
iManage Alternatives for Law Firms
iManage is popular document management software used by a variety of industries, including law firms. For one reason or another, however, you might be looking for iManage alternatives. In this article, we summarize the top iManage alternatives used by law firms today.
Document Management Software
Before we explore the top iManage alternatives, we’ll briefly define the software category. Document Management software stores documents and email, and (if the software is legal-centric) does so in a client/matter-centric way.
Document Management software typically provides full-text search, document tagging, document profiling, version management, check-out/check-in, external sharing and more.
#1
LexWorkplace


LexWorkplace is a cloud-based, matter-centric document & email management system. LexWorkplace works natively on both Windows and Mac OS. LexWorkplace will keep your documents, email and notes organized by matter, indexed and searchable. LexWorkplace includes document versioning, powerful search, email management/Outlook integration and document tagging/profiling.
#2
ProLaw


ProLaw is a combination Practice Management, Document Management and Accounting software. While ProLaw’s document management capabilities are leaner than stand-alone DMS software, ProLaw is the only application that provides practice, document and accounting management in one product. ProLaw is server-based, which means it requires a sophisticated on-premise server or a robust private cloud.
#3
Worldox


Worldox is long-running legal document management software. It’s one of the original document management platforms, and integrates with a number of premise-based practice management applications. Worldox can be run on-premise or in a hosted server solution.
#4
LEAP


LEAP is robust Practice Management software with integrated Document Management and Document Assembly capabilities. In addition to standard client/case management, LEAP includes many local and federal forms, allowing you to quickly generate and save most commonly-used forms and documents.
#5
SharePoint


SharePoint, part of Microsoft’s Office 365 suite, is a cloud-based Intranet, company portal and lightweight Document Management System. Law firms can configure libraries and manage documents for client or matters. However, SharePoint requires customization by a SharePoint expert to be useful.
Legal Document Management Software - A Guide to Features
Generally speaking, legal document management software is special software that stores your documents and provides tools to manage them. The ‘manage’ part of document management software’s capabilities is what sets it apart from using a basic on-premise file server or simple cloud storage.
Document management software can come in either an on-premise variety (installed on your own local servers) or can be cloud-based. The scope, features and capabilities of any given legal document management software varies from product to product; though broadly speaking, DMS software performs the following functions:
Document & File Storage
The basic storage of documents and other types of electronic files.
Document Profiling / Metadata
The ability to apply attributes (metadata) to documents, including document classifications, types and tags, as well as the ability to apply internal notes to documents. For instance, the ability to classify a document as a contract or an order.
Full-Text Search
The ability to search across all documents (and sometimes email), including the file name, metadata and content of documents.
Unique Document ID
Every document is assigned a unique ID, which does not change even if the file name or location of the document does.
Document Check-Out / In
The ability to check a document out, prohibiting others from changing it while the document is checked out to you.
Microsoft Office Integration
Direct integration with the Office suite, typically including Microsoft Word and Outlook.
Document Version Management
The automatic creation and tracking of versions of documents as they are changed.
Email Management
The ability to easily save email messages to a matter, typically via an Outlook add-in. Learn more about Email Management for Law Firms.
Permissions & Access Management
The ability to permit (or restrict) access to particular matters or data within your firm.
Favorite & Recent Documents
Quick and easy access to recently accessed documents, as well as the ability to "pin" documents as a favorite.
Matter Notes
The ability to create and save Matter Notes within the DMS software.
More modern, cloud-based Document Management Systems sometimes include these more sophisticated features:
Full Windows & Mac OS Compatibility
Native Windows and Mac support, without the need for virtualization software (such as Parallels).
Practice Management Integration
Integration with your chosen Law Practice Management software such as Clio Manage.
Geographic Data Redundancy
Automatic replication/backup of your data to geographically redundant data centers.
End-to-End Data Encryption
Full encryption of your data in-transit and at-rest, adding enhanced security and compliance.
Multi-Factor Authentication
MFA, requiring a second factor to log into the system, enhancing security and compliance.
Legacy Document Management SoftwareAs we wrap our our outline of iManage alternatives, we'll close on this note:
Document management software has been around and in use for a long time. Unfortunately, some of the older applications present significant challenges for law firms looking to implement new document management software. Older applications often require expense server infrastructure and a specialized consultant to setup and manage the installation.
We cover these challenges (and what to do about it) in our video: The Problem With Legacy Document Management Software.
We hope you found this lineup of iManage alternatives useful. Should you wish to learn more about document management software and today’s options, don’t hesitate to contact our team.
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