Business-First Data Advisory for Law Firms

Understand the business
before you change it.

Matter Data Group helps law firms make better business decisions by understanding how people, processes, information, and technology work together. We use data to reveal how the firm actually operates before recommending change.

Discovery Assessments are billed hourly against a stated not-to-exceed cap — understanding first, no blind estimates, no open-ended bills.

One lens into the operating environment — illustrative
PLAINTIFF THIRD PARTY FIRM DATA ENVIRONMENT SYSTEM OF RECORD REPORTING
Data flow analysis is one way we connect business objectives, operational processes, information, and technology before recommending a solution.
How We Think

Business objectives come first.

We do not begin by asking what technology you need. We begin by understanding how your organization works, what it is trying to achieve, and what the evidence reveals.

01

Understand before recommending

Findings replace assumptions. Discovery establishes the factual baseline for every recommendation that follows.

02

Use data to reveal reality

Data shows how work, decisions, and information actually move through the firm—not merely how the process is believed to work.

03

Connect the whole environment

People, processes, information, and technology must work together in support of the business objective.

04

Technology must earn its place

We recommend technology only when it clearly improves the outcome. Automating the wrong process is not progress.

How We Work

Discovery is the beginning, not the product.

Every engagement follows the same logic: understand the business objective and operating environment before defining or pricing a solution. You can stop after Discovery with no obligation to continue.

01 — START HERE

Discovery Assessment

A bounded, not-to-exceed review of your data environment — inputs, outputs, systems, and structural key fields. Delivered as a written findings report.

Hourly · NTE cap
02 — IF A DELIVERABLE IS CLEAR

Scoped Project

A fixed-price engagement built directly from Discovery findings — a defined deliverable, defined acceptance criteria, no open-ended pricing.

Fixed price
02 — IF YOU NEED ONGOING JUDGMENT

Fractional CDO Retainer

Continuing access to strategic data leadership on a quarterly basis — for firms that need standing capacity, not a bounded deliverable.

Quarterly retainer
Services

Three ways to apply the same philosophy.

Each engagement begins with understanding and is matched to what the firm actually needs—not to a predetermined technology or package.

Exhibit A

Discovery Assessment

An independent inventory of how data enters your firm, where it lives, and how it moves — including a Level-0 data flow diagram and a structural key-field inventory.

  • Data input & output inventory
  • Context-level data flow diagram
  • Key-field inventory
  • Written Observed Constraints report
Best for: firms who need a baseline before committing to anything larger.
Learn more →
Exhibit B

Scoped Project

A fixed-price engagement scoped from your Discovery findings — a specific deliverable with acceptance criteria both sides agree to up front.

  • Key-tracing across named systems
  • Detailed (Level-1/2) data flow diagrams
  • Updated Observed Constraints
  • Fixed price, milestone billing
Best for: a defined deliverable following a completed Discovery.
Learn more →
Retainer

Fractional CDO

Ongoing, part-time access to data strategy and governance expertise — functioning as your firm's fractional Chief Data Officer.

  • Data strategy & governance guidance
  • Vendor & technology evaluation
  • Rule-change ripple assessments
  • Included hours, billed quarterly
Best for: firms buying standing access, not a bounded deliverable.
Learn more →

“Data is not the destination. It is evidence—one of the clearest ways to understand how an organization actually works and make better decisions about what comes next.”

$350/hr
Principal-tier rate, stated up front
NTE
Discovery is always capped — never open-ended
About Matter Data Group

Matter Data Group is a business-first data advisory practice for law firms that manage complex claimant, settlement, and operational information—where disconnected processes and incorrect assumptions create real downstream cost.

Robert Staneart brings decades of experience connecting business rules, operational processes, data relationships, and technology. The goal is not to sell a system. It is to help leaders understand the environment, make sound decisions, and implement practical solutions that can evolve with the firm.

Robert Staneart Principal, Matter Data Group
Start a Conversation

Start with the business question—not a technology proposal.

Tell us what the firm is trying to achieve, where the process is breaking down, or what decision needs greater clarity. We'll follow up to determine whether a Discovery Assessment, scoped project, or ongoing advisory relationship is appropriate.

Email
contact@matterdatagroup.com
Response Time
Within one business day
No obligation. This starts a conversation, not an engagement.