Different Types of Law Office
Software
If you are new or have little experience with law office
software you may be surprised by the variety of different products available. As
a general rule the name of a particular software does not provide any real
information about the product. It is also a mistake to assume that any
given product offers a solution that address all of the needs of a typical law
office. Until recently there were no software packages for small to mid-sized
law firms that provided all all the essential tools to address all the needs of
the modern law office. Without doubt the "integrated" approach is the
direction that most legal software development is headed. Currently
we recommend and sell and offer consulting services for
PCLaw and Amicus
Attorney Small Firm software. Both of
these software programs provide all of the features listed below in a fully
integrated "All in One" reasonably priced package.
For larger or contingency law firms
that require more powerful case management features or more advanced reporting
and firm management tools we offer Amicus
Attorney 7 and
PCLawPro. These programs also link to each
other to give that same integrated approach used for smaller firms.
Traditionally law office software is divided into the
following categories:
Time & Billing software is essential for firms that bill
on an hourly basis. This organizes professional service and cost advances
into dates and can specify who did the work, hourly rate, and total amount.
The billing aspect of the software determines the way the actual bill looks and
keeps track of client balances. A good example of a pure time and
billing software is Timeslips®. Although Timeslips is not specifically
designed for law it is still one of the most prevalent time & billing programs
in use by law firms today.
Legal accounting software has several features that
general accounting programs such as QuickBooks® lack. Although
functionality of general accounting packages can be modified by "work arounds"
for certain types of transactions, they are clumsy and require additional effort
to make them work in a way they were not designed for. Legal
accounting software address most of the transactional functionality required for
most law practices including management of IOLTA and escrow trust banks.
Practice management software organizes the day to day
operation of a law office. Generally practice management software is divided
into several discrete components such as contact management, firm calendar, case
notes, telephone management, and document assembly or management.
Document management organizes and indexes all electronic
documents by client and matter. A good document manager should be able to
handle every type of file from email to video clips and make them easily
accessible or searchable by anyone assigned to a given matter. Good
document management systems will allow you to save files directly from your word
processor without having to open or copy to the management program.
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