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Law firm software by category and firm size: practice management, billing, documents, intake, AI contract review and e-discovery, with prices.
Gavel Exec reviews, redlines and drafts contracts inside Microsoft Word, checked against your own playbooks. Start with 25 free queries, no credit card required.
The right software for a law firm depends on its size. Most solo and small firms run on a practice management system such as Clio or 8am MyCase, plus accounting, document automation and an artificial intelligence (AI) contract review tool. Mid-size and large firms add a document management system, enterprise billing, transaction management and e-discovery software.
Last updated October 29, 2026. We checked every vendor's name, owner and published price on its own website in October 2026. Gavel makes Gavel Workflows and Gavel Exec. Relativity, which acquired Gavel in June 2026, makes Relativity aiR.
Most firms need software for practice management, documents, billing and accounting, client intake, document automation and drafting, plus litigation or deal support. The table lists our picks for each category by firm size, and the sections below explain each one.
| Category | Solo and small firms | Mid-size and large firms |
|---|---|---|
| Practice management | Clio, 8am MyCase, CARET Legal, Smokeball | Clio, Litify, Aderant |
| Document management | LexWorkplace, Smokeball | iManage, NetDocuments |
| Billing, time and payments | TimeSolv, Bilr, 8am LawPay | Intapp Time, Aderant, 8am LawPay |
| Accounting and trust accounting | QuickBooks Online with LeanLaw, ZipBooks | Aderant |
| Client intake and client relationship management | Lawmatics, Law Ruler, Gavel Workflows | Lawmatics, Litify |
| Document automation | Gavel Workflows | Gavel Workflows |
| AI contract review and drafting | Gavel Exec | Gavel Exec, Draftwise, Drafting Assistant |
| Transaction management | SimplyAgree | iManage Closing Folders, Litera Transact, Legatics |
| E-discovery | Logikcull, Everlaw | Relativity aiR, DISCO, Everlaw |
| Projects and knowledge | Trello, Smartsheet | HighQ, SharePoint, Litera Foundation |
Practice management software keeps a firm's matters, contacts, calendar, deadlines, time entries and invoices in one system. Clio and 8am MyCase fit most solo and small firms. Litify and Aderant are built for larger firms with more complex workflows and reporting.
You will also see the terms case management and matter management. Case management tracks litigation, matter management covers transactional work as well, and practice management adds time, billing and trust accounting. Most current products cover all three.
| Tool | What it does | Best for | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clio | Cloud practice management with billing, trust accounting, intake, client portal, court-rule calendaring, documents and e-signature | Solo to large firms | From $49 per user (EasyStart) |
| 8am MyCase | Cloud practice management with intake, client portal, texting, document generation, time, billing and payments through 8am LawPay | Solo and small firms | $50 per user per month, billed annually |
| CARET Legal (formerly Zola Suite) | Case management, time, billing, trust accounting, document automation and workflows | Small and mid-size firms | $79 per user per month, billed annually, plus implementation |
| Smokeball | Practice management with automatic time tracking, document automation, billing and trust accounting | Solo, small and mid-size firms | Quote |
| Litify | Salesforce-based platform for intake, matter management, documents, time, billing and reporting | High-volume practices and larger firms | Quote |
| Aderant | Financial and practice management (Expert), time entry (iTimekeep) and docketing (Milana, CompuLaw) | Large firms | Quote |
8am MyCase was renamed in August 2025, when its parent company AffiniPay became 8am. Gavel Workflows integrates with Clio Manage; see Gavel Workflows integrations.
A document management system (DMS) files documents and email by client and matter, keeps version history and controls who can open each file. iManage and NetDocuments are the standard at mid-size and large firms. LexWorkplace and Smokeball fit smaller firms.
Look for version control, ethical walls between matters, Outlook filing and audit trails.
| Tool | What it does | Best for | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| iManage | Document and email management with security controls, knowledge search and AI features | Mid-size and large firms, corporate legal departments | Quote |
| NetDocuments | Cloud document and email management with e-signature, Microsoft Teams integration, ethical walls and AI search | Small to large firms | Quote |
| LexWorkplace | Cloud document and email management built for law firms | Solo to mid-size firms | $395 per month for 3 users, plus $50 per added user and onboarding |
Billing software turns time entries into invoices, handles retainers and different rate structures, and collects payment. TimeSolv and Bilr suit small firms that bill by the hour. Large firms usually capture time with Intapp Time and bill through their practice management or financial system.
| Tool | What it does | Best for | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| TimeSolv | Time tracking, invoicing, payments, trust accounting and Legal Electronic Data Exchange Standard (LEDES) billing | Firms that bill by the hour | Quote |
| Bilr | Time tracking with voice entry, invoice review against client billing guidelines and LEDES e-billing | Solo and small firms | See vendor site; plans vary |
| 8am LawPay | Card, eCheck and pay-later payments, with trust and operating funds kept separate | Solo to large firms | $19 per month plus processing fees |
| Intapp Time | Captures billable time from a lawyer's work activity and creates time entries | Firms that want automatic time capture | Quote |
| Amberlo | Practice management with time tracking, billing, client portal and trust accounting | Small and growing firms | €59 per user per month (Grow) |
| Buddy Punch | General employee time clock | Firms tracking staff hours | $19 per month plus $4.99 per user, billed annually |
| Time Analytics | Timesheets, billable hours and utilization reports for firms that bill by the hour | Small firms tracking productivity | From $4.99 per user per month |
8am LawPay was called LawPay until the 8am rebrand in August 2025.
Law firm accounting has to keep client funds in trust separate from the firm's own money and reconcile the trust account. The American Bar Association (ABA) sets that duty in Model Rule 1.15, and each state has its own version. Many small firms use QuickBooks Online as the general ledger with LeanLaw on top for legal billing and trust accounting.
| Tool | What it does | Best for | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online | General small-business accounting: bookkeeping, invoicing, bill pay, payroll and reporting | Small firms (not built for law firms) | Free plan; paid plans from $38 per month |
| LeanLaw | Legal time, billing, trust accounting and payments that runs on QuickBooks Online | Small and mid-size firms | $55 per user per month (Core) |
| ZipBooks | General accounting and invoicing | Solo firms on a tight budget | Free plan; paid plans from $15 |
Large firms usually run accounting inside a financial management suite such as Aderant. PCLaw, a long-running on-premises legal accounting product, is now sold through a LexisNexis and LEAP joint venture, and versions from 2021 and earlier are no longer supported, so firms still on it should plan a move.
Client relationship management (CRM) software tracks prospective clients from first contact to signed engagement, sends follow-ups and runs conflict checks. Lawmatics and Law Ruler are built for law firms.
| Tool | What it does | Best for | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawmatics | Legal CRM with intake, marketing automation, e-signature, conflict checks and integrations with Clio and 8am MyCase | Solo to large firms | Quote; some plans require 3 users |
| Law Ruler | Legal CRM with intake forms, document assembly, e-signature and email, text and voice campaigns | Solo to large firms | Quote |
Gavel Workflows also handles intake. Clients answer a guided questionnaire, and the answers fill the engagement letter and the other documents for the matter. See legal intake software.
Document automation turns a firm's templates into questionnaires that assemble finished documents from the answers. Our pick is Gavel Workflows, which we make. Gavel Workflows is legal document automation software for law firms.
See how firms use it as solo practices, small and mid-size firms and large firms, or compare options in best document automation software.
AI contract tools review agreements against a playbook, suggest redlines and draft clauses. Gavel Exec does this inside Microsoft Word and on the web. Draftwise drafts from a firm's own precedent, and Thomson Reuters' Drafting Assistant supports transactional and litigation drafting.
| Tool | What it does | Best for | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gavel Exec | AI contract review, redlining and drafting in Word and on the web, with playbooks and clause benchmarking | Solo to large firms that negotiate contracts | $160 per user per month; 25 free queries |
| Draftwise | AI drafting, review and negotiation in Word from a firm's precedents and public company filings | Mid-size and large firms | Quote |
| Drafting Assistant (Thomson Reuters) | Model documents, templates, court filing preparation and citation checks | Firms already on Thomson Reuters products | Quote |
For ten tools compared on Word redlining, playbooks, benchmarking and price, see best AI contract review tools for lawyers. Before you upload client documents to any AI tool, confirm it has zero data retention agreements with its AI model providers and won't train on your data. The ABA's Formal Opinion 512 (July 29, 2024) sets out lawyers' duties when they use generative AI. Solo lawyers choosing among general assistants, legal research tools and contract review can start with our guide to AI tools for solo lawyers.
Transaction management software runs a deal's closing checklist, collects signature pages and assembles the closing set. SimplyAgree, iManage Closing Folders, Litera Transact and Legatics are the main options built for law firms.
| Tool | What it does | Best for | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| SimplyAgree | Signature packets, e-signing, closing binders and deal checklists, with iManage, NetDocuments and DocuSign integrations | Transactional practices of any size | Quote (annual subscription) |
| iManage Closing Folders | Deal checklists, automated signature packets, DocuSign integration and hyperlinked closing books | Firms on iManage | Quote |
| Litera Transact | Deal checklist, tasks, documents, signatures and closing set in one place | Firms on Litera products | Quote |
| Legatics | Checklists, document tracking, signing, closing binders and data rooms | Finance, corporate and real estate deal teams | Quote |
E-discovery software processes, searches and reviews large volumes of electronic documents for litigation and investigations. Relativity aiR, DISCO and Everlaw handle large and complex matters. Logikcull offers pay-as-you-go pricing, which suits smaller matters.
| Tool | What it does | Best for | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relativity aiR (formerly RelativityOne) | Cloud platform for e-discovery, investigations and other legal data work, with built-in AI | Law firms, corporations and government agencies | Quote, by data volume |
| DISCO | Cloud e-discovery with AI document review, legal holds and deposition tools | Litigation firms and corporate legal teams | Quote, billed per gigabyte processed |
| Everlaw | Cloud litigation platform for e-discovery, legal holds, depositions and trial preparation | Firms of any size, corporations and government | Quote |
| Logikcull | Cloud e-discovery with automated processing, legal holds and subpoena response | Smaller litigation teams and corporate legal departments | Pay as you go per gigabyte, 10-gigabyte minimum |
Relativity renamed RelativityOne to Relativity aiR in September 2026. Gavel Exec is integrated with Relativity aiR; see Gavel Exec and Relativity aiR.
Project management tools track tasks and deadlines across matters, and knowledge management tools help lawyers find the firm's past work. Small firms often use general tools such as Trello or Smartsheet. Large firms add HighQ, SharePoint and Litera Foundation.
| Tool | What it does | Best for | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trello | Boards, lists and cards for tasks | Solo and small firms | Free plan; paid from $5 per user per month, billed annually |
| Smartsheet | Spreadsheet-style project management with dashboards and automation | Small to large firms | Pro from $9 per member per month, billed yearly |
| HighQ (Thomson Reuters) | Secure document sharing, client portals, workflow automation and digital intake | Firms that collaborate with clients online | Quote |
| Microsoft SharePoint | Intranets, team sites and document libraries, often used for practice group knowledge pages | Firms on Microsoft 365 | Included in Microsoft 365 Business Basic, $7 per user per month, paid yearly |
| Litera Foundation | Experience management: matter history, lawyer credentials and client data for pitches and pricing | Large firms | Quote |
Yes. Form-heavy practices such as immigration and estate administration have their own platforms.
| Tool | What it does | Best for | Starting price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imagility | Immigration case management: petition building with AI, visa and deadline tracking, I-9 compliance and H-1B cap workflows | Immigration firms and corporate HR teams | Quote |
| Estateably | Trust and estate administration, fiduciary accounting and probate form generation | Estate and trust lawyers | $250 per month, billed annually (Starter) |
Estate planning firms use Gavel Workflows to assemble wills and trusts from client intake. See estate planning software and how estate planning lawyers use AI.
Freelance marketplaces let a firm add capacity without hiring. LAWCLERK connects law firms with U.S.-based freelance attorneys for hourly or flat-fee projects and charges no subscription. Lawtrades serves in-house legal teams and startups more than law firms.
Start with practice management, then add tools that connect to it. Run each finalist on a real matter before you commit.
ABA Model Rule 1.6 requires reasonable efforts to protect client information, which applies to every vendor that stores it.
Practice management with a published price runs from $49 to $79 per user per month among the tools in this guide. Payments, document management and AI tools add to that: 8am LawPay starts at $19 per month plus processing fees, LexWorkplace at $395 per month for three users and Gavel Exec at $160 per user per month. Enterprise systems such as Aderant, iManage and Relativity aiR are priced by quote.
Most firms run a practice management system such as Clio or 8am MyCase, Microsoft 365 for email and documents, accounting software that handles trust accounts and a payment processor such as 8am LawPay. Larger firms add a document management system such as iManage or NetDocuments.
Start with practice management that includes billing and trust accounting, such as Clio, 8am MyCase or CARET Legal. Add document automation such as Gavel Workflows for documents you produce often, and an AI contract review tool such as Gavel Exec if you negotiate agreements.
Large firms commonly run Aderant for financial and practice management, iManage or NetDocuments for documents, Intapp Time for time capture, Litera products for drafting and closings, and Relativity aiR, DISCO or Everlaw for e-discovery.
It can be. Ask each vendor for a SOC 2 Type II report, encryption in transit and at rest, and clear terms on who owns and keeps your data. For AI tools, also ask for zero data retention agreements with AI model providers and a written commitment not to train on your documents.
A firm can run without it, but AI tools now cut time on contract review, drafting and document review. Choose tools built for legal work, check their data terms and have a lawyer review every output, as ABA Formal Opinion 512 expects.
Related: best AI contract review tools for lawyers, best Microsoft Word add-ins for lawyers and Gavel integrations. Try Gavel Exec free with 25 queries and no credit card, or see Gavel Workflows plans.
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