  The discovery of an ever increasing family of atomic layered magnetic
materials, together with the already established vast catalogue of strong
spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and topological systems, calls for some guiding
principles to tailor and optimize novel spin transport and optical properties
at their interfaces. Here we focus on the latest developments in both fields
that have brought them closer together and make them ripe for future fruitful
synergy. After outlining fundamentals on van der Waals (vdW) magnetism and SOC
effects, we discuss how their coexistence, manipulation and competition could
ultimately establish new ways to engineer robust spin textures and drive the
generation and dynamics of spin current and magnetization switching in 2D
materials-based vdW heterostructures. Grounding our analysis on existing
experimental results and theoretical considerations, we draw a prospective
analysis about how intertwined magnetism and spin-orbit torque (SOT) phenomena
combine at interfaces with well-defined symmetries, and how this dictates the
nature and figures-of-merit of SOT and angular momentum transfer. This will
serve as a guiding role in designing future non-volatile memory devices that
utilize the unique properties of 2D materials with the spin degree of freedom.
