Microsoft is quietly preparing to formally launch a new practice management product for lawyers in the coming months. The product was scheduled to be announced this month but the announcement has been delayed. It now appears that the product will be rolled out at or around the time of ABA Techshow in April.
Microsoft executives have not responded to my inquiries about the project. Presumably, the launch is for Matter Center for Office 365, a document management and collaboration product for law firms. Microsoft unveiled a preview version of Matter Center during the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) conference in August, but has said virtually nothing about it since, apart from what is said on the product’s web page.
Based on what Microsoft has said about Matter Center, it will be built around a SharePoint interface and integrate with OneDrive for document storage and collaboration and with Office 365 for word processing, email and other office functions. Much of its functionality will exist directly within the Office programs Word and Outlook.
