Law Firm Software: Your 2023 Guide to Building Your Tech Stack
Finding the right Law Firm Software can be daunting, and even paralyzing, because there are so many options to sort through.
You have several different types of small Law Firm Software, each with overlapping purposes and feature sets.
You have vague terminology, premise-based and cloud options… and more.
For that reason, we maintain this comprehensive list of Law Firm Software, the definitive lineup of small law firm legal software. After reading this article, you’ll have answers to questions like:
- What software do law firms require?
- What contributes to a good technology strategy for law firms
- What is the best software in each category?
- Is cloud-based software or server-based software the best choice?
- What does each software offer?
- What do others have to say about the various options?
- and More!
In This Article
Introduction to Law Firm Software
Law Firm Software entails many things.
Whether it’s ancillary software, such as productivity software or note-taking apps, or software necessary for operations, such as Practice Management or Document Management Software, we cover it in this article.
One of the important things to remember is that you are creating a technology strategy for your firm. In doing so, you are looking to build a more streamlined workflow, give way to better collaboration, and become a more productive, successful law firm.
In our list of software for lawyers, I’ll explain and cover each of the main categories of Law Firm Software that your firm may need, a shortlist of the top software for that category, detailed features to make good decisions, and suggestions about choosing the best software for your firm’s needs.
As you go along, I recommend taking notes about the applications that speak to the needs you’re looking to fulfill. There are numerous applications that you can utilize, and with this article, you’ll have a better idea of where to start and what to pursue.
“LexWorkplace is very fast, and documents are easily accessible. Working remotely is seamless.”
Nathan Cobb
Law Offices of Nathan Cobb
See Why Lawyers Love LexWorkplace
Get Organized. Work Anywhere. LexWorkplace is modern Document & Email Management, born in the cloud and built for law firms.
Related: Building Out Your Law Firm Tech Toolbox
Watch the talk with Uptime Legal and Clio on how to build out your law firm software toolkit.
As you evaluate your law firm’s software and Tech Toolbox, you may have noticed that most law firms can benefit from having a robust technology strategy.
However, if we take it a step further, we can evaluate the future of your law firm altogether.
As your firm develops a better utilization of the software out there, it becomes easier to transition to a Virtual Law Firm. This means that you and your law firm has the capacity to work remotely.
Having a Virtual Law Firm gives way to better flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and overall happiness of both your firm and your clients.
Learn more below.
Related – Virtual Law Firm: A Complete Guide: Explore the possibilities of a Virtual Law Firm – the why and how.
Server-Based vs. Cloud-Based Software
When it comes to any software you use, an important consideration is whether you go with sever-based software or cloud-based software.
They both have their benefits, and ultimately, it’s up to you to weigh the pros and cons of both to determine the best route for your law firm.
Here, I’ll briefly discuss the general differences between the two.
Since LexWorkplace is a cloud-based platform, we clearly promote cloud-based software over server-based software. As we were determining how we can best server law firms, we understood that cloud technology is the way of the future.
With that being said, server-based software isn’t without its advantages and reasons to pursue it, such as:
- Do you already have servers and don't mind the operation and maintenance of onsite servers?
- Do you have software that you love for its functionality over mobility?
- Do you have a large network already set up that you're not willing to part with?
- Are there some robust features of server-based software you require?
With those reasons outlined, I do want to caution you about a few things if you decide to pursue server-based software.
For example, server ownership can be an involved, expensive, and irritatingly ongoing process.
Refer to this chart for an understanding of the lifecycle of servers. Backing up data and replacing servers is a necessity to avoid the risk of data loss.
Cloud-Based Document Management
If we’re talking about Document Management specifically, you’ll find that you run into the same issues.
Dinosaur DMS platforms are difficult to use, expensive to implement, and painful to maintain.
I understand that you may have used Legacy Document Management for most of your career, but the future holds a better option — Cloud-Based Document Management.
Watch the video below to understand the difference and why I, and many others, are favoring this newer form of software.
On the other hand, choosing Cloud-Based Software provides you with great benefits:
LexWorkplace Top Features
as a Cloud-based DMS
- Seamless Collaboration
- No Server Responsibility
- Better Data Security
- Lessened Need for Paid IT Support
- User Access/Permissions
- Work-Life Balance
- Ability to Pursue a Virtual Law Firm and a Paperless Law Firm
Other Cloud-Based Software
Similar to Document Management, the conversation continues when it comes to other forms of software you’ll use.
The pros and cons that you encounter when deciding between server-based and cloud-based software are important in considering all aspects of your workflow.
We’ve already discussed what it’s like to deal with servers — it goes beyond this.
When you have software, you will undoubtedly face issues that require IT Support. It doesn’t matter how good the software is or how trained your staff is. Issues happen.
What is important is that you understand the process for getting help when you need it the most.
For example, this is what IT Support looks like when you’re using server-based software.
As you can see, the process is a bit lengthy and wrought with unexpected costs. The burden is on you to stay on top of your software and to know when to seek the proper help.
In contrast, this is what IT Support looks like with a Cloud-Hosted solution, where you delegate the hosting and operation of your software to an authorized cloud provider, like Uptime Practice:
Uptime Practice Next
IT Support for Modern Law Firms
- Legal Software Support
- Office 365
- Cloud Storage
- Collaboration Tools
- Security & Compliance
- IT Help Desk
Need Legal-Centric IT Support?
Practice Next is a suite of legal software + IT support services, just for law firms.
Related – IT Support for Law Firms: Good IT Support goes a long way in the world of technology. Learn how to get the best support.
Categories of Law Firm Software
Here at Uptime Legal, we spend considerable time helping law firms navigate the world of small law firm legal software. A recurring theme is confusion around the different types of law firm software, and specifically which categories of software do what.
Often we’ll hear that a law firm is disappointed because their newly-acquired law firm software product wasn’t meeting their needs or expectations… only to find out that they purchased the wrong category of software.
For instance, a law firm might be exploring Practice Management software and see Document Management listed as an included feature for a contender only to find out that the included “Document Management” is little more than built-in basic online storage.
Similarly, Practice Management products that purport to include “Accounting” may be limited to billing and a general operating account.
While this article will cover numerous categories of software for lawyers, it’s important to understand that the core of law firm software generally falls into one of three categories:
Practice Management, Document Management, and Accounting
We call this the Three-Legged Stool of Law Firm Software. The confusion comes in that each of these three discreet and differentiated categories of software do overlap with one another.
It’s important to understand the differences (and the overlap) in these three primary silos of law firm software. Before spending time evaluating small law firm legal software, clearly identify which of these three categories of functionality your firm requires.
Legal Matter Management Software
You may have heard this term passed around and used interchangeably with Case Management, Practice Management, and Document Management. There’s a reason for this.
Legal Matter Management broadly covers both Case/Practice Management and Document Management functionalities. Therefore, Law Practice Management (LPM) software and Document Management Systems (DMS) can be considered subsets of Legal Matter Management.
These are vast categories that can be broken down into more specific tasks, which is where they overlap.
For example, Practice Management and Document Management Software may both have features that are intended to boost productivity.
While this may not be ideal for some, and it can seem misleading, it’s not without reason.
The software that claim to handle multiple tasks that would fall under more than one of the main categories we mentioned above tend to be limited in their functionality.
But that may be ideal for a law firm that needs a full-featured practice management software with limited accounting features.
Related – Legal Matter Management: Understanding the terminology used by law firm software helps make more informed decisions.
Productivity Software
Documents, Email, Collaboration
Productivity is the bedrock of law firm software. Productivity software generally encompasses the tools your team will use day-to-day, and includes word processing, spreadsheets and presentation, email, and sometimes tools to keep these resources organized.
In addition to providing basic word processing, spreadsheet and email apps, some law firm productivity platforms serve as the working hub of your law firm.
Office 365
Office 365 (now called Microsoft 365) is Microsoft’s cloud-based package of the Office suite and online services such as Exchange email, SharePoint and OneDrive.
Highlight: MS Teams for Chat & Collaboration
Katya: "A classic — for good reason"
"Overall, I'm 100% pleased with Office 365. I use Apple's pages/keynote/numbers/iCloud and Google's docs/slides/sheets/drive and they don't compare to Office 365."
Gregory: "Constantly freezes"
"Outlook 365 is horrible. I would not recommend it to anyone. It constantly freezes, and stops working I have to shut down and restart 3 or 4 times to get the incoming emails."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
Google Workspace
Google Workspace (formerly Google Apps and G-Suite) is a suite of lightweight web-based apps for documents, spreadsheets and email. Google Workspace is very easy to use, but users may find it’s features limiting.
Highlight: Browser-based Document Editing
Dominique: "Google Workspace is my go-to!"
"I love using Google Workspace as a one-stop shop for daily business operations. It integrates seamlessly on top of itself for creating sheets, and documents, using your email, sharing drive documents, sharing calendars, and everything else Google has to offer."
Shin: "High potential but lacks key features"
"Frustratingly unhelpful support resources. For any given issue, the Google team typically offers their canned response, which very rarely addresses the actual issue. Their "solutions" are analogous to the classic "have you tried restarting your computer?" response from PC tech support services. Which is to say, they only ever suggest the most obvious fixes, all of which have already been attempted and subsequently failed prior to reaching out to Support."
(Source: Law Firms from G2)
LexWorkplace
LexWorkplace is a document management & productivity platform for law firms. LexWorkplace allows you to store and manage documents, email and notes by client and matter.
Highlight: Save Documents & Emails to Matters
Maria: "Excellent and Looking Forward to the Future!"
"Thus far, LexWorkplace is extremely easy to navigate, use and implement! Tech support has been awesome and I am so looking forward to future developments!!! The software was extremely easy to rollout and is user intuitive: simple and not overly complicated. The Uptime LexWorkplace team makes the rollout process very easy!"
(Source: Law Firms from Capterra)
Verified User: "Not for solo endeavors."
"I am a solo-member law firm, so this wasn't the best deal for me. The demo looked promising but you do need to go through Uptime if you want the software."
(Source: Law Firm from Lawyerist)
Related – Legal Project Management Software: Leverage technology to keep your company on track and progressing.
Note-Taking Software
Taking, Organizing & Searching Notes
Next in our roundup of the best law firm software, we’ll cover popular note-taking software.
Note-taking apps do more than just replace the old legal pad: they bring a new level of organization, functionality and note-taking on the go.
Features of note-taking applications often include the following functionality:
- Digital Note-taking
- Handwriting with a Stylus
- Organize by Notebooks and Tags
- Create Tags and Annotations
- Document Scanning
- Save Web Pages (Web Clipper)
- Search Across All Notes
- Web Interface
- Sync to Multiple Devices
- Note Templates
Evernote
Evernote is a pioneer in cloud-based note-taking, and a favorite among law firms. Evernote allows you to take, organize and manage notes in a web browser or in a mobile app. Evernote has a beautifully clean interface and is easy to learn and to use.
Cloud and Desktop-based Apps
Vandana: "Excellent cloud-based digital notebook."
"It keeps me organized and best thing is it has easy data entry through typing as well as recording of voice notes. Data can be stored, easily accessed and edited. Searching documents is accurate and fast."
Chad: "Evernote has lost the plot and cannot seem to recover."
"The core service, the actual feature set, and the stability of Evernote have only seemed to get worse."
(Source: Law Firms from G2)
OneNote
OneNote is an application to take and organize notes, and part of the Office 365 suite. OneNote also integrates with the Office suite including Outlook for powerful meeting integration.
Cloud and Desktop-based Apps
André: "A perfect substitute for your old Notepad"
"Easy to use, has very good functionalities, it is totally integrated with the Microsoft Office programs, are the information are stored on the cloud, I can edit something on my computer and continue it on my mobile or tablet."
Robert: "It doesn't let you save your notes to a text file on your hard drive"
"I honestly just hate it right now. The automatic syncing is a neat feature when it works, but I need to be able to work with files when my internet goes out or the syncing just doesn't. Do not update to this latest version."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
Digital Signature Software
Document Signing, Editing, and Updates
In today’s digital landscape, ensuring the authenticity of documents and transactions is paramount. Digital signatures provide this assurance, acting as a cryptographic stamp of approval.
Much like a traditional signature, but bolstered with added security, digital signatures are vital in fields like e-commerce, legal documentation, and software distribution.
Dropbox Sign
Formerly HelloSign, Dropbox acquired this platform to integrate within its existing environment of cloud storage. This helps create a more seamless process.
Highlight: Integration with Dropbox
Tim: "Great Value"
"It's a super convenient and easy tool to get signatures digitally without burdening clients with a trip to the office. I use it at least once or twice a week if not more."
Verified User: "Decent product, but getting clunkier."
"The ability to manage templates via integration isn't possible, which is too bad. In fact, much of the functionality appears to be lost with a subpar integration."
(Source: Law Firms from G2)
DocuSign
A prominent player in the eSignature industry, DocuSign stands as a reliable choice for contract signings. Its robust security, compliance measures, and user-friendly interface set it apart.
Highlight: Compliance & Name Recognition
Catherine: "Fantastic for those who need a reliable product!"
"This is such an easy product to set up and use; anyone can do it. From multi-party signatures to workflows to mail merges it's all seamlessly integrated. As a legal services company, we love that the court system allows contracts signed via DocuSign to be entered into the record as legally signed."
Brendan: "Buggy software & unhelpful staff"
"Doesn't work. I paid to upgrade but even though they charged my account, wouldn't update the settings to give me the features I paid for. Customer service were completely unhelpful."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
Formstack Sign
As a rising star, Formstack has prided itself with similar mobility as DocuSign and numerous integrations to CRMs, Payment Processors, and more.
Highlight: Integrations
Andrew: "Formstack revolutionized our processes"
"The best part of Formstack is the ease of use, both for form creation and for end users completing forms."
Bret: "Zero Product Support"
"There is no support for this product, we've submitted a problem involving authentication using the API to the support multiple times."
(Source: Users from G2)
Related – Digital Signature Apps: Gain a better understanding of what Digital Signature apps have to offer, your top options, and how to choose.
Legal Accounting Software
Business Accounting, Trust Accounting, Financial Reporting
Next in our roundup of the best law firm software, we’ll cover legal accounting software.
These are applications that (in most cases) focus on the specific accounting needs of law firms (such as trust accounting), or general-purpose accounting software applications commonly used by law firms.
Accounting law firm software typically include the following functionality:
- General / Business Accounting
- Trust IOLTA Accounting
- Cash Basis (vs. Accrual)
- Multiple Billing Types
- Financial Reporting
- P&L, Balance Sheet, Cashflow
Accounting Software vs. Practice Management Software (The differences and the overlap)
Law Practice Management, Billing, and Accounting are three related, but discreet functions. And each can be managed with different software (or, all in one software suite). This is where the fuzzy terminology makes understanding what any given software package does confusing.
With that clarified, let’s take a look at our list of top legal accounting software for law firms.
Juris
Juris is a robust law firm billing and accounting platform. It’s incredibly robust and flexible, making it a top choice for law firms of 10 time-keepers or more. Juris provides full-fledged accounting as well as nuanced, detailed billing for a variety of billing models.
Server-based Software
Jesse: "Sensible timekeeping for productive billing"
"I like the "timer" function to ensure both accuracy and to prevent a moment from being wasted. Stopping, starting and pausing the timer allow me to fill my day most productively and allow me to document my productivity accurately. I like the ability to print daily and weekly juris reports for supervisory review - not only am I being self-accountable, but my superiors can review my time entries to see what projects are taking up most of my time."
Verified User: "Fairly clunky program"
"The functionality is quite limited. For example, I cannot highlight multiple rows of time I've entered to get a total for the day, and copy into Excel."
(Source: Law Firms from G2)
QuickBooks
QuickBooks is by far the most well-known accounting software. And for good reason, it’s robust, powerful yet easy to use. QuickBooks is not law-firm-specific, so while a great application, it may lack some of the legal-specific functions your firm requires.
Cloud and Desktop-based Options
Michelle: "Best accounting software there is!"
"I have been working as an Administrative Assistant for the past four years at a Debt Collection Law Office and I use Quickbooks every single day. It is a godsend! I use it to track so many different things, from payroll to client invoices, income and expenses and much more!"
Nicole: "I've never liked an Quickbooks products."
"Cons: Everything. If it takes an affiliate to set up the software for a customer to use effectively, it's too complicated or not what the market needs."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
PCLaw
PCLaw is a long-standing practice management and accounting solution for small and midsize law firms. It includes lightweight practice management with full-fledged accounting (including robust financial reporting).
Server-based Software
Anonymous: "Pretty Good Program for Billing"
"This software is pretty easy to navigate. Although it it takes a little bit of training, it becomes quite simple once you get the hang of it and figure out exactly what you are doing."
Linda: "PCLAW - don't use."
"It was good in the day but now, the system is incompatible with 64bit outlook so you cannot save the email, there is data corruption, customer service is poor."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
CosmoLex
CosmoLex is legal practice management software with end-to-end accounting. CosmoLex includes client management, time, billing, business accounting and trust accounting, eliminating the need for QuickBooks or other accounting software.
Cloud-based Software
Michael: "Great Software. Can be a learning curve."
"The built in efficiency. Great accounting system. Easy to generate invoices, apply payments, and print checks."
Amy: "Leaving CosmoLex after 60 frustrating days"
"CosmoLex is a great idea, but the execution completely fails at both the accounting and practice management components. Entering data in the software is ridiculously inefficient."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
ProLaw
ProLaw is a modular practice management platform that includes a module for complete accounting. With ProLaw, your law firm can manage its clients, matters, billing, documents and accounting on a single package.
Server-based Software
Laura: "Easy to learn"
"The interface is very user friendly. I am easily able to search for matters, dockets, and documents."
Ania: "Bumpy"
"The application seems to have a lot of bugs that need to be worked out. There have been times where I have been working on a document when the application has crashed. When re-started, the entire document has disappeared and no version can be recovered by IT."
(Source: Law Firms from G2)
Explore More Legal Accounting Applications
These represent our view of the top legal accounting products s within the broader scope of law firm software. To see even more options, check out our list of all of the law firm accounting software.
Related: Best Law Firm Accounting Software: Good accounting allows for better organization and a better understanding of where your firm excels and what needs work.
Time & Billing Software
Time Tracking, Expense Tracking, Invoicing
After productivity, the next law firm software a new firm tends to implement is time tracking and billing software.
Most, if not all Practice Management applications (which we’ll cover shortly) include time and billing. However, some firms don’t want or need everything that comes with a full-fledged Practice Management suite, and instead want a stand-alone time & billing app. For those firms, we’ll cover the top (mostly) pure time & billing products.
This is particularly true for law firms looking at small law firm legal software.
Time & Billing software typically include the following functionality:
- Time Tracking
- Expense Tracking
- Invoicing
- Revenue Reporting
- LEDES Billing (Some Applications)
- Basic Client Management
Bill4Time
Bill4Time is robust time & billing software, used by a variety of industries including lawyers. Bill4Time includes lawyer-centric features such as split-fee billing and ABA billing codes
Cloud-based Software
Jason: "Clean, easy to use billing software"
"The program is clean, simple, and available anywhere through the web and various applications for mobile devices. New users are easy to setup and manage. Reporting functions are easy to manage. Downtime is a non-issue."
Navid: "Stay away from Bill4Time - terrible service."
"Support non-existence. Have to repeat yourself over and over. I've called 5 times and left messages without a response. App has not been updated and does not supported the latest version of your phone's operating system."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
TimeSolv
TimeSolv is popular pure time & billing software. TimeSolv is easy to use, and includes time tracking, billing, invoicing, expense tracking and reporting.
Cloud-based Software
Ira: "An excellent product."
"Product is easy to learn and implement. Training staff was very helpful in the transition process. Ability to incorporate TimeSolv Pay was a bonus."
Sharon: "TimeSolv Review"
"Very little functionality. Need to be able to select "All" professionals to print individual reports for time entries. Reporting structure overall is limited."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
Sage Timeslips
TimeSlips, by Sage, is a long-standing time tracking and billing applications. Law firms have been using Timeslips for over a decade. The application is desktop/premise based.
Server-based Software
Patricia: "Highly Recommend for Any Law Firm."
"There are other billing platforms and products out there, but the consistent reliability of Sage Timeslips and its features make it a must-have for accurate law firm timeslips entry, billing, accounting, and maintaining client contact. Our firm has used Timeslips for over 20 years now."
Richard: "Problem with Customer Service."
"The cost of the service. I stopped using Timeslips about 3 years ago. I had purchased under the name of my old law firm St. George & Tejera, P.A. but the cost of Customer Service got close to $500.00 annually along with the cost of the product. I found Bill4Time which is run on the Cloud and their technical support is free."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
Payment Processing
Sales Pipeline Management, Intake Forms
Next in our roundup of the best law firm software, we’ll cover online payment processing solutions.
Getting paid is an important part of running a law firm, so having on online payment service is vital to growing and sustaining your law practice. Online payment services make paying your firm easy for your clients and automated for you.
Legal-centric online payment services, like the ones we explore below, will cater to the unique needs of law firms, including dealing with trust accounts and ABA billing codes. Online payment services are more than just cloud software for law firms, they are a service that provides payment clearing, authorization and other financial tools to help manage your practice.
Lawpay
LawPay may be the most well-known law firm payment processing solution. LawPay integrates with popular legal practice management software, and has been approved y 48 state bar associations.
Stand-Out Feature: Practice Management Integrations
Rachel: "Simple and functional"
"LawPay blends seamlessly with Cosmolex, so we can process card payments from the software we actually use daily. LawPay automatically generates invoices which we can email to customers."
Chandon: "Easy for use but expensive."
"High fees. And I would seriously caution any practioner taking online checks."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
Clio Payments
Clio Payments is Clio’s own payment processing service. While boasting many of the same features as it’s counterparts, Clio Payments is particularly useful for firms using Clio Manage or Clio Grow for practice management, CRM and intake software.
Stand-Out Feature: Clio Manage/Grow Integration
Missy: "Start with Clio and you won't need another software"
"It offers the best online payment options with flat percentage and fees so you can manage client payments easily."
Santiago: "Nice tool"
"It's a nice tool, but from a bookkeeper point of view it could have more features. In any case, it's a must-have tool for lawyers. The integration with QB online allows only one account in the Chart of Account and that doesnt allow having more information for reporting"
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
LexCharge
LexCharge, created by the team at Rocket Matter, is payment processing exclusively for lawyers and law firms, and includes built-in capabilities for managing trust payments, accounts and disbursements.
Stand-Out Feature: Trust Accounting Rules
Craig: "A Very Satisfied Customer"
"We are still getting familiar with the software and all of its features, but so far, our experience has been as good as we were hoping for. The best part about the software has been working with out account manager."
Michael: "They did not provide the service promised"
"Promise and don't deliver. An hour on hold is too long for support. Don't seem to have the staff. Very frustrating dealing with this outfit."
(Source: Law Firms from Capterra)
Headnote
Headnote, a relative newcomer to law firm payment processing, includes capabilities for both credit card processing and ACH / electronic check payments. Headnote offers a simple client interface and an easy-to-use management platform.
Stand-Out Feature: AR Management Features
Christopher: "My clients love the easy to use platform"
"Streamlined billing process and the new feature of creating agreements/retainers within the platform....Very convenient."
Julian: "Headnote has come a long way."
"Headnote could use some improvement on is its mobile compatibility. I would love the opportunity to have an iPhone app where I can add a client, send them an engagement letter, and invoice all in one shot."
(Source: Law Firms from Capterra)
Explore More Payment Processing Solutions
These represent our view of the top payment processing platforms within the broader scope of law firm software. To see even more options, check out our list of all of the legal payment processing platforms.
Related – Best Law Firm Payment Processing Solutions: Getting paid on time and with accuracy is important — choose the best software to ensure it.
CRM & Intake Software
Sales Pipeline Management, Intake Forms
Next in our roundup of the best law firm software, we’ll cover CRM & intake software.
A traditional CRM serves as a basic database of customers and prospective customers. More importantly, most CRM’s provide sales pipeline functionality, where you can track incoming “leads” (prospective customers), and manage communications and outreach.
Law firm intake software provides functionality to automate portions of the intake process, and usually includes practice-area specific forms and questionnaires for clients.
CRM and Intake are two discreet functions, but go well together in a single piece of software. Most law firm CRM & intake applications include:
- Client Database
- Prospect Database
- Workflow / Checklists
- Lead / Revenue Tracking
- Intake Forms
- Intake Workflow Automation
- Electronic Signatures
Clio Grow
Clio Grow (formerly Lexicata) is law firm CRM and intake software. Clio Grow provides sales pipeline tools, prospect management, customer intake features and pairs well with Clio Manage for law practice management.
Cloud-based Software
Lori: "One of the first users of Clio and still give five stars."
"Overall experience has been fantastic, and I have no intentions of ever-changing software. I will retire using Clio. Clio, along with Clio Grow, has enabled us to develop a smooth process for evaluating potential new clients using an intake questionnaire and customizing a pipeline."
Santiago: "Nice tool"
"It's a nice tool, but from a bookkeeper point of view it could have more features. In any case, it's a must-have tool for lawyers. The integration with QB online allows only one account in the Chart of Account and that doesnt allow having more information for reporting"
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
Law Ruler
Law Ruler is a law firm CRM, intake and marketing automation platform. Its marketing automation focus includes email drip campaigns as well as automated text messages. Law Ruler also includes a number of notable integrations.
Cloud-based Software
Jackie: "Best Legal CRM. Best user interface of any software used by the firm."
"Our process of interviewing potential clients would be unmanageable without Law Ruler. Managing our call volume and analyzing lead volume and quality would be impossible without Law Ruler."
Chad: "Law Ruler is great"
"It just takes a lot of front-end work to make it best for your specific business. But all CRM's do and I'm finding that the more work I put into it the more useful it is for the firm."
(Source: Law Firms from Capterra)
Lawmatics
Lawmatics is a law firm CRM, intake and marketing automation platform. Lawmatics includes marketing automation including email marketing, as well as client intake forms with digital signatures and workflow tools.
Cloud-based Software
David: "Premium, Customizable CRM that plays well with others!"
"I like that it "just works" once set up with an onboarding specialist. I had the benefit of using some other CRM tools that were "similar," albeit more expensive and with a less-clean user interface. Lawmatics was customizable to my workflow"
Anonymous: "Couldn't figure it out"
"It is too complicated. The setup takes quite a bit of thought and structure. It took me about three-four months to get it to do a few things in automation. There are a lot of variables in our firm and so you end up with a multitude of automations and keep track. Then the software changes and you must modify the set up or it won't work and clients complain."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
Related – Best CRM for Law Firms: Manage how you receive new leads and manage client relationships.
Practice Management Software
Clients, Contacts, Cases, Calendaring, Billing
Practice Management software lives at the center of many law firm’s technology toolbox. Practice Management software typically handles a law firms clients and contacts, case management, calendaring, document creation, time tracking, billing and accounting.
There are many applications to choose from today: Some focus more on “front-office” functionality (case management and calendaring), others focus more on “back-office” workflow (billing and accounting.)
There are well over 25 reputable Law Practice Management products in the market today. We’ll cover the top 7 in our law firm software review, and will provide a link to the complete list at the end of this section.
Practice management software typically include the following functionality:
- Client & Contact Management
- Matter Management
- Calendaring
- Task Management
- Time & Expense Tracking
- Invoicing
- Limited Accounting
- Document/Form Assembly
- Conflict Checking
- Client Portal
Sidebar: Practice Management vs. Document Management
Practice Management software is well-suited to manage your firm’s time tracking, billing, calendaring, contacts and tasks. Some Practice Management software also include limited or “light” Document Management. But to be clear, Practice Management and Document Management are not the same, and you should clearly understand your firm’s document management objectives before implementing new Practice Management software.
Related:
Clio Manage
Clio Manage is easy-to-use and flexible law practice management software. Clio helps manage clients, cases, calendars, tasks, time, billing & more. Clio aims to be the Operating System for your law firm, and can integrate with many other cloud-based apps your firm may use.
Cloud-based Software
Daniel: "Excellent Wrap-Around Product"
"Clio is a single software solution for law firms. The onboarding process is smooth thanks to the helpful team of trainers. The software is intuitive, so there is not a large investment of time for training. We could not be happier."
Santiago: "Nice tool"
"It's a nice tool, but from a bookkeeper point of view it could have more features. In any case, it's a must-have tool for lawyers. The integration with QB online allows only one account in the Chart of Account and that doesnt allow having more information for reporting"
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
LEAP Legal Software
LEAP is possibly the most robust of the web-based law practice management applications. It provides time, billing, client and matter management and calendaring. Where LEAP really shines is its comprehensive library of state and federal forms (document automation).
Cloud-based Software
David: "The best CMS available"
"LEAP is reliable, functional and easy to use. It is as simple as that."
Janice: "Unhappy customer"
"Your "support" and I use that term loosely, is horrific. There is only one "consultant" who ever knows how to fix anything. Unless I get that guy, it's pretty much over. Consultants are obviously talking to 3 and 4 people at the same time they are "chatting" with me and it takes forever for them to respond."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
PCLaw
PCLaw is a long-standing practice management, billing and accounting solution for small and midsize law firms. It includes lightweight practice management (clients, cases and calendars), coupled with robust time tracking, billing and accounting.
Server-based Software
Kathleen: "Highly recommend"
"Easy to use. Lots of features that we continue to discover."
Brenda: "My data was corrupted when we updated and support/service has been a nightmare."
"I am so sad and sorry that PCLaw went from an excellent product with great customer service to a terrible product that regularly corrupts data and no one at the corporation seems to care about it. The decline in service and the ability to contact tech support is noticeable and discouraging."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
Time Matters
Time Matters is a long-standing, popular Practice Management and Document Management solution. Time Matters is unique in its mix of LPM and DMS capabilities, a well as being one of the most customizable practice management products on the market.
Server-based Software
Shawna: "Excellent software to use if you run or work for a law firm!"
"I like that you can house all of your contacts in Time Matters and save related pleadings to a matter for everyone in your practice to access. I like the matter linking feature as well."
Duy: "Unreliable, Inaccurate, and Non-Responsive"
"This program advertises a ton of features, but (1) you pull your hair out trying to make it work, because it is not intuitive; (2) when you finally figure it out, it still doesn't work, and (3) even when there are no bugs you are left with a ho-hum, is this all?"
(Source: Law Firms from Capterra)
ProLaw
ProLaw is robust practice management, document management and accounting software for law firms. It’s the only legal software platform that includes all three of these main pillars to running a law practice.
Server-based Software
Laura: "Easy to learn"
"The interface is very user friendly. I am easily able to search for matters, dockets, and documents."
Alexander: "ProLaw failed to deliver due to their internal Professional Services team"
"The guidance given to our Law Firm, was terrible. We are completely cloud-driven, zero onsite servers. Yet we were advised to spin up 7 servers to host ProLaw and use their certified vendor to manage."
(Source: Law Firms from G2)
CosmoLex
CosmoLex is a cloud-based law practice management and accounting solution. It includes client and matter management, time, billing, business accounting and trust/IOLTA accounting, thereby eliminating the need for QuickBooks or other accounting software.
Cloud-based Software
Cole: "Outstanding Practice Management Software"
"The software is intuitive and straightforward. All necessary options are readily accessible from a simple menu structure, and the inclusion of detailed accounting functions is truly unparalleled."
Samantha: "Duped by Cosmolex - Only Cost-Efficient if Solo"
"I am giving this a poor review for the following reasons: (1) Cosmolex is really only price-efficient if you are a solo attorney. (2) They were not upfront about the pricing issues. (3) The lack of integrations (and the integrations they are getting) is really problematic."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
Tabs3
Tabs3 and PracticeMaster are a suite of robust case management, billing and accounting solutions for law firms. Tabs3 provides essential “back-office” functionality and PracticeMaster provides powerful “front-office” capabilities.
Server-based Software
Bryan: "Tabs 3 is a great product for small to midsize law firms"
"Intuitive. Easy to learn. Great technical support based in the United States. U.S. based company that is not owned by one of the giant legal industry firms. A network of consultants who are passionate about the product. Well thought out and tested updates."
Steven: "Stay Clear"
"System crashes and they seem to be more concerned about upselling to the better system. Why would anyone spend more for the better system with a company that can't get the basic system to work"
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
Explore More Practice Management Products
These represent our view of the top practice management products within the broader scope of law firm software. To see even more small law firm legal software, specifically practice/case management, check out our list of all of the law practice management products.
Related – Best Law Practice Management Software: Managing your practice starts with great software. Ensure you’re choosing software that works with your firm’s wants and needs.
Document Automation Software
Automating Creation and Drafting
Drafting documents can be time-consuming. A simple letter might only take minutes, but intricate legal documents like contracts can demand hours of meticulous work.
Thankfully, top-tier document automation software for law firms streamlines this process, offering significant time and effort savings.
- Document Templates
- Document Library
- Document Storage
- Client Self-Service Portal
- Software Integrations
- Conditional Logic
- Auto-Population
- Remote Access
- Electronic Signatures
- Various File Types
Lawyaw
Lawyaw enables you to craft templates, tap into an extensive library of pre-existing forms, electronically sign documents, among other features.
Highlight: Integration with Clio Manage
Beau: "Great for document automation"
"It integrates well with our existing software and the development team has been exceptional to with with"
John: "Its a bad investment from a great company"
"Difficult to use for a non computer programmer and is not very intuitive. You cant change fonts and customer service is a little lacking on understanding lawyers use this product not programmers."
(Source: Law Firms from Capterra)
LEAP
This cloud-based Practice Management Software is an ideal choice for those aiming to integrate Practice Management with Document Automation.
Highlight: Practice Management Software + Document Automation
Charles: "LEAP Into Success!"
"It is continually being developed as we continue to work. Being able to generate large documents that can be used repeatedly at a substantial fee is a valuable asset."
James: "Lots of Promises but Subpar execution"
"Billing system feels incomplete, calendaring in this program is basically non-existent as Outlook is where the calendar is stored. The calendaring has caused many issues and resulted in missed appointments."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
Documate
This established application boasts a versatile API conducive to app integrations. It serves both as a document assembly/automation platform and an online forms tool. Importantly, it features a Microsoft Word add-in.
Highlight: Flexible API for Application Integrations
Tika: "Using Documate for my small business, and it seriously speeds up document production!"
"The program helps me generate agreements and price lists for my event planning business. It was to set up, because it requires no prior coding experience, and it's saved me so much time."
Joy: "A great solution for automation."
"The implementation is a process. Identifying the questions you need to ask and inserting the code into the relevant documents can require a bit of troubleshooting and computer coding knowledge."
(Source: Law Firms from Capterra)
Related – Document Automation Software: Explore the different software to automate your document creation and assembly.
Top-tier document automation software for law firms offers document assembly as a core feature, but effective document management requires more.
Essential tools also encompass storage, enhanced search functions, version control, optical character recognition (OCR), and beyond.
Bring Law and Order to Your Documents
LexWorkplace Includes:
- Document Profiling / Metadata
- Structured by Client/Matter
- Organize With Folders and Tags
- Save Emails to Matters
- Built-In Version Management
- Add Notes to Docs & Email
Cloud Storage Platforms
Simple online storage for law firm documents
Next in our roundup of the best law firm software, we’ll explore cloud storage platforms.
These are online document storage systems that are simple, both in terms of ease of use and in terms of features. If your law firm is looking for secure cloud storage, but needs a very light feature set, one of these products might be a good fit within your law firm software toolbox.
Cloud storage platforms typically include the following functionality:
- Create Folders and Subfolders
- Store and View Documents Online
- Sync Files/Folders to Local Device
- Share Documents With Others
- Limited Search Capabilities
Microsoft OneDrive
OneDrive, part of Office 365, provides simple cloud storage and is built right into Windows, making it an easy and obvious go-to for simple storage needs. OneDrive includes basic online storage and easy external sharing.
Industry Focus: None (General-Purpose)
Naveen: "Efficient Cloud Storage Solution"
"Easy Integration. OneDrive integrates smoothly with Microsoft Office. Accessibility. Collaborative. Automatic Syncing."
Franci: "So not connected to clients wishes"
"Usability, ease of use, access and use of sharing, basically everything. Expensive and really hard to setup and use."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
Google Drive
Google Drive, part of Google Workspace, is a popular cloud storage and file backup service. Google Drive is part of the Google Ecosystem which means its easily accessible from your Android phone and integrates with other services such as Google Docs and Google Photos.
Industry Focus: None (General-Purpose)
Kim: "An exquisite cloud storage platform."
"I most enjoyed the reasonable price for business plans compared to other products. You get a much better value for money especially for the amount of storage space. Google Drive is the most easy to use cloud storage software that I have experience with."
Mike: "Google Drive"
"I hate it and need to do workarounds for all employees to access files and ensure that they ones that they access are the most recent/up to date."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
Dropbox
Dropbox was the first, and is possibly the most well-known basic cloud storage solution. It provides easy-to-use cloud storage for individuals or teams. Dropbox can sync your file system across multiple devices.
Industry Focus: None (General-Purpose)
Myrna: "My go-to cloud service."
"I like Dropbox's simple and easy-to-use interface. And from a business standpoint, the price is fairly reasonable. I also love the security that Dropbox provides by acting as a digital backup just in case anything happens."
Kevin: "Good for general usage"
"They don't have any options that are HIPAA compliant for protected data, so you have to use caution on what is uploaded to their service."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
LexWorkplace
LexWorkplace is secure cloud storage with sophisticated tools needed by law firms. LexWorkplace allows you to store and manage documents, email and notes by client and matter.
Industry Focus: Legal
Steven: "Version control alone makes it worth it"
"Version control and having everything accessible online (as opposed to a server in the office) are the best parts of the software."
(Source: Law Firm from Capterra)
Verified User: "Not for solo endeavors."
"I am a solo-member law firm, so this wasn't the best deal for me. The demo looked promising but you do need to go through Uptime if you want the software."
(Source: Law Firm from Lawyerist)
Cloud Storage Caveats
Simple cloud storage solutions are an attractive easy-button for storing your law firm’s documents in the cloud. These solutions do, however, come with drawbacks that become more pronounced as law firms grow beyond just a few users.
Related Video:
Explore More Cloud Storage Solutions
These represent our view of the top cloud storage platforms within the broader scope of law firm software. To see even more options, check out our list of all of all cloud storage solutions for law firms.
Related – Best Cloud Storage for Law Firms: Having a centralized place to store your files gives way to better organization and efficiency.
Document Management Software
Full-Text Search, Version Management, Email Management
Next in our roundup of the best software for lawyers, we’ll cover legal document management software.
Document Management Systems (sometimes referred to as a DMS) is software that stores documents and provides more robust tools to manage them than you would otherwise see in basic cloud storage or practice management software.
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, legal document management software performs the following functions:
- Document & File Storage
- Document Profiling / Metadata
- Full-Text Search
- Unique ID for Each Document
- Document Check-Out / In
- Document Sharing / Receiving
- Microsoft Office Integration
- Document Version Management
- Email Management / Outlook Integration
- Permissions Management
- Favorite & Recent Documents
Document Management Security
Moreover, quality cloud-based legal document management products will provide additional security features, including:
- Data Encryption In Transit and At-Rest
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
- Geographic Data Redundancy
LexWorkplace
LexWorkplace is document & email management software for law firms. LexWorkplace works with Windows and Macs, and allows you to store and manage any type of document. LexWorkplace includes full-text search, version management, and Office/Outlook integration.
Cloud-based Software
James: "Easy to use and reliable"
"LexWorkplace is to access, simple to use and simple to organize. It allows thousands of documents to be stored in an organized manner with complete flexibility for organizing clients and matters. The "tag" feature and other file labels are customizable to allow for information about the status of a matter to be known at a glance. Perhaps the best feature of LexWorkplace is that is is a very stable platform with virtually no downtime. The developers are not constantly tweaking the interface so that there is no need to constantly adjust your interaction with the platform."
(Source: Law Firm from Capterra)
Verified User: "Not for solo endeavors."
"I am a solo-member law firm, so this wasn't the best deal for me. The demo looked promising but you do need to go through Uptime if you want the software."
(Source: Law Firm from Lawyerist)
Worldox
Worldox is long-running document management software. As a mature product, Worldox is powerful and cable, and integrates with a number of practice management product. Worldox requires a moderately sophisticated server infrastructure.
Server-based Software
Anonymous: "It is powerful but lacks some necessary ease of use"
"I like the power of the various options provided including the version ability and built in comparison feature."
Angela: "I wouldn't recommend. There are more organized and user-friendly systems out there."
"not a system for storing finalized documentation and easy retrieval. Further - there is no uninstall protocol, years after cancelling and terminating and removing from your network, you will still have Worldox linked to your system. It is overly frustrating to use a system that didn't perform."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
iManage Work
iManage Work is a long-standing DMS used by a variety of industries. iManage is powerful and provides many niche features for managing documents in a large law firm. iManage does require significant server resources, as well as a highly specialized IT expert to implement and administer.
Server-based Software
Andrey: "Awesome tool to manage the documents in the daily work"
"Seamless sharing of document and file changes like revisions, edits, redlines. It helped us to rise our productivity through the good management of files and emails."
Nicole: "Painful and slow system"
"It is slow. Cloud-based shouldn’t mean incredible latency when opening, saving, filing or sending documents. The latency for this product is poor. When fully integrated with outlook and other tools, this poor latency means that simple day-to-day tasks take much longer and many more clicks."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
ProLaw
ProLaw is a combination Practice Management, Document Management and Accounting solution for law firms. While its document management functionality isn’t quite as robust as some of the stand-alone DMS solutions, its all-in-one nature makes it a strong platform.
Server-based Software
Carlos: "We are satisfied with Prolaw"
"They have always answered back when we contacted them; if asked, they work diligently to update the software with the latest version."
Ania: "Bumpy"
"The application seems to have a lot of bugs that need to be worked out. There have been times where I have been working on a document when the application has crashed. When re-started, the entire document has disappeared and no version can be recovered by IT."
(Source: Law Firms from G2)
Microsoft SharePoint
SharePoint, part of Office 365, is an Intranet and lightweight document management system. SharePoint has lightweight DMS features, though is not configured for law firms (client/matters) out of the box, and requires setup by a professional.
Cloud-based Software
Julliana: "View, Edit and Save your Company Files in Real Time"
"Setting up Sharepoint was quite simple. Also, the ability for multiple users to share/edit/view documents in realtime is excellent."
Angeline: "Work intranet to connect"
"It took a while to actually get used to using SharePoint. Adding documents or even updating a site, you need to checkout, check-in and publish which are a lot of steps to do. However, once I got the hang of it, it became easier to use."
(Source: Law Firms from Software Advice)
Explore More Document Management Products
These represent our view of the top document management products within the broader scope of law firm software. To see even more options, check out our list of all of the law document management products.
Related – Best Law Firm Document Management Software: Like advanced cloud storage built for law firms, with useful features and functionality.
Law Firm Software – Next Steps
There you have it, our overview of the top law firm software. This list of applications should be useful whether you’re starting a new firm and just building your legal tech stack, or are a mature law firm looking to modernize your law firm software.
I recommend taking time to go through each category of Law Firm Software.
While doing so, start by writing down what your firm would like, love, and need. From there, you can evaluate the options that I list to determine which one best suits your needs.
As always, feel free to contact us if you need help deciding.
Onward and Upward!
Frequently Asked Questions - Law Firm Software
Law firm software is a specialized tool or suite of tools designed to help law firms streamline and manage their daily operations, including matter management, document handling, billing, client communication, and more.
Law Firm Software is often categorized into three types: Practice Management, Legal Accounting, and Document Management.
However, you’ll often find that these three categories overlap based on what they offer/what they’re capable of.
You could potentially find more categories than this, but this is a good summary of the most important types of Law Firm Software.
- Productivity Software
- Note-Taking Software
- Digital Signature Apps
- Legal Accounting Software
- Time & Billing Software
- Payment Processing
- CRM & Intake Software
- Practice Management Software.
- Document Automation Software
- Cloud Storage Platforms
- Document Management Software
Law firms deal with unique challenges such as legal compliance, client confidentiality, detailed case tracking, large document volume, specific billing needs, and more.
Specialized software ensures that these needs are met efficiently.
Reputable law firm software solutions prioritize security, often employing encryption, two-factor authentication, and regular audits.
However, always verify the security features before committing to any platform.
Most modern law firm software solutions offer some level of integrations with popular tools like email platforms, calendar apps, accounting software, and other legal software to ensure seamless workflows.
Both have advantages. Cloud-based solutions offer accessibility from anywhere, absolve you of various burdens, and allow you to focus more on actual legal work instead of IT issues.
On-premises solutions sometimes provide more control over data and can be customized, but they might require an initial larger investment and require you to manage your technology more closely.
Yes, many law firm software tools promote collaboration by allowing multiple users to work on cases, share notes, assign tasks, and communicate through integrated messaging platforms.
The difficulty varies. Some software solutions offer built-in migration tools or services, while others might require manual data transfer or the assistance of a third-party service.
Absolutely. Many software providers offer scalable solutions suitable for solo practitioners or smaller practices, ensuring they benefit from automation and management tools without the need for extensive functionalities meant for larger firms.
Looking for Document Management Software?
LexWorkplace:
Modern Document Management for Law Firms
LexWorkplace is document & email management software, born in the cloud and built for law firms. Here’s a quick primer on how it works.
Organize by Client & Matter
Organize documents, email and notes by client or matter. Store and manage all data for a case or project in one place.
Go Beyond Basic Files & Folders
Supercharge your firm’s productivity with true DMS functions.
- Version Management
- Document Tagging & Profiling
- Document Check-Out / Check-In
- Microsoft Office Integration
- Convert Word Docs to PDF
Search Everything
LexWorkplace is like Google for your law firm. Search across millions of pages, documents, folder email and notes in seconds. Refine your search by matter, document type, author and more.
Search by…
- Client or Matter
- Document Type (Contract, Complaint, Order, etc.)
- Document Status (Draft, Final, etc.)
- Document Tags (Filed With Court, Fully Executed, etc.)
Outlook Integration + Comprehensive Email Management
Save emails to a matter without leaving Outlook. Saved emails are accessible to your entire team, organized and searchable.
- Outlook Add-In that Works With Windows and Macs
- Save Entire, Original Email to a Matter in a LexWorkplace
- Email De-Duplication
- Organize Emails into Folders, Subfolders
Works with Windows and Macs
All of LexWorkplace is compatible with both Windows and Mac computers.
What Clients Say
Lawyers love LexWorkplace. See how the system streamlined one lawyer’s practice.
Watch the 5-Minute Demo
See LexWorkplace in action in our quick 5-minute overview and demonstration.
Or, if you want a one-on-one demo, or want to talk about LexWorkplace for your firm, schedule a call or demo below.
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