A matter management system that includes an outside counsel guidelines feature

Describing new developments in CounselLink, Jeff Schuett, its VP and GM at LexisNexis described one particular addition that deserves note from Met. Corp. Counsel, Nov. 2011 at 30. The matter management software has a new feature that “can support existing agreements, allowing clients to publish the billing rules, manage the partnership, set expectations and establish clear communications regarding exceptions and compliance.”

This makes sense to me. Other providers of matter management and e-billing software may have equivalent functions in their software, but I am not aware of them. So my hat’s off to CounselLink for a useful development for legal departments. True, some claims are a bit grand, particularly “manage the partnership” and “establish clear communications,” but I grant some leeway to marketing spin. Even with capabilities stripped down, to have the ability to link guidelines more closely to matter tracking represents a significant benefit.