Thomson Reuters creates ‘Matter Maps’ for law firms and in-house lawyers

LONDON — Thomson Reuters has created more than 70 “Matter Maps” based on its leading Practical Law service that guide law firms and in-house lawyers through key phases of work and tasks associated with a legal matter*.

Thomson Reuters has created the Matter Maps at a time when the legal services market is shifting towards a more process-driven, repeatable model for the delivery of legal services, with a greater emphasis on consistency of approach, accurate budgeting and greater project management discipline. Law firms and in-house teams alike are actively seeking support and tools to make this transition.

The Practical Law Matter Maps introduce an accessible overview of the phases of work and core tasks that a legal team need to carry out as required by law and practice when undertaking a legal matter. Displayed as a visual representation of the legal matters, the maps are designed by experts on the Practical Law editorial team to allow a user to find the right Practical Law content for the task in hand by following links to selected, directly relevant content on the map.

The maps are likely to appeal to law firms of all sizes and in-house legal teams, but there will also be useful applications for government and academic institutions.

“This is an exciting development and the creation of the Matter Maps offers an innovative and more dynamic way for lawyers to work with the wealth of legal resources available in Practical Law,” said Lucinda Case, managing director for the UK&I Legal business at Thomson Reuters. “The visual maps help our customers to see all of the steps needed to complete a legal task and, importantly, work towards standardising their approach in order to drive consistency in outcomes and ultimately better estimate their costs.”

The Matter Maps are available as part of a beta release on Practical Law and offer an initial collection of 70 maps across most of the Practical Law practice areas. The maps include links from each legal task to the relevant Practical Law guidance and precedents. The Matter Maps are embedded within the Practical Law service, so customers have the full advantage of the Practical Law functionality, including the ability to add notes, print, download and save. Thomson Reuters will undertake further development of the Matter Maps following feedback from customers during the beta release.

“Early customer feedback on the Matter Maps has been extremely positive,” said Swati Garodia, global head of Know How Product Management for the Legal business of Thomson Reuters. “We see that customers really value the ability to visualize content in the right context and understand how this can support more-efficient working practices. I look forward to developing the Matter Maps through further enhancements and increased interactivity.”

Practical Law is an online legal know-how service that provides rigorous peer-reviewed resources, such as practice notes and current awareness and standard documents to help lawyers work smarter and advise with confidence. The resources are created and maintained by an extensive team of expert editors who have significant experience working for the world’s leading law firms, companies and public-sector organizations.

*Examples of a legal matter include a client requesting a lawyer to “buy this company for me”, “act for me in this litigation” or “review my employee handbook”. 

For more information about the Matter Maps, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/mattermaps

Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters is the world’s leading source of news and information for professional markets. Our customers rely on us to deliver the intelligence, technology and expertise they need to find trusted answers. The business has operated in more than 100 countries for more than 100 years. For more information, visit www.thomsonreuters.com.

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