Enterprise legal management (ELM) software, sometimes referred to as legal operations software is used by in-house legal departments to handle daily operations. In-house legal professionals use enterprise legal management tools to manage legal spend, keep an electronic database of legal records, and generate reports with analytics related to legal activity.
Enterprise legal management software often includes intake, matter management, contract management, spend management, knowledge management, legal hold, billing, and analytics capabilities. Corporate legal departments use enterprise legal management solutions to maintain a holistic view of their activities, control legal spending, and manage an electronic legal record repository. Key functions of enterprise legal management software include process automation and create a centralized hub for all relevant operations information.
Enterprise legal management solutions can be used as standalone pieces of software as they often provide end-to-end functionality for legal department management. However, most enterprise legal management software will integrate with document management systems and other basic office software. Enterprise legal management solutions may contain functionalities of legal billing software or integrate with legal billing solutions, but are distinct in that they are designed specifically for in-house legal departments. Enterprise legal management solutions cannot be housed in the legal billing software category.
To qualify for inclusion in the Enterprise Legal Management category, a product must:
Include spend and matter management features
Provide e-billing functionality
Be designed primarily for use by internal legal departments