To choose law practice management software, list the jobs your firm must do every week, turn them into criteria, ask each vendor the same questions, and test the answers with your own data in a trial before you sign an annual contract. The criteria that matter most are usually: trust accounting, billing methods, deadlines, documents, security and access control, data export, migration, pricing, and support.
Rank the criteria for your firm. A litigation practice weights deadlines and documents; a property practice weights trust money and AML checks; a growing firm weights permissions and reporting. Then score vendors only on what you tested, not on feature lists.
LawAOS puts every module on every plan, priced at $29-$119/user/month, with a 7-day trial that needs no card. Use the table below to evaluate it the same way you would any other vendor, and see our /compare pages for side-by-side notes.
- Write down the ten jobs your firm does every week, and who does them.
- Turn each job into a criterion and weight it for your practice.
- Shortlist three vendors and send each the same written questions.
- Run each trial with one real matter per practice area, using test data that mirrors your own.
- Score only what you tested, price a full year, and read the contract terms on export and termination before signing.
- What happens to our data if we leave?
- Ask which records export, in which formats, and whether there is a fee or notice period. Test an export in the trial.
- What is metered?
- AI actions, storage and e-signatures are often metered or tiered. Ask for the limits in writing and estimate your use.
- What does migration include?
- Importers vary widely in what they carry over. Ask for the exact list of record types, and plan to move the rest by hand.
- Who supports us, and how fast?
- Ask what support channel and response time comes with your plan, and whether guaranteed response times cost extra.
Solo lawyers usually weight price, speed of setup and trust accounting. Small firms add shared calendars, billing review and simple permissions. Mid-size and larger firms weight departments, role-based access, ethical walls, reporting by fee earner, and data processing terms. This guide is general information, not legal advice; check that any system meets your own regulator's current rules.
| Criterion | Why it matters | What to ask the vendor | How to test it in a trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust accounting | Client money errors carry regulatory risk. | Can a client ledger go negative? How is three-way reconciliation done and filed? | Post a deposit, try to pay out more than the cleared balance, and run a reconciliation. |
| Billing methods | Your fee arrangements must fit without workarounds. | Which fee arrangements are supported per matter? How are rates chosen? | Set up one matter per fee type you use and invoice each. |
| Deadlines | A missed date is a malpractice risk. | Are court rules included for my courts? Who maintains them? | Enter a real trigger event and check every calculated date by hand. |
| Documents | Lawyers spend most of their day in documents. | Can we edit Word files in the product? Is there version history? | Upload, edit and compare a real precedent. |
| Access control | Conflicts and confidentiality need enforced separation. | Are permissions checked on the server? How are ethical walls applied? | Sign in as a junior user and try to open a restricted matter. |
| Data export | You need your records if you leave. | Which records export, in what formats, and at what cost? | Export client ledgers, invoices and contacts and open the files. |
| Migration | Moving data is where switching projects fail. | What does your importer bring in, and what must be moved by hand? | Import a sample export and check what arrived. |
| Pricing | Add-ons and tier limits change the real cost. | Which modules are on which plan? What is metered? | Price your actual seat count, storage and AI use for a year. |
| Security | Client data demands care. | Which certifications do you hold? Where is data hosted? Is 2FA available? | Read the security page and the data processing terms, then ask for anything missing in writing. |
General information for buyers; no vendor is rated here. Confirm every answer in a trial and in the contract.
Start the trial and import contacts.
The LawAOS Switch importer, at Settings > Data imports, brings in contacts, companies and matters from Clio, MyCase or PracticePanther exports or from a CSV, with column mapping, duplicate handling and a review step before anything is saved. Documents are uploaded separately, and time entries, invoices and trust balances are not imported: a general firm-data importer is not yet shipped.
See the moduleOpen real matters for each fee type.
Open one matter per fee arrangement you use (Hourly, Flat fee, Contingency, Fixed retainer, Evergreen retainer, Hybrid, Pro bono) and record time on the server timer.
See the moduleInvoice and take a test payment.
Build invoices from approved time and expenses and record a part payment to see Partial and Paid statuses and the ledger postings.
See the moduleTest trust controls.
Post a deposit, try a drawdown larger than the cleared balance (the database refuses it) and run a guided three-way reconciliation.
See the moduleTest permissions.
Invite a colleague with a limited role and confirm what they can and cannot see; permissions are checked on the server.
See the module
Stated plainly, so you can decide before you sign up rather than after.
- LawAOS does not ship court rules, has no QuickBooks or Xero integration, and has no native mobile apps (it is a responsive web app installable as a PWA).
- LawAOS holds no third-party security certification; the security page states what is in place.
- Two-factor authentication is per user and cannot be required firm-wide.
- The importer covers contacts, companies and matters only; a general firm-data importer is not yet shipped.
Anything the list leaves open, our team answers directly.