Best Legal Software 2021

Legal software is built to support the day-to-day operations of legal practices. While legal practices typically use several software tools, by far the most important is legal practice management software. Legal practice management software includes features used by front office staff, lawyers, and paralegals such as client intake, case management, contact management, scheduling, task management, document management, time and expense tracking, billing and invoicing, online payments, an online client portal, and reporting.

There are numerous reasons why legal practices purchase legal software. Practice management software helps streamline practice operations, which saves time and increases practice profitability. In addition, billing features help law firms get paid faster.

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Highest Rated Legal Practice Management Software

Legal practice management software helps law firms streamline workflows and business operations. As a result, law firms that invest in this type of software better serve their clients and grow at a faster rate.

PracticePanther
Rating: 92
Starting Price: $49 per month

PracticePanther is a popular legal practice management solution used by thousands of legal professionals in over 170 countries. PracticePanther includes features such as task management, a calendar, document management, time tracking, billing & invoicing, and online payment processing. PracticePanther is ideal for small to medium firms with 8 to 20 attorneys. PracticePanther is one of the only solutions that offers robust built-in CRM functionality.

Pros:
  • PracticePanther offers built-in CRM software on their platform
  • PracticePanther’s automated invoice reminders helps maximize payment collection
  • PracticePanther includes robust document and task management features
Cons:
  • PracticePanther does not offer native two-way texting capabilities
  • PracticePanther does not offer built-in accounting in its platform
  • Flat fees are only available in the most expensive subscription plan
Clio Manage
Rating: 90
Starting Price: $49 per month

Clio Manage is a popular legal practice management solution used by over 150,000 legal professionals. Clio Manage includes features that help legal professionals automate key tasks and grow their law firms. These features include contact management, a calendar, document management, time tracking, billing, and online payment processing. Clio Manage offers more third-party integrations than any of its competitors. We recommend Clio Manage for small to medium sized law firms with a complex tech stack that needs a solution with a high volume of integrations.

Pros:
  • Clio Manage offers over 200 integrations with third-party solutions
  • Clio Manage includes unlimited document storage in all subscription plans
  • Clio Manage offers exceptional support and training
Cons:
  • Clio’s CRM software, Clio Grow, must be purchased separately
  • Clio Manage does not offer robust built-in accounting in its platform
  • Clio does not include built-in texting in their platform
MyCase
Rating: 89
Starting Price: $59 per month

MyCase is a widely-used practice management solution used by thousands of law firms. MyCase is a robust solution that includes both practice management and CRM features. These features include case management, contact management, client intake forms, lead management, calendaring, and time tracking. Additionally, MyCase is more affordable than many of its competitors that offer similar functionality.

Pros:
  • MyCase includes native two-way texting capabilities in its platform
  • MyCase offers client intake forms and lead management tools
  • MyCase is more affordable than many of its competitors
Cons:
  • MyCase’s CRM features are not as robust as some of its competitors
  • MyCase offers limited integrations with third-party solutions
  • MyCase does not include built-in accounting tools
CASEpeer
Rating: 84
Starting Price: $65 per month

CASEpeer is a legal practice management solution for personal injury attorneys. This solution includes features such as contact management, case management, medical treatment tracking, lien tracking, and reporting. CASEpeer is one of the only solutions on the market that specializes in personal injury cases.

Pros:
  • CASEpeer is one of the only solutions that specializes in personal injury cases
  • Case management features include injury and medical treatment tracking
  • CASEpeer offers two-way texting capabilities
Cons:
  • CASEpeer does not include online payment processing
  • CASEpeer does not include timers, and time entries must be logged manually
  • Invoicing features are less robust than many of its competitors
CosmoLex
Rating: 84
Starting Price: $89 per month

CosmoLex is a legal practice management solution used by thousands of legal professionals. This solution helps law firms grow with features including a dashboard, document management, time tracking, accounting, and reporting. CosmoLex is one of the best cloud-based legal practice management solutions that includes built-in accounting.

Pros:
  • CosmoLex includes a built-in legal-specific accounting suite
  • CosmoLex is ideal for law firms that prefer working with less software vendors
  • CosmoLex does not enforce long-term contracts
Cons:
  • CosmoLex is not ideal for law firms that use third-party accounting software
  • CosmoLex does not include client intake forms
  • Documents and files stored in CosmoLex cannot exceed 100mb
Amicus Attorney
Rating: 81
Starting Price: $69.99 per month

Amicus Attorney is an on-premise legal case management solution that is used by thousands of legal professionals. Amicus Attorney includes features that help legal professionals grow their businesses including contact management, task management, document management, time and expense tracking, and online payments. We recommend Amicus Attorney for small to medium sized law firms with 1 to 20 attorneys that desire a proven and tested on-premise solution.

Pros:
  • Amicus Attorney is a proven and tested solution that is trusted by thousands of legal professionals worldwide
  • Amicus Attorney is ideal for customers that have already implemented an accounting solution
  • Amicus Attorney is ideal for those that desire an on-premise solution
Cons:
  • Amicus Attorney does not offer built-in accounting
  • Amicus Attorney’s user interface appears outdated compared to some of its competitors
  • Because of the additional cost to join Abacus Private Cloud, Amicus Attorney is less ideal for those who desire a cloud-based solution
AbacusLaw
Rating: 81
Starting Price: $69.99 per month

AbacusLaw is an on-premise legal practice management solution that is used by thousands of legal professionals worldwide. AbacusLaw includes features that help legal professionals efficiently manage their firms including a rules-based calendar, time tracking, billing & invoicing, and online payment processing. AbacusLaw is an ideal choice for small to medium sized law firms that desire an on-premise solution with built-in accounting tools.

Pros:
  • Founded in 1983, AbacusNext is a proven company that services thousands of legal professionals worldwide
  • AbacusLaw offers both cloud-based and on-premise options
  • AbacusLaw’s time tracking and billing tools offer flexible rate levels and billing modes
Cons:
  • AbacusLaw’s user interface appears less modern than many of its competitors
  • Because of the additional fees for Abacus Private Cloud, AbacusLaw is a less affordable cloud-based option than many of its competitors
  • AbacusLaw does not offer a fully open API
Amicus Cloud
Rating: 67
Starting Price: $59 per month

Amicus Cloud is a popular legal practice management solution used thousands of legal professionals. This solution includes useful features such as a calendar, time tracking, billing & invoicing, and online payment processing. Amicus Cloud is a lightweight solution ideal for solo to small law firms with 1 to 5 firm members.

Pros:
  • AbacusNext is a proven company that has served legal professionals since 1983
  • Amicus Cloud offers real-time synchronization with QuickBooks Cloud
  • Amicus Cloud is ideal for solo law firms that desire a lightweight and cloud-based solution
Cons:
  • Amicus Cloud is a basic solution that is not ideal for teams with more than 5 firm members
  • Amicus Cloud does not offer as many robust features as its competitors
  • Amicus Cloud does not offer built-in accounting in its platform

Other Top Legal Software

There are several legal solutions that focus on specific use cases. Below, we list some of the best legal CRM, time tracking and billing solutions available on the market today.

Clio Grow
Rating: 90
Starting Price: $49 per month

Clio Grow is a popular legal client intake and client relationship management solution used by thousands legal professionals worldwide. Clio Grow includes features that help legal professionals streamline intake, manage client relationships, and increase revenue. These features include appointment scheduling, client intake forms, workflow & email automation, online payments, and reporting. Clio Grow is one of the best options for Clio Manage customers because of its seamless integration.

Pros:
  • Clio Grow’s customizable client intake forms allow you to efficiently capture contact and matter information from prospective clients
  • Workflow automation helps you standardize and automate your intake process
  • You can create an unlimited number of email templates
Cons:
  • Clio’s legal practice management solution, Clio Manage, must be purchased separately
  • Clio Grow does not integrate with any legal practice management solution excluding Clio Manage
  • Clio Grow does not include built-in text messaging in its platform
Bill4Time
Rating: 76
Starting Price: $29 per month

Bill4Time is a popular legal time tracking and billing solution used by over 15,000 legal professionals. This solution includes features such as time tracking, billing, invoicing, and online payment processing. The majority of Bill4Time customers are small to medium law firms with an average of 4 firm members. Although Bill4Time offers some legal practice management functionality, it is best suited for those that desire a lightweight solution that specializes in time tracking and billing solution.

Pros:
  • Bill4Time offers robust time tracking, billing, and invoicing features
  • Bill4Time offers advanced reporting tools that increase visibility into your law firm’s operations
  • Bill4Time is ideal for law firms that desire an affordable and easy-to-use solution without the complexity of all-in-one legal practice management systems
Cons:
  • Bill4Time is not ideal for law firms that desire an all-in-one legal practice management solution
  • Bill4Time's calendaring, contact management, and document management tools are not as robust as other legal practice management solutions
  • Bill4Time does not include robust built-in accounting in its platform

Legal Software Prices

Legal software prices range from $30 to $90 per user per month. Most small law firms pay around $100 to $1000 per month for legal software. Here are details that will help you compare prices for the most popular all-in-one legal software platforms.

Software VendorStarting Monthly PriceFree TrialKey Information
Clio Manage$49 per userYes
  • Annual contract discount: 8% to 22%
  • Clio Manage and Grow Bundle: $115 per user per month
PracticePanther$49 per userYes
  • Annual contract discount: 11% to 22%
MyCase$59 per userYes
  • Annual contract discount: $49 per user
CASEpeer$65 per userYes
  • Activation fee: $225 to $875
Amicus Attorney$69.99 per userNo
  • Abacus Private Cloud: $250 to $300 per user per month
AbacusLaw$69.99 per userNo
  • Abacus Private Cloud: $250 to $300 per user per month
CosmoLex$89 per userYes
  • Annual contract discount: $79 per user
Amicus Cloud$59 per userNo
  • Annual contract discount: $49 per user
Clio Grow$49 per userYes
  • Clio Manage and Grow Bundle: $115 per user per month
Bill4Time$29 per userYes
  • Annual contract discount: 7% to 10%

Legal Software FAQs

Legal software is used by law firms to automate tasks, optimize firm operations, and grow their businesses. There are different types of legal software including legal practice management software, legal CRM software, legal billing software, and online legal research software.

Legal software can be used by law firms in a variety of practice areas. Here are some of the practice areas that legal software is most commonly used in:

  • Civil litigation
  • Criminal defense
  • Employment law
  • Estate planning
  • Family law
  • Health law
  • Immigration
  • Intellectual property
  • Labor law
  • Personal injury law
  • Real estate law
  • Tax law

In general, legal software pricing ranges from $49 to $125 per user per month. Legal software pricing typically depends on the number of users accessing the platform and the types of features included in the solution.

The best legal software for you will depend on the type of solution you desire, your budget, and the size of your firm. In general, here is a breakdown of the best legal solutions available on the market today.

  • Clio Manage is ideal for law firms that desire a cloud-based legal practice management solution
  • AbacusLaw is ideal for law firms that desire an on-premise legal practice management solution
  • Clio Grow is ideal for law firms that need a CRM solution to manage client intake and relationships

Clio Manage and PracticePanther are two of the most popular legal practice management solutions on the market today. These solutions have tens of thousands of customers each.

The most common legal software features are:

  • Accounting
  • Billing and invoicing
  • Contact management
  • Dashboard
  • Document management
  • File intake
  • Integrations
  • Online payments
  • Reporting
  • Rules-based calendar
  • Task management
  • Time and expense tracking

Legal Industry Research & Advice

CASEpeer vs. PracticePanther

By Lloyd Park |

Is CASEpeer or PracticePanther the better solution for you? This in-depth, feature-by-feature breakdown will help you select the best legal...Read More >

CASEpeer vs. Clio Manage

By Lloyd Park |

Is CASEpeer or Clio Manage the better solution for you? This in-depth, feature-by-feature breakdown will help you select the best legal...Read More >

AbacusLaw vs. CASEpeer

By Lloyd Park |

Is AbacusLaw or CASEpeer the better solution for you? This in-depth, feature-by-feature breakdown will help you select the best legal...Read More >

AbacusLaw vs. MyCase

By Lloyd Park |

Is AbacusLaw or MyCase the better solution for you? This guide offers in-depth analysis of each product and will help you choose the best...Read More >

Clio Manage vs. MyCase

By Lloyd Park |

Is Clio Manage or MyCase the better solution for you? This guide offers in-depth analysis of each product and will help you choose the best...Read More >

Amicus Attorney vs. CosmoLex

By Lloyd Park |

Is Amicus Attorney or CosmoLex the better solution for you? This in-depth, feature-by-feature breakdown will help you select the best legal...Read More >

Why You Should Trust Our Recommendations

The team at SoftwarePundit has been testing software since 2017. We’ve hand-tested over 250 software products in that time, including 10 in the legal category. We applied the same rigorous process to each piece of legal software that we analyzed. The specifics of our legal category research process are outlined below.

Lloyd led our analysis of legal software. He has spent more than 300 hours evaluating leading legal software systems.

In addition, all research and content was overseen by Bruce Hogan, SoftwarePundit’s Co-founder & CEO. Bruce has more than a decade of experience researching, building, and reviewing the world’s best software products. His technology advice has been featured on a wide range of media sites such as AngelList, CMSWire, Dental Economics, iPhone Life, Reader’s Digest, Thrive Global, U.S. News, and the Zapier Blog.

How We Selected the Best Legal Software

We selected the best legal software based upon a number of criteria. The most important criteria were each software tool’s features, usability, price, and customer support. The details of our analyses are captured in the in-depth reviews we publish about each software tool.

There are a handful of critical features that you should look for in legal software. We prioritized the following features in our analysis:

  • Accounting: Some legal solutions include built-in accounting tools. Other solutions allow you to sync with third-party systems
  • Case Management: Legal software helps you organize and easily access case information.
  • Contact Management: Legal software helps track and manage all client interactions with your law firm
  • Document Management: You can store and organize legal documents in your legal platform
  • Time and Expense Tracking: Legal software helps you track billable hours

How We Evaluated Legal Software

We used the same rigorous process to evaluate legal software as all other software categories. For the legal category, Lloyd invested several weeks researching, testing, and writing about the tools.

We interviewed the teams at the software companies listed above. Our conversations with the companies included questions about each company’s product, customer base, pricing, customer support, and business strength. After a general interview, Lloyd spent additional time participating in a product demo led by each company. This provided Lloyd with the opportunity to ask detailed questions about the features and functionality of the legal software.

Lloyd also obtained a free trial of each software tool listed above. He spent several hours testing the key user journeys in each software product. This allowed us to validate the features offered by each product, and to gain an understanding of the software’s usability. To better understand the implementation process and customer experience, Lloyd installed legal software on a test website that we host.

In addition to conducting conversations with the software companies and hand-testing every piece of software, Lloyd also spent dozens of hours interviewing real customers of the software tools listed above. Customers that provided insights that were included in our analysis and reviews were: