolving, many solutions focus on only one aspect of legal operations, such as contract management, overlooking broader in-house legal needs. Making the right choice means looking beyond generic feature lists and evaluating solutions based on your team’s unique challenges.

First: Distinguish purchase criteria from use cases and features

Understanding the distinction between legal matter management use cases, features, and purchase criteria can help cut through the noise and bring clarity to the decision-making process. Many legal teams fall into the trap of only shopping based on use case or feature needs. This can be a costly mistake leading to years of frustration due to selecting the wrong software and being locked in to a poor decision.

Purchase criteria: What overall requirements must be met before a purchase?

Your purchase criteria are the superset of everything you're looking for to make a purchase. Your purchase criteria might outline particular use cases that must be addressed first, or features that must be tested before selection, but use cases and features are just part of an overall set of purchase criteria that will lead your organization to the right solution. In addition to use cases and features, your purchase criteria might also include attributes such as scalability, reliability, service, support and reputation of the vendor.

Use cases: What problems are we trying to solve?

Use cases are often part of the purchase criteria list, and they describe how software will support your legal department’s day-to-day operations. Instead of thinking about abstract capabilities, consider what’s causing the most pain today. For example, if communication between in-house counsel and internal business partners is chaotic, the use case you need addressed is a system that enables and streamlines collaboration.

Features: What can the software do to help us?

Features are the tangible tools and capabilities within the software that help solve your use case challenges. If improving collaboration is a key priority, features like a centralized communication hub integrated with email and Slack can make a real difference in helping you address your use case need of having a more collaborative process.

Understanding that your purchase criteria should be more than just addressing your use case and feature list can help you move think more deeply to formulate a set of criteria that align with your team’s long-term strategic objectives.

Define your 'expected' criteria: The must-haves for matter management software

These are your non-negotiables. If seamless collaboration is an essential problem to address, then you'll stop at nothing to find a solution that improves collaboration and you'll probe and test to ensure related features, such as integration with both email and Slack, is seamless. For you, if collaboration isn't just a nice-to-have—then it should be a dealbreaker if it's not present.

Today's matter management solutions should support your core legal operations. Your must-have criteria likely include:

• Seamless integration and compatibility for intake: Software for legal departments should integrate effortlessly with your core legal tech stack (e.g., Slack, email, contract lifecycle management (CLM) systems, Salesforce) to streamline matter intake.
• Ease of use and user experience: A user-friendly system makes adoption frictionless; a complicated interface will only create more headaches. Prioritize a matter management system that is intuitive and easy to navigate for all of your organization’s potential users.
• Robust workflow automation: If your team is buried in manual tasks, look for automation capabilities like no-code workflow builders, automated triage, and custom triggers that free up time for strategic work. Identify specific workflows and make sure the system can facilitate them.
• Data security and compliance: Every in-house legal department handles some sensitive data. Make sure your legal technology meets your organization’s security standards with options like single sign-on authentication, role-based access controls, and top-tier encryption.

Know your 'should-have' criteria: Enhancing efficiency and scalability

Some features may not be essential for every legal team but can significantly improve efficiency for your team. When determining your “should-have” criteria, consider both short- and long-term value. Shop to get what you need, but don't overpay for features you don't need or that will be complicated to set up. Some examples of should-haves might include:

• Comprehensive matter management: The solution should extend beyond contract management to include all the types and stages of legal matters that your department handles.
• Advanced reporting and analytics: If your team struggles to track workloads or forecast capacity, real-time dashboards and request volume tracking can be game-changers.
• Collaboration features: Managing matters is rarely a solo effort. Features like tagging, document approvals, and role-based access controls help your team work together seamlessly.
• Customization and scalability: Your team’s needs will evolve, especially if your organization is expanding quickly. A flexible platform with configurable workflows, intake forms, and integrations ensures you won’t outgrow your legal software.
• Reliability and performance: System downtime isn’t an option when legal requests are piling up. Ensure any solution you choose is built for speed and reliability. 

Also seek your 'desired' criteria: The competitive differentiators

Beyond core needs, some features and services can set one vendor apart from another, making a significant difference in your team’s long-term success and the solution’s ROI.

• Customer support and training: Transitioning to a new system can be challenging, but a vendor that offers responsive support, comprehensive training materials, and a dedicated success team can make all the difference.
• Value and cost-effectiveness: You don’t need the most expensive solution—you need the right one. Look for a platform that balances cost with real, tangible benefits for your team.
• Positive peer reviews: Feedback from real customers provides critical insights into how well the company and its software address your top use cases. (For more guidance on assessing matter management vendors, check out our 8 pro tips for evaluating corporate matter management solutions.)

The next step: Choosing the right matter management solution for your team

Buying matter management software isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s about finding a solution that genuinely makes your team’s life easier. By focusing on use cases, prioritizing must-have criteria, and being mindful of scalability and vendor support, you’ll be well on your way to selecting a tool that works for you.

Looking for a matter management solution that meets your team’s needs today and in the future? Discover how Streamline AI can help bring order to your legal operations and set your team up for success.