Building a matter management system in Notion

The Matters database

Each matter is also a page, so notes, key facts and links to your document system sit inside the record.

Relations and rollups

Add Deadlines, Actions and Time as separate databases with a relation to Matters. On the matter page you then see its deadlines and open tasks, and a rollup can show the next due date or total hours. If you want to learn the mechanics, see /resources/guides/relations-and-rollups-for-matters and /resources/guides/notion-databases-for-lawyers.

Views that make it usable

• Active: status is Open, sorted by key date.
• Due Soon: key date within the next 14 days.
• By Stage: a board grouped by stage, to see the pipeline.
• By lawyer: a filtered view per person.
• Closed: an archive you rarely open.

For date-specific views see /resources/guides/views-and-filters-for-deadlines.

Starter or Pro for this

LawyerOS Starter ($19) gives you a Matters database (matter type, stage, key date, status) plus a Deadlines database and a home page showing deadlines this week and active matters sorted by key date. LawyerOS Pro with AI ($39) adds status, client, practice area and responsible lawyer on Matters with Active, Due Soon, High Priority and Pipeline (Stage) views, and the other databases. Both are one-time purchases.

Frequently asked questions

Can Notion work as a matter management system?

Yes for tracking matters, dates, tasks and time in a small practice. It lacks built-in conflict search, trust accounting and court-rules calendaring.

How many properties should a matter have?

Few. Start with five to seven and add one only when you will actually filter or report on it.

How do I stop matters going stale?

Run a weekly review: update stage and key date for every active matter.

Can multiple people use it?

Yes, using Notion's sharing and per-person filtered views. Permissions are managed in Notion.