In this guide 6 sections
Ask each vendor to show five things live on a real file with linked parties: the matter record, file access, client money, document storage and the exit. Generic tools often fail one. Score each answer at once while the demo is still on screen, and compare the sheets only after both vendors have shown their work.
How is a matter record built?
Ask to see one matter from opening to closing, using a client with several linked files rather than a demo account holding one tidy record. Where do the parties sit? Can one client have six matters, and one matter three related parties, and can you link a matter to a parent file such as a lease and its dispute?
Look for the fields your practice uses. A litigator needs court, case number, judge and next hearing, while a conveyancer needs property, title reference and completion date, and probate needs the date of death. Adding custom fields should need no developer.
Archiving deserves a test as well. Can a closed matter be reopened with its history, notes and conflict checks intact, or does the vendor flatten the record into a read only PDF at closing?
- Parties, related parties and conflict history on the matter
- Court, case number and hearing fields where they apply
- Linked matters under one client
- Archive and reopen without losing notes
Who can see which file?
Small firms still hold confidential matters. A divorce file should not be open to every clerk, and a partner’s personal matter should not appear in a search by the trainee.
Ask how access is set, by role, by matter team or per file, and whether you can hide a matter from named staff such as trainees or reception. Does the system log who opened a document and when, so a partner can answer a client who asks who has read the file? Ask to see that log.
Check what a locum or a visiting counsel gets, because a temporary login with one matter only is safer than a shared password.
How is client money kept apart?
Each country and each bar body sets its own trust account regime, so ask the vendor which one their ledger follows and check the answer with your accountant. A bare yes proves nothing.
A proper ledger keeps each client’s balance separate, blocks a withdrawal that would overdraw it and produces a three-way reconciliation between bank, client ledger and trust control account. Ask to see that report run live.
Also ask how a fee transfer moves money from trust to office account, since it should need an issued invoice, a partner’s approval and a dated trail.
- Separate balance for each client and matter
- Overdraw blocked before posting
- Three-way reconciliation report
- Fee transfer linked to an issued invoice
Where do documents live?
Ask whether files are stored inside the system, in your own cloud drive or both, and ask in which country the servers sit. Some clients and some regulators care.
Test the Word and email link yourself. Can a lawyer save an Outlook email to the matter in two clicks, and does a draft keep its versions when two lawyers edit it together?
Finding a clause across five years of files is a daily task, so test the search on a sample set of old leases and contracts before you sign.
What happens if you leave?
Ask for the exit in writing. Which formats can you export for matters, contacts, time entries, invoices, ledger and documents, and is it a button you press or a request that takes weeks?
Ask what the vendor does with your data after you cancel and how soon it is deleted, then request an export of a trial matter before you sign. Open that export yourself.
Finish with a shortlist of two vendors and one trial matter each, then run a file through both for two weeks and let the staff who use it decide.
Vendor question sheet
The five rows cover matter record, access, client money, documents and exit, with the last row noting the trial matter used and who tested it. The columns hold the question, each vendor’s answer, a tick for answers demonstrated on screen and a rating out of five.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Do we need case management software at five lawyers?
Often yes, once deadlines, billing and documents live in different places and a missed date or a lost email has already cost the firm a client.
Should trust accounting sit in the same system?
Keeping it inside the matter record avoids double entry, provided the ledger follows your bar body’s rules on separate balances, overdraft blocks and monthly reconciliation. Some firms keep a separate ledger. Either works if the reconciliation is clean.
What is a fair trial for a vendor?
One live matter run for two weeks by the staff who will use it daily, not by the partner who signs the contract. Include an invoice, a deadline, a trust receipt, an Outlook email and a document search in the trial, so every module is touched.
Is cloud storage safe for client files?
It can be, with encryption, access logs and a clear data location, but ask for these in writing and check what your client contracts and bar rules require.