AI for Law Firms

Meet Matti
that actually knows your firm.

Matti is built into MatterFirst. Ask questions about your matters and documents, inspect the sources, draft documents and client communications, and prepare tasks, dates and matter updates. Review and approve Matti’s proposed changes before they are applied.

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Encrypted in transit Documents and AI in Australia No lock-in contracts Guided setup available Your data exportable on request

Last reviewed

How does AI work in a legal practice management system?

Legal AI does two jobs: reading documents to pull structured data into a matter, and answering questions about files a firm already holds. MatterFirst does both in Australia: reading the document runs on Azure AI Document Intelligence in Azure's Australia East region, and analysis and matter questions run on AWS Bedrock in Australia, so client documents are not sent to a different jurisdiction to be processed.

What AI work costs, in Australian dollars
Work Price What you get Best for
Process a document 60c to open, plus 9c a page Text, tables, key terms, dates, parties, amounts, form fields and checkboxes Contracts, conveyancing forms, mortgage documents, court files
Bulk document review 15c per document, per question The same questions asked of hundreds of files, answered into a table Discovery, due diligence, a lease portfolio, a compliance sweep

Every paid plan includes a monthly AI balance shared across the workspace. Top-ups and automatic top-ups cover heavier months.

Why MatterFirst

What you get when you switch.

An assistant that does the reading

  • Context-aware answers. Ask about a specific matter, client, or deadline. The AI pulls from your data, not the internet.
  • Document intelligence. Upload a document. The AI extracts contacts, key dates, financial figures, and property details automatically.
  • Automatic time capture for review. Matter-linked activity produces time suggestions. Inspect sources, adjust durations, mark non-billable, and accept or reject. Entries are created only after acceptance.

Answers, extractions and time entries, from your own data.

Reads your firm's own work, kept in Australia

  • Key term extraction. The AI reads contracts and pulls out the terms that matter, sunset clauses, special conditions, restrictive covenants.
  • AI processing stays in Australia. Analysis and matter questions run on Amazon Web Services Bedrock with Australian routing, and the document-reading step runs in Azure's Australia East region. Both are in Australia, so your documents are not sent overseas to be read or analysed.
  • Included on every plan. AI assistance and a monthly AI balance are included in every paid workspace, with top-ups available for heavy document months.

AI inference stays in Australia.

What this actually does

Ask MatterFirst a question about a matter and it answers from your own files, not the open internet, with the OCR and the AI inference both running in Australia.

Document AI reads documents with Azure AI Document Intelligence in Azure's Australia East region, and analyses them with AWS Bedrock in Australia. You can confirm this on your own documents during a 14 day guided trial.

14 days

guided trial shaped around how your firm works

1 connected workspace

Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Xero and Stripe, connected by you

34 dated claims

about security and data on the trust page, each with its evidence, including what is not done yet

MatterFirst is an AI-native legal practice management platform for Australian law firms, built for small and boutique practices by NorthCape Technology.

For small Australian firms that want matter questions, document drafting and reviewed actions alongside their work. Evaluate Matti’s answers, source support and approvals on your own matter types. Firms handling structured contracts can also evaluate Document Intelligence extraction. It is a weaker fit for firms seeking a stand-alone legal research library rather than an assistant working on their matters.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Does AI processing send my documents overseas?
No, for an Australian firm. Document AI reads your documents with Azure AI Document Intelligence in Azure's Australia East region, and analyses them with AWS Bedrock in Australia. Both steps happen in Australia. The security page describes the scope of each service.
How does Document AI billing work?
Document AI is priced in dollars: 60c to open a document plus 9c a page, at full quality, which is the only quality there is. Plans include a monthly AI balance, and you can top up or enable automatic top-ups if your firm processes more documents.
What does Document AI actually extract?
Text, tables, layout and signatures, plus form field extraction and checkbox detection. Every document gets all of it at the one price, whether it is a prose-heavy file such as a contract, letter or court document, or a structured one such as a conveyancing form, mortgage document or compliance checklist.
What does the Key Term Extractor do?
It lets you define your own extraction rules and map them to any custom field, contact role, or key date in your matter. Every firm has different documents and different data that matters. Define a term once (e.g. "Certificate of Title reference") and MatterFirst will extract it from every matching document automatically.
Where is my data stored?
The application runs on Fly.io in Sydney. Database and backups are hosted on Fly.io Managed high-availability PostgreSQL clusters in Sydney. Documents are stored in Amazon Web Services S3 in Sydney. Document extraction and matter questions run on Amazon Web Services Bedrock in Australia, and reading a scanned document runs in Microsoft Azure's Australia East region. These locations describe the application, document storage, database, backups and document AI services. The trust evidence page at /trust records the scope and dated evidence for each published control.
How much does MatterFirst cost?
Pricing is per workspace rather than per seat, starting at $199 per month for Solo. Each plan includes a set number of users, a monthly AI balance in Australian dollars, the client portal and automations. Extra users are billed only past the included seats. Full plan inclusions are on the pricing page.
Can I get my data out if I leave?
Yes. Your matters, contacts, documents and time records are exportable on request, and there is no lock-in contract. We would rather you were able to leave and chose not to.
Is there a free trial?
Yes, a 14 day guided trial on Solo, Practice or Firm. It is guided rather than self-serve because a practice management system tells you very little until it has your real matters in it, and we would rather help you load them than leave you looking at an empty workspace.
Who builds MatterFirst?
NorthCape Technology, a Melbourne-based software company. MatterFirst is built in Australia for Australian legal practice, with trust accounting and Xero as first-class capabilities. Available through coordinated setup: PEXA, InfoTrack. Coordinated manual setup is arranged with MatterFirst and the provider.
Is MatterFirst suitable for a firm of my size?
It is designed for solo practitioners up to firms of roughly twenty seats. Below that, Solo carries the full platform for one user. Above it, the platform works but you should expect to talk to us about migration and rollout rather than signing up online.

Put an AI that knows your firm to work.

Ask anything about your matters and get answers from your own data, processed in your own region.

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