What Law Practice Management Software Is Best for a Solo Practitioner?

If you’re a solo law practice, you know that it’s important to keep your operations streamlined and your workflows efficient. This can be done by using legal practice management software. A law firm practice management software can help you stay organized, keep your matters moving forward, and keep your clients happy. However, many legal practice management software are too expensive or too complex for solo law firms. So, which one should you choose? 

Here are a few things to consider when making your decision. 

Is the software cloud-based? 

Premise-based software used to be the software of choice for law firms. That’s because in the past, premise-based software offered greater security, more robust features, and a better long-term financial investment for law firms.  

Today, this isn’t necessarily the case. Modern cloud-based software offers high levels of security, a wide range of features, and financially appealing subscription plans for law firms. What’s more, a cloud-based software solution allows solo practitioners the flexibility to do their work from the courthouse, their home, or their office.  

Does it integrate with my other software tools? 

No law firm, big or small, relies on just one tool to run their practice. Email systems, marketing tools, e-discovery tools, accounting software, case management systems, calendar and scheduling softwares—these are just a few of the basic resources that attorneys use to run a legal practice.  

These software help lawyers provide legal services and manage their workflows, but if they don’t integrate with your practice management software, it can create obstacles for users. For example, if your case management system doesn’t integrate with your client relationship management (CRM) software, you may have to manually re-enter client information from every new intake form. This slows down your productivity and introduces the possibility of errors from double data entry.  

Consider a fully-integrated software 

Although a software that handles all of your practice management needs might seem like too big of an investment for solo firms, it can actually save time and effort. A fully integrated software like CosmoLex provides law firms all the legal tools they need to run their legal practice, reducing the need for cumbersome integrations. Moreover, a fully integrated software solution provides your solo practice with a tool that’s scalable, giving you access to everything your practice needs as you grow.  

Does it offer subscription payment? 

Choosing a law practice management software is a big commitment for your law firm, and a big part of that commitment is financial. Depending on your solo practice’s budget and financial projections, you may want to consider a practice management software with a subscription option.  

Subscription options are a newer model of paying for software. Instead of a one-time, up-front purchase, you’ll be able to pay a regular subscription fee. These fees can be paid on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis and while they may cost more over the long-term, the benefits are substantial: 

• More easily accessible customer service 
• Robust training options 
• Automatic updates and upgrade options 
• Cloud-based access to software 
• What kind of training does it provide? 

Learning a new software, especially while running a solo legal practice, can involve a steep learning curve. Make sure that your legal practice management software provides you the support you need to be successful. This may look like: 

• Online training videos and tutorials 
• In-depth knowledge base 
• Live training sessions 
• Software consultants
  

With the proper training, using your new software will help you become more efficient, productive, and effective in your solo practice, so make sure to start the training process early on.