Law Firm Transforms Matter Management

Project Overview

A regional law firm with 150 attorneys needed to modernize their matter management processes and provide clients with secure access to case documents while maintaining ethical walls and confidentiality.

The Challenge

The firm faced significant operational challenges:

- Document Chaos: Matter documents scattered across network drives

• No Client Portal: Documents shared via email attachments
• Ethical Walls: Conflict checks manual and error-prone
• Poor Search: Attorneys spending hours finding precedents
• Billing Issues: Time tracking disconnected from documents
• eDiscovery Pain: Responding to discovery requests extremely time-consuming

  Our Solution

  SharePoint Support built a comprehensive legal matter management system:

  Matter Management Structure

• Automated matter site provisioning
• Consistent folder structure across all matters
• Metadata tagging for document classification
• Integration with practice management system

  Client Portal

• Secure external sharing for client access
• Document request and delivery workflows
• Client communication logging
• Two-factor authentication for clients

  Ethical Walls

• Automated conflict screening integration
• Information barriers in Microsoft 365
• Access logging for compliance
• Partner review workflows for exceptions

  Legal-Specific Features

• Legal hold management
• Retention policies by matter type
• eDiscovery search and export
• Precedent database with AI-powered search

  Time & Billing Integration

• Document open time tracking
• Activity logging to billing system
• Work product categorization
• Client billing report generation

  Implementation Approach

  Phase 1: Foundation (6 weeks)

• Matter site template development
• Security model design
• Integration architecture
• Pilot matter selection

  Phase 2: Core Features (8 weeks)

• Matter provisioning automation
• Document management features
• Search configuration
• Basic workflows

  Phase 3: Advanced Features (6 weeks)

• Client portal development
• Ethical walls implementation
• eDiscovery configuration
• Billing integration

  Phase 4: Migration & Rollout (8 weeks)

• Practice group phased rollout
• Legacy matter migration
• Attorney training
• Client portal onboarding

  Results Achieved

  The transformation delivered remarkable results:

  - 40% efficiency gain in document management tasks

• Secure client access with 92% client satisfaction
• 25% improved billing accuracy with time tracking integration
• eDiscovery ready with rapid response capabilities
• 80% reduction in document search time
• Zero ethical wall breaches since implementation

  Attorney Feedback

  Post-implementation survey results:

  - 95% found matter documents easier to locate

• 88% appreciated the client portal for document sharing
• 92% reported time savings in daily work
• 90% found precedent search valuable

  Compliance & Risk Benefits

  The firm achieved significant risk reduction:

  - Complete audit trail for all document access

• Defensible deletion for closed matters
• Client confidentiality enforcement
• Regulatory examination readiness