Firm Central

“decent overall and app feels buggy

Pros

For what I use it for it accomplishes what I need and since I don�t have many alternatives to compare it to it gets the job done within its lane. Given the limited scope in which I employ it I�d say it�s fairly average in my view but it doesn�t wow me with extra features but it also doesn�t let me down on the basics.

Cons

I find the phone app to be sluggish and prone to frequent glitches and when I've reached out for help the support team hasn't been helpful.

“An abandoned and trapped system

Pros

Back when it launched there really wasn't anything comparable available besides the then-clunky, server-only Amicus Attorney. It was the very first cloud-based practice management system and the fact that it ran in the cloud is what tempted me to adopt it over nine years ago.

Cons

Sadly it feels like West has essentially abandoned this program. They tied every bit of access to our Westlaw subscription so whenever our firm grew and we needed to add a user it took a minimum of two to three business days just to get that person added. The delay comes because someone has to contact our sales rep who then has to draft a new contract to extend the Westlaw agreement to include the additional seat. Meanwhile we have been asking them for new features for years, yet I can't think of anything meaningful that's been added since the product first launched. We eventually switched to Clio but although we were able to export clients, contacts and matters, the documents stored inside each matter couldn't be exported. For that reason we can't completely abandon it because they effectively hold ownership of our clients' documents as well as our firm's emails and files indefinitely. We've asked repeatedly what happens to the data if we close the firm, retire or die and nobody provides a clear answer. It's not even as forgiving as a Facebook account which can be archived and downloaded for perpetual access if needed. The frightening reality is that when you stop paying, thousands of documents, records and gigabytes of data can simply disappear. Because of this alone I strongly advise people to avoid FirmCentral.

“simple & works well with Westlaw

Pros

I find the interface pretty simple and easy to use so we didn't have to spend much time on training and I also like that it integrates neatly with the Westlaw features.

Cons

We had no problem integrating this tool with the other software we were already using which made rolling it out across our team much easier.