If you’re lost beneath a mound of spreadsheets and case documents and can only access information when you’re in the office, it’s time to give legal practice management software some serious thought.

The best law practice management software packages can help you run a more efficient and productive business:

• Efficient management of cases and client records
• Coordination of billing and bookkeeping
• Maintenance of schedules and appointments
• Reminders about deadlines
• Facilitation of compliance requirements
• Access from anywhere on any device

But with so many different software on the market, which one suits your needs best?

In this post, we not only look more closely at the reasons for choosing a management software package but help you select the package that’s right for you.

We outline the relative strengths and weaknesses of the 15 best legal practice management software packages so you can make an informed choice.

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How does practice management software help law firms?

Legal practice management software is like an “operating system” for a law firm. It helps manage your practice’s day-to-day workflows and business operations from one central location: from cases, documentation, and contacts to payments and compliance.

If you select a cloud-based system, you can access the information you need securely from any device — all you need is an internet connection.

Think of law management software as helping with the “nuts and bolts” of your business, as opposed to customer relationship management (CRM) software, which is designed more for sales and marketing purposes (you have probably heard of Salesforce, Zoho, and other packages).

Here’s a summary of how the best legal practice management software helps firms like yours:

• Case management: Law practice management software helps you stay organized and access what you need whenever and wherever you need it.
• Document management: Edit, store, share and organize your documents from a secure, central library.
• Contact management: Manage all interactions with existing/new clients and contacts.
• Time/expense tracking: Spend less time tracking your hours and more time helping clients.
• Billing and accounting: Automate client billing and make it easy for clients to pay (online payments) while simplifying reconciliations and syncing with your existing accounting package.
• Task management: Compile to-do lists, view task progress, and manage your team’s workload and productivity.
• Appointment and deadline setting: An automated system for tracking case deadlines and setting appointments with clients.
• Reporting and insights: With the data generated by law firm management software, you make more informed decisions and improve productivity, efficiency, and revenues.

Ultimately, these benefits add up to a law practice where your people can access up-to-date information as they need it, aiding collaboration, productivity, and efficiency. 

Automation means less time is wasted on administrative tasks, hunting down information, and correcting mistakes — freeing up more time to work with clients and attend to the things that grow your business.

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5 signs your firm needs law management software

If any of the following sounds alarmingly familiar, your law firm probably needs to consider a legal management software package.

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You’re struggling to manage all your information

You’ll waste precious time if you can’t find what you need when you need it. Getting organized with your information and storing it in a central location makes it easier to access, manage, and maintain, and your firm becomes more efficient.

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Your people can only access information from the office

Lawyers often meet clients outside the office, spend time in court, and work from home. You need to access documents on the go to provide the best possible service for clients and maintain a work-life balance.

The best legal management software packages do this by moving to the cloud — without VPNs.

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You’re spending too much time on invoicing and payment collection

Chasing payments eats into time better spent managing cases. For many smaller practices, the automation provided by law practice management software makes the invoicing, payment, and reconciliation system less time-consuming.

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It’s hard to locate the latest version of a document

Effective case management requires lawyers to quickly locate the latest version of a particular document after others have collaborated on it. With cloud-based practice management software, the collaboration and document management processes are made more manageable with fewer errors.

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You’re calling your IT consultant too often

If your firm needs frequent security upgrades or you’re experiencing server problems, it might be time to move to a cloud-based practice management system. Stringent security is built into the best systems, and most of the technical responsibilities lie with the software provider.

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The 15 best law practice management software packages

The following law firm practice management software packages are not all household names. But each one has the potential to deliver important efficiencies to law firms.

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Lawcus

Established in 2014, Lawcus provides a Kanban board management style with simple-to-use drag and drop features.

• Pricing: $34-$59/month/user (price on application for enterprise)
• Free trial available? Yes — 14 days
• Pros: Fast, easy-to-use boards or lists on a secure, Amazon cloud-based platform. Strong on legal practice management, client relationship management, client intake matters, legal document templates, and time/expense tracking. Streamlines, automates, and makes collaborating on projects/cases easier. Customized reporting available. Good integration with all the major apps. Good customer support and free data migration from other platforms.
• Cons: No contract management feature. No facility to import/export data into a .csv file. Calendar integration could be improved.
• Best for: Solo and small legal firms (1-20 lawyers)

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Serve Manager

• Pricing: From $39/month/user — but depends on the monthly job volume
• Free trial available? Yes — 14 days
• Pros: Although ServeManager is built for process serving firms, it offers a full feature set for law firms. As well as managing serves, it’s strong in affidavit generation, calendar and document management, billing, payments to servers, and client management. User-friendly, highly secure, and cloud-based access from anywhere. Can log serves right from the field with GPS coordinates and allows firms to collaborate with clients and contractors on jobs.
• Cons: No built-in email client, trust accounting, or contract management features
• Best for: Small to medium-size process server firms

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Practice Panther

• Pricing: From $39-$79/month/user
• Free trial available? Yes — 30 days
• Pros: Easy-to-use dashboard that helps automate many functions. App available that helps you access info from anywhere on any device. Strong on billing (syncs with QuickBooks) and tracking account balances, contact management and messaging, document storage, and task setting. Enterprise-level security, customer service, and support. Integrates with many apps.
• Cons: No built-in email client. Larger firms may want a slightly more sophisticated solution.
• Best for: Most small- to medium-sized firms looking for a market leader

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Simple Law

SimpleLaw is legal practice management software with a twist: it was built by attorneys. It’s cloud-based, features a client and attorney network, and includes on-demand, vetted paralegal support.

• Pricing: From $27-49/month/attorney depending on the number of users and how you pay (if you don’t use it in any given month, you don’t pay).
• Free trial available? Yes — 14 days or 28 days if you provide payment details.
• Pros: Can help attorneys attract new clients as well as look after case and matter management. User-friendly with no security concerns as it doesn’t store any documents. No integration issues. Strong in legal document management, with storage options, viewing rights, and document organization easily managed. Has a built-in referral network and private client portal. Flexible pricing structure where you only pay if you use it. Generous free trial.
• Cons: Limited features compared to other practice management software. No email client, task management features, document assembly, bookkeeping, or trust accounting.
• Best for: Small/solo law firms that can take advantage of paralegal support.

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CosmoLex

• Pricing: $85/month/user (billed annually) for up to 10 users. Over 10 users, and you need to call for pricing.
• Free trial available? Yes — 10 days
• Pros: Fast, user-friendly, and covers all aspects of running a legal practice, including accounting and billing (even allows credit card processing). Negates the need for separate accounting software like QuickBooks or Xero, and your accountant/bookkeeper can log in for free. Free 1:1 training provided. Data migration assistance provided. Document assembly features and unlimited document storage.
• Cons: Slightly higher starting price-point than other packages on the market, but it does more than many of them. No email client.
• Best for: Small practices looking for an all-in-one practice management/accounting solution.

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MyCase

MyCase focuses on helping practices manage their cases (one of the most time-consuming elements of running a law firm) but does a lot more besides. Used by thousands of law firms.

• Pricing: From $39/month/user to $89/month/user, depending on features and how you pay
• Free trial available? Yes — 10 days
• Pros: Secure, cloud-based solution. Excellent on the legal case management side of the business. As well as streamlining many client management processes, it provides a decent set of features for time and expense tracking, invoicing and trust accounting, document management, task delegation, calendaring, and performance reporting. Real-time activity feed for collaboration between small teams. Mobile apps make it accessible from anywhere.
• Cons: No email client, conflict checking, or full accounting features. Some integration issues with third-party apps.
• Best for: Small to medium practices (under 15 lawyers) that want a little more than just case management but not a full accounting system.

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Merus Case

MerusCase is a full-featured but affordable cloud-based legal practice management solution used by medium-sized firms capable of enterprise functionality. It was originally built for workers’ compensation firms.

• Pricing: Price on application.
• Free trial available? No — but a demo is provided.
• Pros: Full-feature solution with time tracking and billing, document management, and workflow automation. Strong on task templates and workflows, document automation, time tracking, billing, calendaring, email, and case management. Includes a secure client portal. Assistance with importing data provided.
• Cons: No online payment processing feature. No mobile apps for iOS or Android, though its web app is sophisticated. Not the fastest solution around. No free trial is offered, and pricing info is not included on the website.
• Best for: Medium-sized practices of 15-50 lawyers.

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Bill 4 Time

Bill 4 Time is another of the more established packages. It was not designed specifically for the legal profession, but its functionality makes it well suited to law firms.

• Pricing: $27/month/user for just time and billing; $45 for legal pro version ($80 for enterprise).
• Free trial available? Yes — 14 days.
• Pros: Includes well-developed tools for case management, task management, document management, and trust accounting. Strong on time tracking and billing, with customizable invoices, batch invoices, online payments, and online/offline time tracking. Easy integration with popular apps. Highly affordable. Mobile access. Established in 2006 and has been on the market for a long time with proven reliability.
• Cons: Not law firm-specific (but many of the tools fit very well with law firms). No recurring subscriptions or mobile payment facility. Contract and email management features absent.
• Best for: Solo and small practices looking for a simple practice management and billing solution.

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Rocket Matter

Rocket Matter is a cloud-based legal practice management software focused on productivity, including time and billing features.

• Pricing: From $39/month/user to $99/month/user depending on features required and how you pay (one-on-one training is charged extra).
• Free trial available? Yes — 10 days.
• Pros: iOS and Android apps available. As well as client and case management features, it has strong billable and non-billable time capture features, customizable invoicing and reminder statement features, trust accounting, document management, and calendaring. Also includes email integration and chat functionality. Bank-grade security (like most of the cloud-based packages featured here).
• Cons: Have to pay for one-on-one training. Integrates with some of the most popular apps but is otherwise rather limited in this respect. Users report some mobile app usability issues and printing/speed issues.
• Best for: Solo and small practices.

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Action Step

Actionstep is cloud-based legal practice management software touted as an end-to-end solution with matter management, business administration automation, and billing/accounting.

• Pricing: From $49/month/user to $99/month/user, depending on features and how you pay.
• Free trial available? No — free demo is provided.
• Pros: Easy-to-learn solution with a strong front/back-of-house feature set. Well-developed tools for document management, customizing workflows, and accounting. The accounting tools are sophisticated enough to replace existing accounting software. Email client included and scratch pad for making notes. Excellent search functionality. Good customer service and support can assist with data migration.
• Cons: Slightly higher starting price-point than some other solutions offered, but it does a lot.
• Best for: Growing law firms with 1-50 users.

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CASEpeer

This flexible, cloud-based practice management solution is one of the rising stars on the market and is designed for firms specializing in personal injury.

• Pricing: Not advertised, but the latest information suggests $89/month/user.
• Free trial available? No — but a free demo and a 30-day money-back guarantee exist.
• Pros: Especially strong on case management features from intake to settlement. Easy to use and to communicate with clients (text messaging facility). Includes letter and form templates, calendaring, and reporting based on KPIs. Good features for collaborating between staff, lawyers, and paralegals. Also includes lead tracking tools to help grow the practice. Free unlimited training and support. Android and iOS apps available.
• Cons: Includes basic bookkeeping functionality but not full accounting/billing/invoicing/online payments. A relatively new player, so it’s still being developed. Pricing is difficult to find.
• Best for: Small firms that specialize in personal injury and are looking to grow.

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TIMESOLV Legal

• Pricing: From $32.36/user/month to $39.95, depending on the number of users and how you pay (annual or monthly).
• Free trial available? Yes — 30 days (with one-on-one training).
• Pros: Well-established (since 1999) and does what it says on the tin. Makes time, expense tracking, and billing easier and more transparent, with six options for defining hourly rates. Unlimited clients and matters and unlimited document storage. Trust accounting features included. Syncs with QuickBooks and integrates with other apps. Simple-to-use interface. Free training and support plus account manager. Old Timeslips data can easily be placed into TimeSolv for a one-off fee of $850. Mobile apps available.
• Cons: Not originally designed specifically for legal practices.
• Best for: Small firms currently using Timeslips who are looking for a more sophisticated system.

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Shape Legal

Shape Legal is a powerful all-in-one software package that combines client and case management with sales and marketing automation to streamline, organize, and grow your law firm.

• Pricing: $99/month (no annual contracts or mandatory setup fee).
• Free trial available? No.
• Pros: End-to-end client and case management. Includes online documents, client portal, mobile app, invoicing, marketing and sales automation, SMS, dozens of third-party integrations, workflow automation, assign tasks to support staff, reporting, e-signature, and custom configurations available.
• Cons: Not ideal for small or solo law firms without workflows in place. Not offered outside North America.
• Best for: Medium-large law firms, lead-heavy firms, firms with multiple support staff, and firms looking for an all-in-one platform.

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The Legal Assistant

The Legal Assistant was designed by attorneys, for attorneys, and is true to its motto: From Legal Minds, For Legal Firms. It streamlines many everyday aspects of running a law firm — for instance, when the phone rings and you know the name of the caller, clicking a button reveals details of the caller with a complete history of past cases so you can immediately relate to the client.

• Pricing: $49-$63/module/month/user depending on cloud or on-site version, with discounts for multiple modules, users, and annual subscriptions.
• Free trial available? Free demo provided.
• Pros: On-site or cloud-based versions available. Affordable. Accessible from anywhere on any device via a web browser. Mac Friendly. Easy to use and no installation required with cloud installations. Strong on case management, client intake, client management, communication, calendaring, search, billing & invoicing, security, and document storage.
• Cons: No integration with third-party accounting software (yet).
• Best for: Solo attorneys and small to medium-size law firms looking to improve their firms’ case throughput and client relations cost-effectively.

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FastVisa

FastVisa bills itself as “the most efficient immigration practice management and legal intake software on the market.”

• Pricing: $45-$79/month/user depending on features required and annual/monthly billing. More customized “elite” version available — pricing on application. $199 setup fee and an optional $399 data migration fee.
• Free trial available? Free demo provided.
• Pros: Tools for every stage of an immigration law firm’s workflow, with a unique client portal to cut out unnecessary communications/emails. Auto-form filling. Custom reporting and client intake questionnaires are available. Simple collaborations between team members. Automated invoicing and document generation. Unlimited storage and case management. Enterprise-level security. Intuitive mobile app. Deadline and notification tracking. Payment processing integration with third-party systems such as LawPay. Library of updated USCIS immigration forms.
• Cons: Designed mainly for immigration lawyers.
• Best for: Immigration law firms of all sizes.

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Tips for selecting law practice management software

You now know a little about each legal practice management software package, but how do you select the right one for your firm?

You can whittle down your choice simply because some packages are designed for certain practice areas, like immigration or personal injury.

However, most of the above packages can be adopted by firms in almost any practice area. Here’s what you need to be on the lookout for when selecting your legal management software.

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Decide on cloud-based or on-premise management software

On-premise software is the traditional practice management software model, which is still available for some of the solutions described above. Your firm purchases licenses for individual staff members, and you install the software on each computer from a disk or by downloading it.

To share and retain the data within the firm, networking and backing up data from individual computers to a central file server is necessary. Staff may need to be physically in the office to access data unless a virtual private network (VPN) has been set up.

Cloud-based or SaaS software is legal practice management software accessed through a web browser. Data is stored in the vendor’s database instead of on a local office computer and anyone with valid login details can access it from anywhere, on any device with a web browser and an internet connection.

Cloud-based solutions are more common for practice management software now because of their many benefits, such as:

• Minimal setup requirements
• Low maintenance requirements
• Simplicity of use
• Ease of upgrade
• Robust security

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When you calculate costs, consider ongoing maintenance fees

Cloud-based software may appear to incur higher ongoing costs than on-premise solutions because of its per-user subscription-based model, paid monthly or annually. But that’s not the whole story.

There are few IT-related costs for maintenance, security, or troubleshooting with cloud-based solutions because everything is hosted, managed, and maintained by a third party. The likelihood of conflicts with existing software or other technical issues is lower than with dedicated on-premise servers. The running costs are also more consistent and predictable.

Cloud software service providers are generally large organizations with bank-grade security and skilled tech teams. Updates and security patches are installed as they become available, and technical issues are resolved quickly, resulting in very little disruption to the firm.

When calculating the costs of on-premise solutions, therefore, don’t just consider the upfront charges to purchase licenses and install the software on dedicated servers. Think about the time and expense of IT specialists to set your system up. You may also need regular visits from an IT consultant to handle updates, security patches, and to troubleshoot issues.

Besides these “hidden” costs of on-premise solutions, the licenses may need to be repurchased after a few years when a major revision of the software is released.

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How important is remote access to your firm?

Secure and remote access is key to how law firms work nowadays — and the pandemic only amplified this. Working at home, from the court, at a client’s premises, or elsewhere is simply part of many lawyers’ workday in 2022.

For instance, a modern lawyer needs to do the following from outside the office:

• Access evidence and documentation
• Research online
• Check calendars
• Communicate with clients/colleagues
• Log time

Cloud-based practice management is excellent for this, making it easy to log in securely to access firm information from anywhere, on any device, at any time. All you need is an internet connection and a web browser.

There’s no VPN or waiting until you get back to the office to access the server. Some cloud solutions even offer a dedicated mobile app that can be used to access, edit, and share information, as well as to track working hours on cases.

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How easy is migrating and training staff to use the software?

The right legal practice management software has the power to greatly simplify workflows and improve both productivity and the user experience for your people. But if it’s not right for you, it can create more headaches than it solves.

Your chosen law management software should be simple to set up or migrate from another platform and easy to learn and use.

When assessing the legal practice management software packages, ask yourself the following:

• Is free training and support provided to help you set up and use the software?
• How easy to use is the software (most of the newer ones have highly usable interfaces)?
• Will the software integrate with your firm’s existing systems without any issues?

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Is the software made specifically for law firms?

Dedicated legal practice management has many advantages over general business management software.

Law firms face unique time-tracking and trust accounting situations (to keep separate ledgers for client funds) as well as compliance and ethical requirements for each state jurisdiction. These do not apply to other types of businesses, so they’re not “baked into” the software that these businesses use.

Law firms also have strict data privacy and security requirements due to the extra-sensitive nature of client information. Cloud-based services usually offer robust backup systems, with data often stored in multiple locations protected by the most advanced security and encryption available.

By selecting legal software made for law firms, you ensure that these extra requirements are part of the native features of the package.

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Lift your practice to new heights

Many lawyers struggle with the business side of running a law firm. It’s not taught in law school.

Let the technology help with that side of things.

But there’s a lot of law firm practice management software on the market and selecting the best is not easy.

Whether you’re looking to switch or automate your practice management for the first time, take your time to get it right. Research and use free trials and demos – and get your practice running more smoothly, efficiently, and productively.