Max Frisch, a famous Swiss writer, once mentioned, “Technology is a way of organizing the universe so that man doesn’t have to experience it.” Very true! Adapting that school of thought and considering the advancement today, we can say that technology has almost become like the third hand of mankind. Everything today is dependent on technology to a greater extent. The legal industry is no exception. Legal software solutions are helping to boost the efficiency of legal professionals. To understand this better, let us first analyze what legal case management software solutions are, and how are they being used in the market today.
What is Legal Software?
Typically, you can learn the A to Z of law from all law schools; however, the management part of the law business can be a challenge to most of the attorneys. This is where legal softwarecomes into the picture.
According to the American Bar Association (ABA), mistakes which are related to deadlines and calendar often happens in most of the claims which vouch for claims of legal malpractice. An efficient Legal software solution canhelp avoid such malpractices.
Law practice management software is a type of software designed to help the law firms to manage all of their practice management needs. There are manytypes of legal software which help legal practitioners for the management of their clients, case records, important documents, schedules and appointments, deadlines, accounting, billing, and so on.Legal software can also assist in meeting various legal compliance requirements which are usually associated with document retention policies or the electronic filing systems of the courts.
Thus, using alegal software solution can be a wise decision as it can systematically organize the day-to-day operations as well as facilitate better management. Professionals are inclining towards using legal software, and thus, many law institutions, including the ABA, are providing assistance related to legal software. There are several free and open source law practice management software solutions in the market.
Now that we know what legal software and also the benefits of it are let us understand briefly, the differenttypes of legal software which are available in the market.
Types of Legal Software:
The importance oflegal software applications has become very important when it comes to modern law practice. Choosing the best legal software is directly linked to many variables. Most of the practitioners prefer to buy theirlegal software depending upon their area of practice. Irrespective of the type of law being practiced, practice management software could be addressed as a form of Customer relationship management. Here are the different types of legal software which come under the head of practice management software.
Case management Software looks after various functions which include databases, statutes of limitations, checking conflicts of interest, and so on.
Time Tracking:
This feature of legal software is very useful when it comes to billing. One can easily keep track of the time of billing with the help of this software.
Document Assembly:
Document assembly, as the name suggests, helps in keeping the documents of the particular case systematically.
The above mentioned systems are the most commonly used legal software. Other types of legal softwarewhich are pretty useful for law firms are password security software, disk encryption, mind mapping, and so on.
Now, as you are clear about the purpose of investing in a legal software solution, it is time to look at the best, and the most popular legal software available in the market. These software solutions are widely accepted and recommended by the law practitioners too.
The Most Popular Legal Software Solutions:
Here is a list and also the introduction of the most popular legal software solutions in the market. Hoping that the list provided herein will be of great use for you while choosing an apt law practice management software solution for your law firm.
Legal Desktop:
The Legal Desktop is a basic desktop application which can be used by everyone. It integrates with a suite of other applications like Microsoft Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Exchange mail service, Skype for Business and SharePoint) and Epona DMSforLegal (document management and email management).
One can easily add the Epona Contact Manager (CRM) as well as LegalWord (which deals with corporate identity, document assembly as well as templates). Legal Desktop is compatible with various time and billing applications such as FORTUNA, NEXTMatters, CClaw, Aderant Expert, Fidura, and Legalsense.
Have a look at the features which Legal Desktop has to offer:
- World-class up-time (99.8%)
- Storage and backup
- Real-time collaboration
- Powerful search
- Social networking integration
Legal Desktop is a cost-effective legal software system which boosts the productivity of the firm with increased security.
Product Summary
| Web based | No |
| Mobile App | No |
| Open Source | No |
| Self Host | No |
| Responsive | No |
AbacusLaw
AbacusLaw is a legal software solution which offers both cloud-based and on-premise case automation solution. This application is explicitly designed for legal practice purposes. AbacusLaw helps in managing workflows which include billing, time, and accounting operations.
This software takes care of centralization of documents, emails as well as notes which are related to matters and contacts. Handling form creation to producing signature-ready forms is also one of the perks of AbacusLaw. Abacus also offers an accounting module that integrates billing, timekeeping, and reporting into a single solution and is capable of handling trust accounts and retainers. This practice management solution also has a legal calendar management system that helps the users to manage appointments, tasks, and deadlines. The features of AbacusLaw are as follows:
- Court date calculator
- Rule-based calendaring
- Data security
- Time tracking
- Email management
AbacusLaw is an all-rounder legal software solution that can help you in automating your practice. This application will act as a guide and help you in your day to day work.
Product Summary
| Web based | Yes |
| Mobile App | Yes |
| Open Source | No |
| Self Host | Yes |
| Responsive | Yes |
PracticePanther is definitely one of the best legal software which is available in the market. This software is a user-friendly platform which has done a great job at bringing many capabilities into one platform. PracticePanther offers many features which make the work of the legal professionals easy to manage. Here is the list of the features which comes with this amazing legal software solution:
- Time tracking
- Scheduling
- Billing
- Payment processing
- Expense management
In addition to these features, this software has a robust CRM and case management components which are very efficient in facilitating and managing the contacts. These components are also very helpful as they can easily track everything in the office.
The distinguishing factors of PracticePanther from the rest of the legal software available in the market are the functionalities which this software offers. PracticePanther has smart features that include;
- The capability to create multiple bills with just one click acceptance of credit cards from the invoice
- Hourly billing
- Flat rate, or contingency
- Track trust account balances
- Integration with leading business apps
Furthermore, it is also very easy to track time and expenses on any device with the help of this practice management software. A client portal is also available, which is efficient in sending secure messages. This system makes use of enterprise-grade security with 256-bit military-grade encryption, and also has customizable security settings. Automation of real-time backups and HIPAA compliant file management are also the USPs of this software.
Apart from protecting the data of the firm, PracticePanther allows the user to work anywhere, which saves precious hours. One gets world-class support with a team of dedicated account managers, contact channels via email as well as phone and also a resource center that is filled with videos and tutorials. PracticePanther has got a satisfaction rating as high as 97% from thousands of law firms in around 35 countries which use this system. Irrespective of the size of a law firm, the price of this software will remain the same with zero setup or training cost and also free upgrades for the future.
Product Summary
| Web based | Yes |
| Mobile App | Yes |
| Open Source | No |
| Self Host | - |
| Responsive | Yes |
Clio
Clio is a legal practice management software solution which has been specially designed for better legal management. Clio offers all the functionalities, which are required to run a law practice effectively. Clio offers the following features:
- Case Management
- Client Management
- Data Management
- Documents Management
- Bills
- Calendars
- Time tracking
- Reporting
- Accounting
Clio is a complete management tool for law firms. Clio allows its users to efficiently and effortlessly organize case details, create workflows, set schedules, share documents, track billable minutes, create invoices, process payments, and manage accounts.
Clio offers an online platform to the users which simplifies the matter management through a user-friendly system that makes sure the important data is presented and easily accessed. This system also allows the user to undertake efficient management of information, including documentation, client appointments, case management, finance and accounting, time management, and reporting. Clio can connect with over 70 business apps. It comes as a robust platform in compliance with popular accounting, email, online storage, payment gateways, databases, and other software as well as services.
Clio proudly boasts of being the one and only legal software which integrates seamlessly with Fastcase. Fastcase is an app which provides an extensive national law library at one’s fingertips. Fastcase is inclusive of cases as well as primary law for all 50 U.S. states and comprehensive federal coverage. Clio legal software has definitely revolutionized the law research by allowing the user to search and sort under different categories, and visualize the data and cases in realtime on Fastcase. The users can even time their research session in Fastcase and have this activity recorded in Clio. This legal software offers three subscription plans which totally depend on the features and level of functionalities the law firm requires.
Product Summary
| Web based | Yes |
| Mobile App | Yes |
| Open Source | No |
| Self Host | Yes |
| Responsive | Yes |
My Case is a legal software solution which is a web-based legal practice management software that is meant to support small and medium-sized law firms. MyCase manages cases, looks after time tracking, automates the billing, and communicates with the clients. Here are the features which MyCase has to offer:
- All-in-one platform to handle contacts
- Scheduling
- Document management
- Case management
- Online billing and invoicing
- Time tracking
- Calendar management.
The perk of using MyCase is that this legal software solution does not require any technical knowledge. It has intuitive features which can be easily incorporated with any modern legal office environments and practices.
This platform enables the user to organize critical contact and case information. Sending secure, encrypted messages directly to clients can also be done effortlessly with MyCase. MyCases accepts online payments which include eCheck payments. The easy creation of professional invoices is also a very great feature of this legal software. Amongst others, the functionalities of MyCase include finding crucial documents while on-the-go from any device; quick and accurate bill hours; generating reports with one click; analyzing data; and syncing schedules with the clients through shareable calendars. Both the users as well as their clients, get to use a single secure online portal which has all the features for sharing information. MyCase makes two-way communication possible between the attorney and client as well as record and tracks the communication.
If you are using MyCase, you can literally leave your briefcase at the office as MyCase allows the user to work anytime and from any place. It is compatible with all the devices, and thus, accessibility is not a problem for the MyCase users. They can easily take their practice wherever they go. This software provides compatibility with android and IOS apps which let the users access vital documents, send and receive files, send and receive alerts and notifications for important events. It also keeps all the concerned updates about developments on a case. When it comes to pricing, MyCase offers one pricing plan which covers all the features and functionalities.
Product Summary
| Web based | Yes |
| Mobile App | Yes |
| Open Source | No |
| Self Host | Yes |
| Responsive | Yes |
Lexicata, ProLaw, LawGro, ZolaSuite are other best law practice management software solutions that you can try.
Conclusion
If you want to see your legal firm at the top, then investing in one of the top legal software solutions is the first step towards it. Using legal software will boost your business and will save a lot of time, money as well as human efforts.
Use the feedback form to write your reviews in case you have used any legal software solutions.
