8 pro tips for evaluating matter management solutions

Choosing the right matter management platform for your legal team can be a daunting task. With so many options on the market, it can be difficult to know where to start or which solution is the best fit. 

By following these tips, you can find the in-house legal matter management software that helps you achieve your goals.

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1. Understand your team’s needs.

Define the problem you’re trying to solve. Are you trying to improve team communication? Streamline the intake process? Automate repetitive workflows? Being able to articulate your needs clearly will guide your research.Be sure to identify key stakeholders and consider their unique requirements — your CLO, GC, and lawyers likely have different (but not mutually exclusive) ideas about what a matter management solution should do for them.Once you understand your team’s pain points, you can identify features that will help you resolve them.

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2. Prioritize feature requirements.

Not all needs are created equal. To help focus your evaluation of different solutions, distinguish between must-have, nice-to-have, and deal-breaker features. Document these so you can reference them when attending demos or sales calls. For example, a large team that handles highly sensitive data might put data security and compliance above all else, whereas a smaller in-house legal team with limited IT resources might prioritize ease of use and vendor support.

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3. Get demos and ask questions.

Nobody enjoys sales calls, but paying attention during a demo is crucial. Show up prepared with your prioritized list of features and any questions you’ve gathered from your team. Don’t just let the vendor drive the demo — describe specific scenarios that apply to your team and ask the vendor to demonstrate how the software would handle them. You may also want to ask about integrations, security, or system reliability.

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4. Read reviews and case studies.

When looking up a software solution on review sites like G2 or Capterra, dig deeper than the average rating. Read what customers have written to understand the solution's strengths and weaknesses. A close look at reviews can also help you understand the degree to which customers love (or hate) the software. Even with a high rating, short reviews that say uninspiring things like, “It’s a pretty good platform” or “It’s good but has room for improvement” should give you pause. Instead, look for signals that the software dramatically improved the legal team’s workflow. For example, “I can’t say enough great things about it” or “The best legal request tool curated from lawyers, for lawyers!”

Additionally, the company should be able to provide case studies that identify tangible results, including cost savings, increased efficiency, improvements in legal KPIs, or better collaboration.

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5. Take a look at the company itself.

Here are a few questions to ask as you research:

• Who built the product and why? Are there subject matter experts on staff? Those with a background in in-house legal work understand the problems teams face better than anyone.
• Was the product purpose-built for legal or a bolt-on to a generic system? A generic platform tweaked for legal, rather than built with legal workflows in mind, is more likely to present configuration challenges.
• Is the company stable? When investing in technology, you want to know it’s a long-term partnership. Look for evidence that the vendor is financially stable and has a roadmap for future development.

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6. Don’t forget customer support and training.

Though the system itself should be user-friendly, everyone has questions from time to time. The company should offer a knowledge base of help articles, an accessible and skilled support team, and the ability to request additional team training if needed. To evaluate the quality of support, look for clues in the case studies and reviews — search for comments about responsiveness, friendliness, and ability to solve problems quickly.

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7. Ask for references.

One of the most valuable ways to evaluate a software vendor is to talk to their real customers directly. Request the contact information for a similar-sized legal team that uses the solution and ask them any questions you have. Find out how satisfied they are, what they like and dislike about the platform, and whether it has improved the team’s workflow. You can also ask about the implementation process and customer support.

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8. Define success.

As you close in on a vendor, work with them to define key success metrics upfront. Establishing critical success factors helps the buyer and vendor align on what matters most, informs the onboarding process, and helps both parties stay focused during the first few months of use. 

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Explore Streamline AI: We’re ready for our evaluation

Streamline AI is a purpose-built enterprise matter management platform for in-house legal teams. Our user-centric design, proven results, scalable features, superior customer service, and first-class security make our customers raving fans of our software and our team.

‍Schedule a demo with our matter management experts today to see how Streamline AI stacks up against the competition.