Few would dispute that for law departments of much size, it is a sound practice to make effective use of matter-management software (MMS). That genre of software is the most tailored for law departments and, other than company standard software, is likely to be the most widely installed. Essentially a highly specialized database system, MMS tracks information about matters handled and the fees of outside counsel. Stocked with many fields and functions, able to search and calculate, often integrated with other corporate systems, MMS stores and reports much of what takes place in a legal department’s work. MMS is key to evidence-based decisions.

Starting in the early 1980s with INSLAW and CompInfo, many MMS vendors have marketed their products and services. Today, according to the General Counsel Metrics benchmark survey, which also collects MMS data, at least 25 vendors license one or more versions of their program to legal departments in the United States. Among the U.S. vendors, several support well more than a hundred legal departments, and some have been refining and extending their offerings for nearly two decades. The others have smaller user bases and a few are relative newcomers. Large companies such as Wolters Kluwer N.V., Reed Elsevier Group PLC and Thomson Reuters Corp. have recently acquired players in this niche. Even private-equity investors have turned their attention of late to the field.

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