The matter as anchor
In LEGALinhouse the matter is the central unit. A termination, a contract dispute, a receivable, an authority request — each is its own matter with a unique matter number, reference number, status and parties. Everything else — contracts, deadlines, correspondence, documents, time tracking, receivables — either hangs directly on the matter or is linked through one.
The practical effect: a single search inside the matter delivers the entire file. No switching between email, contract repository, calendar and document folder. Whoever opens the matter sees everything that legally and procedurally belongs to it.
Matter lifecycle
Every matter moves through a structured status workflow that is documented in the system and fully traceable in the audit trail. The phases follow a typical legal handling logic and stay structurally comparable across matter types.
At every transition the status is traceable in the audit log: who moved the matter into which phase, and why. Phases can be reverted if something substantial changes — that too is logged.
What belongs to every matter
A matter in LEGALinhouse is not just a folder with files. It is a structured object with clearly named areas:
- Header data: matter number, reference number, legal area, status, responsible employee, intake date.
- Parties: clients, opposing parties, lawyers, courts, authorities — structured with role, address and link into central contacts.
- Facts: documented inside the matter record, fully versioned at matter level, with AI support during intake.
- Timeline: all events, correspondence, decisions and actions chronologically.
- Contracts, deadlines, documents, correspondence, receivables: each hanging directly on the matter, with cross-links to the other modules.
- Time tracking & costs: per matter, with tariff logic and reports.
- Audit trail: every change with timestamp, employee and previous state.
Legal Hold
Some matters must not be deleted — because litigation is pending, a supervisory authority is reviewing, or a retention obligation applies. Legal Hold protects matters, contracts and documents from accidental deletion: a clearly visible status with a reason and an optional expiry date.
- Deletion is refused. While an object is under Legal Hold, the system refuses to delete it and points explicitly to the active hold.
- Protected across the hierarchy, too. The protection also applies when someone tries to delete the parent matter that protected contracts or documents hang on — the hold cannot be circumvented through the back door.
- Clear responsibility. Any authorised user may set a hold; only an admin or manager may lift it. The hold stays a deliberate, documented decision — the basis for audit-proof retention in a dispute or review.
Courts & authorities directory
Whoever runs a matter eventually writes to a court or an authority. LEGALinhouse provides an integrated, maintained database of German courts and authorities with name, address and jurisdiction.
When adding a party or writing a letter, the start of the name is enough — the address is inserted with one click, stored in the party record and available in every subsequent letter. Address changes are maintained centrally, so current addresses remain available without manual effort.
Links to other modules
The strength of matter management lies not in the matter alone, but in its connections. In the matter view you see:
- All contracts belonging to or triggering this matter.
- All active and completed deadlines from this matter.
- The full correspondence chronologically — incoming and outgoing.
- All documents, indexed and searchable.
- Outstanding receivables with status and dunning level.
- The matter-bound AI chat with access to all of the above in context.
The other direction: clicking a deadline in the deadline list takes you into the matter. Triggering a termination on a contract shows the newly created matter. There are no dead ends.