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For Law Practice Management Software, the following are essential features, and you should therefore expect to see a check in every box in this section.
Matter management is the defining feature of law practice management software, of course. However, some software is targeted at specific practice areas and may implement case management in different ways in order to manage information specific to those practice areas.
Managing clients and other contacts is a core feature of law practice management software.
Basic task management includes creating tasks with due dates that can be associated with cases/matters and assigned to different lawyers. Some products stick to pretty basic task management, while others offer enough features to make any Getting Things Done devotee happy.
As with email, this feature means a full calendar client, not just an integration with Outlook or Google Calendar.
Timekeeping is a core feature of practice management software, essential for lawyers who bill by the hour but useful even for those who don't.
An actual conflict checker is more than just a search box. This applies to software that actually has a conflict checking feature. Implementation varies, but at a minimum you should be able to search the entire database for matching names. It should check for conflicts accurately and intuitively, allow for a lateral hire to input their conflict database into the system, work quickly when new clients call, and comply with the rules of professional conduct for checking conflicts.
Does it include a full email client? (Alternative solutions that don't amount to an email client, like plugins for Outlook or Gmail, do not earn a check for this feature. See software integrations, below.))
Can you send and receive text messages and associate them with your matters?
Basic document management allows you to add documents and associate them with your cases/matters.
Loading your firm’s document templates into your law practice management software can save time and ensure consistency. This check means basic document assembly suitable for form letters, invoices, etc. For advanced document assembly, you’ll probably need additional software.
Does the provider have a way for your client to interact with you or their information in the system? This can take many forms. It can be a way to securely view and pay bills, a method of scheduling meetings, or a way for your client to view information about their case itself.
This means basic checkbook register–style bookkeeping, which is more limited than full accounting. You should be able to keep track of your operating accounts and reconcile your balances, but you may still need full accounting software.
This means you can track your client trust accounts, including expenses and payments. It is normal to see trust accounting without basic bookkeeping or full accounting, in which case you will need something else for accounting.
Some software includes full double-entry accounting features, making additional accounting software unnecessary.
Does the software allow you to send bills or invoices?
Payment processing is increasingly offered either as an included or add-on feature, especially with cloud-based law practice management software.
An Open application programing interface (API) allows other software programs to interact with the platform. It allows users to build integrations where there might not currently be one. However, not all APIs are equal. If you are looking to integrate using an API, it's advisable to review the platform's documentation before making a decision.
Based on 3 Reviews
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As an online application, CosmoLex can be used in any modern browser that has an internet connection.
CosmoLex has a single pricing plan, which includes all of their features for every user. For users who are billed annually, they charge $79.00 per-month-per-user, while monthly accounts will pay $89.00 per-user-per-month. It is worth noting that firms with 10+ users may get “tiered pricing.”
As of this review, CosmoLex protects all data traveling between your computer and CosmoLex's servers using 256-bit SSL encryption, which is often referred to as "bank-grade" security. All CosmoLex servers are located in the United States, or Canada. And, as CosmoLex notes, they are subject to those jurisdictions. This may be a plus or a minus depending on your viewpoint.
CosmoLex has McAfee run a third-party security audit every 24 hours, and a third-party penetration test from May 2016 found "no exploitable vulnerabilities … that could compromise customer data."
To its credit, CosmoLex is quite transparent about its security features.
Yes. And No.
Integrating OneDrive (or OneDrive for Business) is relatively easy, has two-way sync, and can completely replace your native CosmoLex document storage.
Further, CosmoLex offers Office 365 Calendar sync that you can turn on. This will allow you to create an Office 365 Calendar for your CosmoLex events. You’ll be able to create events either app.
For email, however, the platform offers an Outlook Desktop and Outlook 365 (online) plugin. Although it does not support Two-factor authentication (2FA) at this time, so we suggest not to use it. Alternatively, though, users can easily forward email from their Outlook account into CosmoLex. Once the email is routed to the platform, users can set-up auto-tagging, and track billing with ease.
Yes. And No.CosmoLex's Google Drive integration is a two-way sync, where Google Drive can completely replace the native CosmoLex document storage.
Additionally, a firm’s CosmoLex calendar can easily be added to their Google Calendar. This sync allows for two-way communication so the firm users can create events in either CosmoLex, or the Microsoft app.
As for email, though, Gmail users can turn on email Routing to get firm emails into their account. This will route inbound and outbound emails directly from Gmail to CosmoLex. Once the email is routed into the account, users can set-up auto-tagging, and track billing with ease.
CosmoLex ships with comprehensive business and trust accounting features. This includes Bank transaction feeds (through Plaid), and credit card processing backed by LawPay. Additionally, it comes with a standard chart of accounts that law firms need. So, it has the potential to be much less confusing than QuickBooks.
For our Canadian readers, the platform is well versed in Canadian trust accounting obligations. They offer features like internal three-way reconciliation that may be helpful during an audit.
Yes. CosmoLex is strong in the billing and payment department. They offer a native acceptance of online payments through CosmoLexPay, or users can integrate their existing LawPay account.
No, as of this review, it does not appear that CosmoLex integrates with Zapier.
Yes. Document assembly, as with most LPMS systems, is accomplished by connecting your client information to the “mail merge” function of Microsoft Word. Essentially, you design templates in MS Word using merge fields that you download directly from your database. You then upload these templates to the CosmoLex system. Here, they can be accessed by other users in your firm. Although this is not as robust as a system that stores your templates locally, most users will find that it does everything they need, and more. Additionally, it is much easier to share these templates.
Since CosmoLex is accessed through your browser, it is compatible with both PC and Apple products.
CosmoLex is an excellent choice for firms that want robust accounting. Having emerged from the same people who brought you Tabs3, they offer many hard to find features in a cloud-based LPMS. Attorneys who rely on complex fee-splitting will likely be happy with this software, as will firms who want to reward attorneys in their firm who bring in business. Firms considering migration from Needles, PC Law, or other on-premises platforms should review CosmoLex further.
On the other hand, it’s probably not a great fit for firms that need to link together several software and services or for those looking to integrate their potential client intake into their LPMS.
Workflows. Using CosmoLex’s Workflows feature, you can add a series of tasks triggered by completing a previous task or another time frame you set. Importantly, you can store these workflows as templates for later use.
Client Portal. CosmoLex offers a secure client portal so you can communicate with your clients without worrying about your attorney-client privilege. This portal not only allows you to share documents back-and-forth, but you can limit specific permissions your client users have and send and receive payments on client billing.
Email. With the in-app email features, you can automatically match a communication with a particular matter and get an alert only if it cannot find a match. Additionally, as you categorize emails, you can keep track of your billing for each of these communications.
Time & Expense Tracking. In addition to Trust & Law Firm Accounting, CosmoLex includes thorough legal billing components, including a mobile app to help track your time and expenses on the go. You can also email invoices to clients and easily track retainer expenses.
Include your accountant. If you intend to use CosmoLex for accounting, it’s a good idea to get your bookkeeper and accountant on board before you switch. They shouldn’t have any objection—trust accounting, in particular, will be much easier in CosmoLex—but they will need to work with it, too. So, have them review the features before you jump in.
Migration. CosmoLex can help you migrate data from your existing law practice management and accounting software. Plan ahead, though; data migration takes longer than simply signing up for an account. You will have to work with their software technicians for non-financial data (i.e., contacts, matters, and associated information). Depending on the complexity of the data migration job, it could even take days or weeks to complete.
CosmoLex provides instructions for migrating financial data yourself, but you have to wait for non-financial data migration first. Waiting makes sense, as it gives something to connect invoices and billing. CosmoLex technicians or certified partners can also take care of migrating your financial data for a fee or a minimum term commitment.
desemac
“Just left CosmoLex”
January 14, 2020 11:05 AM
We moved to CosmoLex a year ago after being unsatisfied with Clio, so (full disclosure) I'm not an easy-to-please client after working in technology and dealing with many user interfaces for years before starting a law practice. CosmoLex has a great idea to integrate the GL and MMS, but the execution is flawed and clunky. There are too many pulldowns and checkboxes and eccentricities that hinder the great features. For example, email capture is great, and you could review the billable time from inside of the captured email. Still, it was impossible to go the other way and look at an invoice online and then get to the email for which you have billed from the billable time. We ended up inventing an elaborate description to include the date/time stamp of the email so we could trace it back. Also, customer service was not impressive. The service reps always seemed to take a very ambivalent approach, so much so that we just gave up calling. I think they were probably happy to get rid of us, which is a valuable lesson for me in picking a vendor. Find that level of service that you need; don't settle for less. We switched to MyCase plus a cloud accounting system where it's still a challenge to get things done, but it's half the price, and MyCase doesn't promise things it can't deliver. I'm using the features of MyCase more than I ever did on Clio or CosmoLex, too, like tasks and client intake. My clients avoided the client interface on CosmoLex, but they use the MyCase interface daily. We tried to make CosmoLex work, but in the end, it felt like we were feeding a giant machine that never gave us useful business data back and cost us a ton of time in lost productivity.
Ansley S.
“4.7 Rating - Great to have accounting and case mgmt combined”
February 1, 2018 10:55 AM
I've been using Cosmolex for over a year after experience with Clio and find that it pushes itself just over Clio. I also find it just slightly faster than Clio as well in toggling between tabs, matters, etc. Also, it is much easier to send reminders all at once for unpaid bills in Cosmolex than in Clio. The main reason I like Cosmolex over Clio is that it handles my accounting too. I can link expenses to a matter to be reimbursed by the client. That way, the money I receive from the client is properly separated into reimbursements v. income. It integrates with Law Pay so that once I send the invoice, I don't need to check back to see if the client has paid - it will automatically update as such once the client does so. I like having the accounting and case mgmt all together in one platform so I don't have to purchase a separate software system for accounting. The one downside is that if you want a bookkeeper- you need one who knows how to use Cosmolex. I haven't started a bookkeeper yet because I want to understand exactly how everything works and comes together for this year's books before turning it over to someone else. They do, however, have a list of accredited bookkeepers who have completed the necessary training, and I'm sure I'll engage one of them in the coming year. For both Clio and Cosmolex, I can always talk to a technician/helper anytime I want. This is big for me because I am really forgetful of how to do software tasks right. Clio also has the chat feature with someone always available and I can always call someone with Cosmolex, so they tie on this measure.
Rissa20
“Robust Features”
January 31, 2018 9:40 AM
What I love above CosmoLex is the many case management options as well as the accounting capability. In addition, anytime I need to speak to a real person they are always available.
REVIEWS (3 out of 3)