PracticePanther Legal Software Reviews

Pros

So far we've found it easy to pick up and get started with, our team has experienced smooth performance from the software and the support staff have been extremely helpful.

Cons

Pricing feels steep, for many years they used a single, flat payment structure but they've shifted to charging per user which makes it significantly harder for us to afford. We're choosing to continue using it for now, though I still think there should be a fairer pricing option available.

Pros

Personally, I think the pricing is fair and I like that I can access it from any internet-connected device, it also supports QB Online integrations, billing, notifications, calendar, customization, reports and more.

Cons

However, I've run into issues with certain accented characters like a, e, i, o, u and other special characters, because of these problems I wouldn't recommend it for law firms that write primarily in Spanish.

Pros

Two things stand out to me: one, having all of my client details congreatated in a single, easy-to-reach spot is a huge time-saver, with a couple of clicks I can jump from a client's contact information to their emails and track time in just seconds. Two, I'm impressed that in only a few minutes I can generate multiple documents from templates I built using it's easy coding setup. Updating a template is as simple as edit, save and upload, truly fantastic!

Cons

At first, it took me a little while to work out the best way to handle multiple contacts and their relationships within a single case which was a bit confusing but after I figured out the process it became really easy to manage.

Pros

Great tool.... I really appreciate the ability to set up workflows so nothing falls through the cracks and it helps me easily see exactly where I am in the process.

Cons

For me, the excel export reporting is tough: every Monday I basically have to run three reports and do a ton of copying and pasting to prepare information for our weekly team meeting

Pros

I love how easy it is to create matters and use the billing tools. The calendar plus activities make it simple for me to remember court dates.

Cons

I'd like the price to be a touch lower, although it's not excessively expensive. I've had a couple of invoicing issues, yet I managed to resolve those rather easily with minimal effort.

Pros

Fast, easy to use and genuinely simple, with excellent, responsive customer support. After I wrestled with programs that were heavily aimed at litigation firms and simply didn't fit my IP practice or my flat-fee billing structure and after trying software that wouldn't generate the reports I needed to manage and grow my business and after battling with systems that required me two hours to compose invoices that displayed the details I wanted, I finally discovered it. It provides the information I want exactly when I want it and creating invoices is incredibly quick and easy to customize on the fly. The flawless QuickBooks sync also keeps manual data entry to a minimum, saving me time and reducing headaches. Truly an answer to my prayers!

Cons

There remain one or two reports I haven't yet learned how to build and I'm also unclear about the best way to handle billable expenses paid by credit card between it and QuickBooks. I think these shortcomings probably stem more from my needing to get up to speed on some of the newer, more advanced capabilities, especially the cost accounting features, than from any real deficiencies in the software itself.

Pros

Feature I really like is how easy it is to accomplish tasks. For example, when I need to add time to a calendar item, hovering over the event brings up a link. It makes everything so effortless.

Cons

I've found no real issues with it, it's remarkably simple. The only small problem I have is an occasional tiny delay when pages load, happening every now and then.

Pros

What I really appreciate is the great online storage and the portal's clear communication, their support team is outstanding and the built-in online payment option works smoothly too.

Cons

So far, I haven't noticed any real drawbacks with this software, on the rare occasions a glitch has popped up, it was quickly and easily fixed.

Pros

At a small-sized practice like mine, this program has been excellent for our litigation work. We run it through the cloud, so I find it really handy that my team and I can open it on tablets, phones, or other devices when we're out of the office. I also appreciate that it hooks into other tools we use, like Dropbox and QuickBooks which makes managing files and finances smoother.

Cons

It would be more convenient if the software included a few built-in features so we didn't need third-party services, for example, native Bates numbering and an internal group messaging tool would save us extra steps.

Pros

From my pespective the app incredibly user-friendly and I love how everything appears on the screen, it's visually appealing and simple to move around. The portal is also top-notch. I really appreciate the training videos, they're an excellent, hands-on way for me to preview and understand each new feature as they're released.

Cons

Honestly, I don't have any complaints. Whenever I run into a problem, the online help always gets me back on track. I even recommended it to other solo practitioners and they ended up signing up too.

Pros

I appreciate the reminders, that clients can pay online, the way it keeps records and a lot of other features in this program.

Cons

At this stage, we haven't come across any problems that we couldn't handle by ourselves or with assistance from the it staff. So far, everything's gone smoothly! No problems whatsoever!

Pros

For me, it was easy to learn the fundamentals. The calendar works well and I like that tasks appear right there. I find the search function excellent. If your only needs are time-based billing and a QuickBooks connection, it handles that perfectly.

Cons

I've been frustrated that it doesn't offer any Item-level reporting, for example, I can't see how much income comes from Document Drafting versus Litigation. If I want that kind of breakdown, the only way to get it is to sync with QuickBooks. The real kicker for me, though, is how poorly they handle Fixed Price billing (they call it "Flat Fee"), it's basically useless. It feels like Fixed Price billing was tacked on later and nothing about it has improved since I started using this system years ago. First, you can't assign an Item to a Fixed Price invoice the way you can with time entries, so there's no simple way to tell QuickBooks that a given flat-fee invoice was for a trademark filing instead of document review. Second, there's no way to tag a lawyer on a Fixed Price billing which means I can't pull a report to apportion payouts to people based on their flat-fee work. Third, Fixed Price matters flip to billable immediately even when no work has been done, so I end up having to manually monitor when a flat-fee matter should be invoiced and there isn't any report that lists billable Fixed Price items to help with that. Fourth, when I log time against a Fixed Price matter, there is absolutely no mechanism to warn me if I'm about to blow the budget, nor is there anywhere to compare what was budgeted to what we've actually done. If your firm, like mine, is trying to move toward fixed-price engagements as much as possible, you'll waste a ton of time inventing work-arounds and building and maintaining those patches will swallow any efficiency gains the rest of the software gives you. I'm ready to switch to a system that gets Fixed Price billing right.

Pros

Personally, the reminders, task manager and calendar functions have proved to be the single biggest advantage for me. The built-in time-tracking also makes it easy to ensure I log and capture every bit of time I dedicate to a client's matter. Plus, I can trigger the timer from my mobile device if I happen to be away from the office.

Cons

Haven't yet dug into all of the features this software provides, so I haven't come across any real negatives at this point. There is, naturally, a learning curve and a great deal more for me to learn but I still have to keep my practice running while I get up to speed.

Pros

When I launched my own firm I had no clue how to juggle my time, manage a client list, run conflict checks, or handle billing. Before this I worked as a prosecutor and had zero hands-on experience with invoicing, so the thought of billing kept me up at night worrying about that side of the practice. Surprisingly, it's become the easiest part so far. I really like the built-in timer, the automatic bill generator, the LawPay integration and perks and the clear dashboard. It's a relief to have the emailed invoice option, and the fact that it notifies me when a client opens the bill is priceless, plus syncing calendars and bank accounts has been a huge help. Overall I'm very pleased with the service and the attorney I share office space with is amazed this software costs about the same as her billing program while offering far more features and a much more simple, user-friendly experience.

Cons

To be honest, I'm not using every feature because there are just so many options available and that abundance isn't a shortcoming of it. Juggling the day-to-day of running the business and handling cases has left me with limited time to explore everything and I haven't yet dug into every capability with customer support. When I do have questions or want to learn a feature they're consistently responsive and helpful, though. Ultimately, my point is that the platform offers a ton and my only issue is I haven't had enough hours to take advantage of it all, but I genuinely like everything I've used so far.

Pros

It covers almost all the features I require to run my law practice. Right away it had me operational. The features are outstanding and I appreciate how well it connects with other tools like LawPay and Dropbox, those integrations are really useful.

Cons

Given my preferences, I'd like the software to include a bookkeeping or full accounting module, or at least offer integration with major banks' online systems. Considering how many functions it already handles, that wouldn't seem hard to add, although maybe I'm expecting too much.

Pros

One feature I really appreciate is the quick-access links for creating new matters, contacts and similar items and I find the Dashboard's layout refreshingly simple and easy to navigate.

Cons

I get annoyed by the constant instant-message-style pop-ups from customer service reps while I'm trying to focus, I do value the follow-up emails offering tips and links to online help but those intrusive on-screen interruptions disrupt my workflow.

Pros

It's still too early to form a definitive opinion since we've only been using the system for a few weeks but I do like what I've seen so far.

Cons

That said, it's likewise too soon to fully evaluate after just a few weeks of use. I already know I really don't like the calendar, it's not user-friendly at all and I can't customize it.

Pros

I've used a number of low-cost practice management systems and unlike many of them, it offers a broad set of features that are still simple to use. Rather than limiting me to simple "Tasks" or to-dos, it lets me create Activities that can be events, e-mails, Phone calls, or Tasks which makes organization feel more natural. On the task side, I can set sub-reminders that will send me e-mails or texts in advance, for example, 7 days before or 3 days before a filing deadline, which is really helpful. Another feature I find excellent is that it indicates whether a time entry has been recorded for every single Activity marked "completed" or "in progress." That level of visibility is incredibly useful when supervising staff and trying to make sure everyone is accounting for their time for billing, especially in civil practice. The mail-sync feature is simple to set up and use: I can send mail from my native software (Outlook, Gmail, etc.) and just BCC the client matter address and the e-mail is automatically saved into the matter. Most other programs I've tried force you to use their own client portals to get that sort of automatic capture. The templates are easy for document merges too, engagement letters, releases and basic letterheads that I use repeatedly across files are easy to create. We don't use it for accepting payments, so I can't speak to that part of the product.

Cons

When it comes to invoicing and capturing past e-mails, there are a couple of shortcomings I've run into. First, matter pre-bills or generating a court-ready billing report can be awkward. In many civil matters I need to produce a billing report to submit to the court for an attorney fees claim and with other software I can run a report for a specific time period or for certain types of billing entries to create a printable, draft invoice-style document that I can sticker as an exhibit. I haven't found an easy way to do that in it, it seems like you have to rely on a draft invoice that grabs all time billed in the matter which may not give you the clean, tailored report you need (I could be mistaken). Second, there is no batch-import or batch-entry option for e-mails. it's mail-sync works great when you remember to BCC the matter address but if you forget or you have a backlog of messages in Outlook that weren't synced, there's no simple way to bring them into the matter en masse. You end up having to forward each missing e-mail individually to the mail-sync. That becomes an even bigger problem if you use systems like CORRLINKS in federal criminal practice, because you can't forward out of CORRLINKS, it also doesn't let you copy and paste e-mails into the matter, so those messages are effectively stuck outside the system.

Pros

Being able to sync and tie in other apps really makes the service feel complete to me. Also, the customer support rep was calm and totally on target. He handled the calendar sync really well and figured it out.

Cons

I was a bit irritated that the sync failed on the first try. I realize minor glitches happen, so I'm not dismissing the entire app, it's just an annoying hiccup that I hope they smooth out.

Pros

Compared to MyCase the system feels much easier for me to use and I appreciated how smoothly it connected with the other tools my firm relies on.

Cons

For my part I ended up entering far too many things by hand that I felt could have filled in automatically and in my experience it didn't support my personal injury workflows nearly as well as it handled civil and family matters.