Case management software for UK law firms: how to choose

Case management software for UK law firms holds each matter's tasks, deadlines, documents, contacts, time and, in many products, the legal accounts. To choose one, map your two or three highest-volume matter types first, list what must happen at each step, then score shortlisted systems against those steps, your SRA Accounts Rules needs and your data requirements, not against a demo.

Case management is the biggest system decision most firms make, and one of the hardest to reverse. This guide explains what the software does, names the main UK vendors factually, and gives a scoring method I would use on any operations system. It does not rank products and quotes no prices, because both change and vary by firm. It is part of our guide to legal operations in a law firm.

What is case management software for law firms?

It is the system a firm runs its matters in. At minimum it holds client and matter records, tasks and key dates, documents and correspondence, and time recorded against the matter. Most UK products also include templates and workflows that walk a fee-earner through a matter type step by step.

The terms case management, practice management and matter management overlap. As a rule of thumb, case management means running the matter, and practice management adds the firm's accounts, billing and reporting. Many UK products do both.

What features should case management software have?

• Matter records and key dates with reminders that a supervisor can see, not only the fee-earner.
• Workflows and templates for your common matter types, editable by the firm without paying the vendor each time.
• Document and email filing so the file is complete without manual saving.
• Time recording that fee-earners will actually use. See time recording in law firms.
• Legal accounts that support the SRA Accounts Rules, including client account and the reconciliation that Rule 8.3 requires at least every five weeks, signed off by the COFA or a manager.
• Conflict search across clients, matters and other parties.
• Reporting on WIP, lock-up, matter age and fee-earner workload.
• Client portal or updates, if keeping clients informed is a priority.
• Integrations and an API so other tools can read and write data.

What case management software do UK law firms use?

There are many UK options. The list below names some widely used ones, described from the vendors' own pages, in no particular order. It is not a ranking and not exhaustive.

• LEAP. Describes itself as a single system for legal practice management for UK firms, covering case management and legal accounting in the cloud.
• Clio. Cloud practice management, with Clio Manage for matters and billing and Clio Grow for intake.
• Actionstep. Describes itself as legal practice management software combining case management, document automation, time, billing, accounting and client portals, with configurable workflows.
• Osprey Approach. Describes itself as complete law firm software for UK firms, with case management, integrated legal accounting and a cloud platform.
• Proclaim, from Eclipse (The Access Group). Described by Access as a case and practice management system covering work types from accident management through conveyancing to probate, used widely in high-volume work.
• Litera Foundation 365. Built on Microsoft technology, combining matter and case management with CRM, aimed at larger firms.

Others you will meet include specialist conveyancing and personal injury systems and products bundled with accounts packages. Ask each vendor for UK references at a firm of your size and work type.

Cloud or on-premise case management?

Most new UK purchases are cloud-based, and several vendors now only offer cloud. The questions to ask are the same either way: where the data is hosted, who can access it, how it is backed up, how you get it all out if you leave, and which sub-processors see it. Your data protection lead should read the vendor's data processing terms before signature.

How to choose case management software: a scoring method

This is the method I would use for any core operations system, adapted for a law firm. It takes the decision away from whichever demo was most polished.

• Step 1: pick your top three matter types by volume. Not by prestige. The work you do most often is the work the system must do best.
• Step 2: write each one as a list of steps. From enquiry to archive, including who does each step and which documents are produced.
• Step 3: mark each step must-have, nice-to-have or not needed. Add firm-wide must-haves: accounts, conflicts, reporting, data location.
• Step 4: send the list to three or four vendors before any demo. Ask them to demonstrate your steps, in your order, using your documents.
• Step 5: score each step 0 to 3 in the demo. 0 is not possible, 1 is possible with workarounds, 2 works, 3 works well. Have two people score independently.
• Step 6: weight and total. Must-haves count triple. Any 0 on a must-have is a fail, whatever the total.
• Step 7: take references from firms that switched to the product in the last two years. Ask what the migration was really like.

A worked example of the scoring

Everything here is invented for illustration. A hypothetical residential conveyancing firm lists 22 steps for its purchase files, 15 of them must-haves. System A scores 2 or 3 on every must-have and totals 118. System B has the better demo and totals 124, but scores 0 on automatic filing of emails from the lender, a must-have.

Under the rule in step 6, System B fails. Without the method, the firm would likely have bought it, and discovered the missing step in month two when fee-earners started saving emails by hand. That is the trap the method exists to catch: a high total hiding a single missing must-have.

What does case management software cost?

Pricing is usually per user per month, sometimes with setup, data migration and training charged separately. Several vendors publish prices and several quote only on request, and published prices change often. Ask each shortlisted vendor for a written quote covering users, modules, migration, training, support and the exit terms, and compare over three years rather than one.

How long does it take to switch case management systems?

It depends on firm size, the amount of historic data and how much the firm wants to redesign at the same time. The part firms most often underestimate is migrating legal accounts and open matters cleanly, and rebuilding templates. Plan the cut-over date around the COFA's reconciliation cycle, and agree in writing what data the old vendor will hand over and in what format.

What case management software does not do

Case management starts when a matter exists. It does little about the enquiry that never became one because the phone rang out, or the relationship after the matter closes. Our guide to what a legal CRM is covers the second. The first is the front door, which is covered in our guide to law firm client intake software.

Cam, our AI Engagement Coordinator, works at that front door: it takes calls on the firm's line at any hour, says it is an AI, asks the firm's own qualifying questions, books the call back and sends the firm a summary. If that stage is your gap, we are happy to talk. Before buying anything, the guide to law firm workflow automation sets out which processes are worth automating first, and our software buying guide covers contracts and data protection.

How do you migrate to new case management software?

A migration plan in outline, of the kind an operations lead should insist on before signing:

• Decide what moves. Open matters, recent closed matters, contacts, templates, and the accounts ledgers. Archived matters may be better left in a read-only export.
• Clean the data first. Merge duplicate clients and close matters that should have been closed. Migration is the cheapest moment to do this.
• Run a trial migration. Move a sample, check it against the old system, fix the mapping, then repeat.
• Agree the accounts cut-over with the COFA. Pick a date that aligns with the reconciliation cycle and reconcile both systems at the switch.
• Rebuild your top templates before go-live. Fee-earners judge a new system on day one by whether their usual letters work.
• Train by matter type, not by feature. Show conveyancers a conveyancing file from start to finish.
• Keep read access to the old system for an agreed period after go-live.

What are the common mistakes when buying case management software?

• Letting the demo set the agenda. Vendors show their strongest screens. Your scoring list makes them show yours.
• Buying for the exceptional matter. A system chosen for the rare complex file may be clumsy for the everyday one.
• Ignoring the exit. Data export terms matter most on the day you leave, which is the day you have least leverage.
• Underestimating template work. Rebuilding precedents and workflows is often the largest single piece of the project.
• No owner after go-live. Someone must own the system, its templates and its roadmap, or it stops improving the week it launches.

Each of these is avoidable with the scoring method above and a named system owner, usually the law firm operations manager.

Who should be involved in choosing case management software?

A small group with clear roles works better than a committee. One partner who sponsors the decision and can settle disagreements. The operations or practice manager, who owns the project and the scoring. One fee-earner from each high-volume department, who scores the demos against real matters. The COFA, for the accounts requirements. Whoever handles data protection, for the hosting and processing terms. Reception or a secretary, because they will use the system all day and see problems that fee-earners do not.

Keep the group to six or fewer, and agree before the first demo that the scoring decides unless the sponsor records a reason to overrule it.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between case management and practice management software? Case management covers the matter: tasks, dates, documents and time. Practice management usually adds legal accounts, billing and firm-wide reporting. Many UK products combine both.

Does case management software need to support the SRA Accounts Rules? If it holds your client account, it needs to support what the rules require, including the reconciliation at least every five weeks under Rule 8.3. Your COFA should confirm the system meets your needs.

What is the best case management software for a small UK law firm? It depends on your work types and volumes. Score shortlisted systems against your own highest-volume matters rather than relying on any general ranking.

Can we move our data if we change systems later? Usually, but check the contract. Ask what formats the vendor exports, whether historic accounts data is included, and whether exit assistance is charged.

Is cloud case management secure enough for a law firm? Many firms use cloud systems. Ask where data is hosted, how access is controlled, what certifications the vendor holds and who its sub-processors are, and have your data protection lead review the terms.