# AI Case Management for German Law Firms — Optimaite Law

Source: [https://www.optimaite.eu/en/law/aktenmanagement](https://www.optimaite.eu/en/law/aktenmanagement)

> Matters that pull their weight.

Every client inquiry becomes a fully set-up matter in five minutes: AI extracts parties, assigns docket numbers, starts conflict checks, detects deadlines from incoming briefs, routes the matter to the right associate and opens the tickler — all before your first click. Planned/actual hours, realisation and utilisation track per matter in the background.

**What the AI does:** AI assigns matters and parties · detects deadlines · opens ticklers · measures realisation and utilisation — you run the mandate.

## Problems today

### Matter creation as an hour-long job

Setting up a new matter — creating parties, checking addresses, running conflicts, sorting documents, assigning lawyers — costs 30-60 minutes of secretariat time per mandate.

### Duplicate party master data

Legacy practice management has 'Müller GmbH', 'Mueller GmbH' and 'Müller Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung' as three separate masters. Conflict checks work only partially.

### Inbound mail copy-pasted

Every letter, email, beA inbound is renamed by the secretariat, moved to the right folder and tagged — at 100 inbounds per day, a full headcount.

## How a new matter is born in Optimaite

A client inquiry arrives — five minutes later the matter is fully set up.

### 01 — AI step

**AI:** AI reads the inquiry (email, contact form, beA inbound or scanned letter) and extracts: client, opponent, subject, facts, date, exhibits.

**You:** You see the extraction as a structured card — one-click correction if the AI mixed up two persons.

### 02 — AI step

**AI:** AI matches parties against your master records — 'Müller GmbH' ≠ 'Mueller GmbH' is recognized as a match; on uncertainty the AI asks.

**You:** You confirm the match or create a new master record — both in one click.

### 03 — AI step

**AI:** AI starts the conflict check against all active and archived matters. Hits are shown with reasoning — including transitive conflicts (group affiliation, identical directors).

**You:** You decide on acceptance/rejection — the decision is logged with reasoning in the audit trail (BRAO-relevant).

*Conflict: matter M-2023-0091, same managing director*

### 04 — AI step

**AI:** AI assigns the matter based on practice area, workload and mandate history — Fachanwalt für Strafrecht for StGB matters, junior associates for deadline-driven work.

**You:** Assignment rules are changed directly in the workflow — corrections improve future suggestions.

### 05 — AI step

**AI:** AI sets up the matter structure: tabs for briefs, correspondence, exhibits, notes, opinions — configurable per practice area.

**You:** You open the matter and everything is in place: inquiry, client master, conflict status, assignment.

> **Lawyer in control:** Conflict decisions, mandate acceptance and lawyer assignments are stored with lawyer ID and timestamp in an audit-proof log. Granular permissions ensure only assigned lawyers see matters — mandate secrecy is preserved.

## Features

- **Tickler & evening deadline check** — Structured ticklers (one-off or recurring) linked to matter, client and document. The evening deadline check walks the lawyer through every Frist — mark OK / Action required / Escalate per item.
- **Utilisation & realisation per matter** — Planned/actual hours, budget burn and realisation rate are visible per matter. A heatmap shows utilisation per person and calendar week; forecasting and top-clients reporting are built in.
- **Master data deduplication** — AI recognises 'Müller GmbH' vs 'Mueller GmbH' as the same entity — addresses, commercial register, VAT ID reconciled; managing-director identity used for transitive conflicts.
- **Full-text search across all matters** — OCR across every PDF, semantic search ('Who discussed §242 in the Schmidt matter?'), filters by practice area, lawyer, date — with source citations on every hit.
- **Version history per document** — Every change, tracked-change, re-upload is stored with timestamp and editor ID. Roll-back at any time.
- **Granular permissions** — Per-matter, per-tab, per-document visibility. Trainees see only their matters; equity partners see all. M&A mandates can be isolated from litigation.
- **Matter status pipeline** — Inquiry → conflict check → engagement letter → active → closed → archived. Visible as Kanban board or list.
- **Retention rules automated** — 10-year retention under §50 BRAO auto-calculated, extensions for professional liability documented, deletion workflow GDPR-compliant.

## Optimaite case management vs. RA-MICRO/AnNoText

| Feature | Optimaite Law | RA-MICRO Akte / AnNoText |
|---|---|---|
| Matter from inquiry | 5 min via AI | 30-60 min manual |
| Master data dedup | Fuzzy AI match | Exact string match |
| Full-text search | Semantic + OCR | Filename / keyword |
| Client portal link | Native, per matter | Add-on or absent |
| Role-based permissions | Per matter/tab/document | Per user globally |

## FAQs

### How many matters can Optimaite manage?

Optimaite Law is designed for very large matter archives and supports large firms with extensive active and archived mandates.

### Are archived matters still searchable?

Yes. Archived matters stay in full-text search but flagged 'archived'. Retention and deletion workflows under §50 BRAO and GDPR are fully automated.

### Can we customize the matter structure per practice area?

Yes. Criminal matters need different tabs (indictment, trial, closing) than M&A (term sheet, due diligence, closing). Configurable per practice area — templates shipped for all 24.

## Related modules
- [Intelligent Inbox](https://www.optimaite.eu/en/law/bea)
- [Conflict Checking](https://www.optimaite.eu/en/law/konfliktpruefung)
- [AI Brief Drafting](https://www.optimaite.eu/en/law/schriftsatz-ki)