In this guide 6 sections
Matter based document management files every email, draft, scan and court paper under the client matter it belongs to, with one number and one set of access rules. It replaces shared drive folders and personal inbox filing, so anyone authorised can find the current version.
What changes when the matter is the filing cabinet
In most small firms the file lives in three places. Drafts sit on a shared drive, emails sit in an associate’s inbox and signed copies sit in a scanner folder named after the month.
Matter based management gives each matter a single record. Open the record and you see the correspondence, the drafts, the court papers and the notes, in date order.
The folder structure is the same for every matter of a type. A tenancy dispute and a share purchase each get their own template, so people stop inventing new names.
- One matter number across documents, time entries and bills
- Template folders by matter type
- Version history on every draft
- Access limited to the matter team
Emails belong with the file
Email is where most legal work actually happens, and where it goes missing. When an associate is ill, a partner needs the opposing solicitor’s last message now.
A matter system adds a filing button in the mail client, or an address you copy on every message. Either way, the email lands on the matter with its attachments.
Agree a rule on what to file. Substantive messages go in. Lunch invitations stay out.
Drafts, versions and the signed copy
Nothing causes more worry than sending the wrong draft. A document system keeps a numbered history, shows who changed what and marks the version sent to the other side.
Check-out locks stop two people from editing the same agreement and creating conflicting copies called final and final2. Comparison tools show exactly what the other side altered.
When the signed PDF arrives, file it as the executed copy and flag it. Everyone then knows which one binds the parties.
- Draft, sent, signed and filed statuses
- Comparison against the previous version
- Check-out lock during editing
- Executed copy marked and searchable
Court papers, deadlines and confidentiality
Pleadings, orders, affidavits and bundles arrive in formats that vary. Tag each by type and date so a hearing bundle can be assembled from the record.
Ethical walls matter in larger practices. If the firm acts for one party and once advised the other, access rules must stop the wrong people opening the file.
Retention is part of the same system. Closed matters carry a destruction date set by your rules or the regulator’s, and someone reviews the list each year.
Getting started without moving everything
Do not migrate twenty years of files in one weekend. Switch on the system for new matters from a set date and bring live matters across as they become active.
Choose one practice group as the pilot. Ask the administrator to watch where people still save outside the system, and fix those habits in the first month.
Write a one-page filing guide before launch. Name the matter number format and the folder names, and say who answers questions.
Matter filing guide
A one-page filing guide. It holds a folder template for each matter type and a naming pattern for documents. Another list says which emails to file. A row marks ethical wall flags. The closing block has the retention date, the archive location and the partner who signs off.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
How is this different from a shared drive?
A shared drive organises by folder name. A matter system ties each document to a client, matter, version history and permission set, and links it to time and billing.
Do we have to stop using our email client?
No. Most systems add a filing option to the client you already use, so staff file messages with one click.
What about old paper files?
Scan on demand when a matter reopens. Keep a register of box numbers so you can find the paper if a request arrives.
Who should own the filing rules?
The firm administrator, with partner agreement. Rules written by one person and ignored by the rest do not hold.