When managing multiple clients' cases and tasks simultaneously in a high-stress environment, it's easy for things to fall through the cracks. Considering this, many law firms have opted for various legal project management software. This software supports lawyers in managing tasks, scheduling meetings, and document sharing, leading to a more streamlined workflow.
This blog highlights some of the best project management software for law firms, focusing on their key features, pricing, and potential limitations. The aim is to simplify your search and help you select the most ideal software for your firm’s needs.
Every law firm needs to keep track of information about clients, cases, invoices, payments, and reports. That’s where project management software comes in handy.
These digital tools allow lawyers and attorneys to plan proactively, manage deliverables, complete legal work on time, and measure progress. Moreover, they are also used to define the parameters of the project from the start to the end, such as:
- Project Initiation Phase: This phase includes mapping the direction of the case
- Project Execution Phase: It includes overseeing the progress of the case
- Project Closing Phase: Evaluating the case from both the firm’s and client’s perspective
In the past, law firms relied mostly on manual processes and spreadsheets to track progress. However, this is no longer the case as these days, law industries use project management software to maintain accurate records of billable hours, automate documentation, and streamline client communication without any hassle.
3 Software Categories Law Firms Can Choose From
Tailored specifically to task management, lawyers have three distinct project management software categories to choose from:
- Practice Management Software: This category is designed for the legal and medical sector, allowing attorneys and paralegals to save time on repetitive tasks. These tasks may include time tracking, billing, or client intake. Litify can be used as an example here as it is a legal platform that focuses on automation
- Case Management Software: Focused on planning and executing legal cases, this software category streamlines your busy schedule by automating tasks like workflow automation and case organization. An example of a case management tool can include CASEpeer, a platform for personal injury attorneys
- Legal Project Management Software: This category has a broader scope compared to others as it focuses on overseeing legal projects from start to completion. It enables managers to simplify complex and common tasks, including task management, project timelines, and milestones, for a smooth project execution
This section covers eight of the best project management software options, designed to help law firms manage legal projects. These options are listed below in detail:
1. Monday.com - Best For Project Tracking With Visual Workflow
Law firms need to protect and store sensitive client information, which has made Monday.com an obvious choice for lawyers. Monday is a cloud-based project management software, offering customizable dashboards, document management capabilities, and collaboration tools.
Best Features
- The software has a drag-and-drop feature that allows the attorneys to arrange their case files and documents
- Offers a customer relationship management (CRM) that seamlessly integrates with work-manageable solutions, useful for handling prospective clients
- Customizable templates which can be changed based on your requirements, making your process more efficient
- Kanban boards are available, which help attorneys visualize the workflow and follow case progress easily
Limitations
- The software’s free plan comes with limited features
- Task dependencies within the software are somehow difficult to set up
Pricing
The software offers five pricing plans. The following plan is tailored for three seats, but you can adjust it to fit the size of your team:
- Free: $0 (Up to 2 seats)
- Basic: $12/seat/month
- Standard: $14/seat/month
- Pro: $24/seat/month
- Enterprise: Custom Pricing
Disclaimer: Prices are subject to change.
2. ClickUp - Best For Goal-Oriented Law Firms
ClickUp project management software allows legal professionals to streamline their operations. The software’s user-friendly interface makes it easy for beginners to jump in and get used to it. It enables law professionals to easily track goals and collaborate with firm members.
Best Features
- The legal client management feature allows the handling of all case details along with checklists and a Gantt chart to monitor progress
- The software whiteboard feature offers a quick overview of all the cases along with their stages
- Its legal case tracking and billing feature include billing functionalities and case tracking to track time and generate invoices
- A customized form view can be created to collect information about clients
Limitations
- The software has limited customization name and status ability
- Load time is often very slow when moving between pages
Pricing
The software has four pricing plans:
- Free Forever: $0/user/month
- Unlimited: $10/user/month
- Business: $19/user/month
- Enterprise: Customized pricing for law firms demanding more advanced features
Disclaimer: Prices are subject to change.
3. Trello - Best For Legal Teams Looking For A Budget-Friendly Solution
Trello is visual project management software for legal professionals. It allows them to organize their cases by creating Kanban boards, cards, and lists. This enables the lawyers to prioritize their legal projects, collaborate seamlessly, and track real-time progress. Based on a survey by TechValidate, almost 75% of organizations reported that Trello positively impacted their business in under a month.
Best Features
- Integration with popular apps for streamlined communication and management
- User-friendly design makes the organization of case files more realistic and effective
- Lawyers can create boards or cards for each potential client's case. This assists them with tracking and managing the case as it progresses
- The software’s calendar feature allows lawyers to schedule and manage important tasks for effective client or court deadline management
Limitations
- Doesn’t include feature for reporting and analytics
- The software’s feature for the customization of pipelines is limited
Pricing
Trello offers four affordable pricing plans
- Free: $0, which can be used by the whole team
- Standard: $6/user/month, ideal for small teams of lawyers
- Premium: $12.50/user/month
- Enterprise: Starts with an estimated cost of $17.50/user/month for 50 users and goes up to $7.38/user/month for 5000 users, which is billed annually
Disclaimer: Prices are subject to change.
4. Smartsheet - Best For Teams Who Love To Work On A Spreadsheet
Instead of using Excel to manage your work, switch to Smartsheet to enhance legal project management. As a comprehensive, all-in-one solution, this software allows law firms to manage both firm operations and client cases within a single centralized platform.
Best Features
- Views (besides grid views) offer a user-friendly interface for visualizing and organizing information. This enables efficient case tracking and team collaboration
- Built-in dashboards ensure lawyers can share real-time information with their team
- The software offers powerful reporting and analytics for clear insights and easy sharing
Limitations
- Larger spreadsheets can cause page lag
- Sometimes, software doesn’t update with real-time information
Pricing
Smartsheet has four pricing plans:
- Pro: $12/member/month
- Business: $24/member/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
- Advanced Work Management: Custom pricing, depending upon the needs of the firm
Disclaimer: Prices are subject to change.
5. Clio - Best For Legal Firms Of All Sizes
If you’re confused about whether to choose case management or legal project management software, Clio may be the best choice for you as it offers both. It assists lawyers in centralizing tasks and keeping bills, cases, and documents all in one cloud platform. The software also offers integration with several other apps, already used by the lawyers.
Best Features
- Clio’s task management for lawyers allows them to manage their tasks, get insights on how a certain case is progressing, and close cases swiftly
- Paralegals or lawyers can add unlimited custom task categories to standardize their processes
- Stores all sensitive documents with an unlimited document storage facility
- The e-signature feature makes it easy for clients to sign papers and documents
Limitations
- Customization can be time-consuming as per user reviews
- Tracking and accessing original emails can be difficult
Pricing
Clio offers four pricing plans for law firms to choose from
- EasyStart: $49/user/month
- Essential: $89/user/month
- Advanced: $129/user/month
- Complete: $159/user/month
Disclaimer: Prices are subject to change.
6. Asana - Best For Task Management
Legal documents require careful analysis and discussion throughout all stages. Asana is a project management software for lawyers that streamline and coordinate their work processes. Lawyers can manage and organize legal documents and customize dashboards to improve workflow efficiency using Asana.
Best Features
- Gantt chart offers a bird’s eye view of all the legal projects, their schedule, and task dependencies for identification of any roadblocks
- Real-time work tracking allows lawyers to standardize and automate processes. In this way, lawyers can keep up with their deadlines
- The software offers integration with many tools, including Google Sheets, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams
Limitations
- The timeline view is only available in the software’s paid version
- Its email notification system requires some improvement
Pricing
Asana's pricing plans are divided into two categories: one for individuals and small teams, and another for businesses and enterprises:
- Personal: $0/user/month
- Starter: $13.49/user/month
- Advanced: $30.49/user/month
- Enterprise: Custom Pricing
- Enterprise+: Custom Pricing
Disclaimer: Prices are subject to change.
7. Redbooth Legal – Best For Managing Multiple Cases
Redbooth Legal is designed for legal project management to manage large volumes of legal cases and stay connected with clients. Its user-friendly interface and features make it a significant tool for lawyers to deliver top-quality service to their clients.
Best Features
- Easy assigning of tasks to the team with real-time communication
- Lawyers can create separate workspaces for different teams and departments
- Workload and Gantt charts are available to visualize work
Limitations
- The software has limited reporting features
- Dashboard updates can sometimes be confusing
Pricing
The software has three simple pricing plans with 14 days' free trial for each:
- Pro: $12/user/month
- Business: $18.75/user/month
- Enterprise: Customized Pricing
Disclaimer: Prices are subject to change.
8. Evernote – Best For Storing Legal Documents
Evernote software is the lawyer’s go-to digital workspace where legal research information, case notes, and documents can be stored in one place. The software’s search feature is functional for legal project management and increases law firm’s efficiency.
Best Features
- Capture all the meeting notes, essential documents, images, and receipts within reach
- Offers cross-platform support to ensure easy access to meeting or case notes from any device
- Can easily find attachments through its title, tags, or keywords using a search feature
Limitations
- May not be ideal for larger law firms
- Formatting options are limited
Pricing
The software offers four pricing plans
- Free: $0/month
- Personal: $14.99/month
- Professional: $17.99/month
- Teams: $24.99/user/month
Disclaimer: Prices are subject to change.
Choosing the right project management software is crucial for lawyers, attorneys, and paralegals. The best project management software for law firms will significantly boost their productivity by aligning the features with their needs.
Other software that lawyers can use to streamline their operations include workflow project management, billing, and CRM. Embracing such software is a step towards building a successful legal practice.
Lawyers can also consider several project management software to ensure client satisfaction and eliminate potential gaps in the service. Such software assists with organizing and improving the legal profession’s work.
