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Legal practice management software is a complete firm management system that helps law firms manage day-to-day workflows and business operations within their legal practice. Law practice management software allows firms to manage cases, contacts, calendars, documents, time entries, billing, payments, accounting, and more.

While there are a number of law practice management software options available, legal practice management software is designed to suit the unique needs of legal practice. Not only is law software made specifically for law firm workflows, it is often vetted by regulatory bodies to ensure that it complies with rules of ethical conduct in the legal profession.

With so many legal practice management software to choose from, you’d want to make sure you choose the one that works best for your law firm—one that decreases overhead costs, enhances productivity, and ultimately increases billable hours and profitability. This comparison page highlights the pros and cons of popular legal practice management software—and shows why 150,000 legal professionals choose Clio over the competition.

Cloud-based legal software (also referred to as web-based or software as a service (SaaS)) embodies the new software model that has emerged with modern internet technologies. Cloud-based legal practice management software is accessed through a web browser, such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge. Much like using Google’s Gmail, Dropbox, or an Amazon shopping cart, data is stored in the vendor’s database instead of on a local office computer. This means that as long as they have a valid username and password, firm staff can log in to their firm’s practice management software from virtually any web browser, regardless of whether they’re in the office, at home, or another remote location. This can offer several benefits in terms of the overall setup and maintenance costs, compatibility, usability, and security.

You can see why cloud-based legal practice management software is preferable over on-premise solutions, which represent the more traditional software model. With on-premise legal software, companies purchase licences for individual staff and then install the software from a disk or via download. The software runs on each individual’s computer, and all information is stored on that same computer. Since it’s important that information be shared and retained within the law firm, most firms will also network and back up data from individual computers to a central file server shared across the firm. This network is typically limited to a firm office, which means that staff need to be in the office to access, share, or back up data. To access the database from outside the office, a virtual private network (VPN) would need to be set up and maintained.

As busy legal professionals, you need to make sure your law practice management software has all the features you need to run your practice effectively and efficiently. The core features you need are: Case, document, contact, and task management, billing, accounting, calendaring, online payments, and time and expense tracking. Clio Manage includes all of these great features, and more. Learn more about Clio Manage, Clio Grow, and the additional value you will enjoy as a Clio user.

Legal software helps lawyers improve their day-to-day. There are a variety of legal software solutions to help with any kind of task, including client intake, marketing, practice management, and more. There are even solutions that address the challenges of specific practice areas, including family law, bankruptcy, civil litigation, and more.

Cloud-based legal software stores case and client information securely in the cloud. This allows lawyers to access key files and information, collaborate with colleagues, and share bills or information with clients from anywhere. Good cloud-based legal software is crucial for keeping your case information secure, backed-up, and safe.

Typically, lawyers use a variety of different technologies, including document processing software, spreadsheet software, email software, and an accounting tool. Growing law firms scale and become more efficient by making the most out of additional technologies that help with marketing, client-intake, collections, and back office efficiency.

The more tools you use, the more difficult it is to ensure consistency of information across them all, and to eliminate duplicate work. For this reason, many firms are switching to practice management software that integrates with all their office tools to keep information consistent and ensure everything related to each case is available in one place. When this practice management software is cloud-based, law firms can also ensure details are accessible to those at the firm who need to work with them.