About CosmoLex

CosmoLex Review: Law Practice Management Software

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Lawyerist Rating for Cosmolex

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Rating Breakdown

Our Rating: 4.5/5

Our rating is based on our subjective judgment. Use our resources—including our rating and community ratings and reviews—to find the best fit for your firm.

Community Rating: 3.3/5 (based on 3 ratings)

The community rating is based on the average of the community reviews below.

Composite Rating: 4.1/5

The composite rating is a weighted average of our rating and the community ratings below.

4.1/5

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What is CosmoLex?

CosmoLex is a cloud-based practice management software with a robust feature set that includes a complete law-firm accounting package. CosmoLex’s accounting features mean you don’t have to deal with migrating information to and from a general-purpose accounting software package like QuickBooks or Xero. And, with the single-tier pricing, users get a lot of bang for their buck.

Starting Cost: $89/user/month

Pros
  • True All-in-one
  • Timekeeping & Billing
  • Advanced Trust Accounting
Cons
  • Limited Intake
  • Complex Initial Set-up
  • Lack of Integrations
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CosmoLex Review: Law Practice Management Software Features

Customer Experience & Support

/5

Price & Value

/5

Security

/5

Innovation & Future-Proofing

/5

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CosmoLex Review: Law Practice Management Software Demo

Overview
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CosmoLex Review: Law Practice Management Software Video

https://fast.wistia.com/embed/medias/gpwz0sjzzx.jsonp

Compare with Other Law Practice Management Software Products Download the Field Guide

Product Details

Apps
  • iOS
  • Web
Installation
  • Cloud
Software Integrations
  • Box
  • Dropbox
  • Gmail
  • Google Calendar
  • Google Drive
  • G Suite
  • LawPay
  • Microsoft Office 365
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • NetDocuments
  • Chrometa
  • Microsoft Office 365 Calendar

Core Features

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.

Yes
No

Case/Matter Management

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.

Client/Contact Management

Managing clients and other contacts is a core feature of law practice management software.

Task Management

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.

Calendar

As with email, this feature means a full calendar client, not just an integration with Outlook or Google Calendar.

Timekeeping

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.

Conflict Checking

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.

Email Client

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.)

Text Messaging

Can you send and receive text messages and associate them with your matters?

Document Management

Basic document management allows you to add documents and associate them with your cases/matters.

Document Assembly

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.

Secure Client Portal

Basic Bookkeeping

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.

Trust Accounting

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.

Full Accounting

Some software includes full double-entry accounting features, making additional accounting software unnecessary.

Billing & Invoicing

Does the software allow you to send bills or invoices?

Online Payments

Payment processing is increasingly offered either as an included or add-on feature, especially with cloud-based law practice management software.

Open API

Compare CosmoLex Similar Products

Select another product to compare:

CosmoLex

4.1/5

cosmolex logo
Pros
  • True All-in-one
  • Timekeeping & Billing
  • Advanced Trust Accounting
Cons
  • Limited Intake
  • Complex Initial Set-up
  • Lack of Integrations

MyCase

4.7/5

MyCase Logo
Pros
  • Cloud-based
  • Client Portal
  • Strong Task Management
Cons
  • Limited Intake
  • Simple Document Management
  • Lack of Integrations
Read MyCase Review

PracticePanther

4.7/5

practicepanther logo
Pros
  • Customizability
  • Intake
  • eSignature
Cons
  • Simple Document Management
  • Basic Templates
Read PracticePanther Review

4.6/5

Zola Suite Logo
Pros
Cons
  • Expensive
  • Not for Solos
  • Lack of Integrations
Read Review

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I use CosmoLex?

As an online application, users can use CosmoLex in any modern browser with an internet connection.

What is the price of CosmoLex?

CosmoLex has a single pricing plan, which includes all core features for every user. For users who are billed annually, they charge $89.00 per-month-per-user, while monthly accounts will pay $99.00 per-user-per-month. CosmoLex also offers add-ons to that base charge, including CosmoLexPay (free), CosmoLex CRM ($147/mo. For up to 3 users), CosmoLex Websites ($149/mo.), and CosmoLex File Sharing and eSignature ($52/mo.).

Is CosmoLex secure?

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. CosmoLex locates all servers 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.

Does CosmoLex integrate with Microsoft 365?

Yes. 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 Microsoft 365 Calendar Sync, allowing you to create an Microsoft 365 Calendar for your CosmoLex events. For email, however, the platform offers an Outlook Desktop and Outlook 365 (online) plugin. Alternatively, 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.

Does CosmoLex integrate with Google Workspace?

Yes. 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 Google Calendar. As for email, CosmoLex provides instructs for Google Workspace email. For standard Gmail, CosmoLex supports auto-forwarding.

Can CosmoLex handle my Trust Accounting?

CosmoLex ships with comprehensive business and trust accounting features. This includes bank transaction feeds (through Plaid), and credit card processing backed by CosmoLexPay or 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.

Can I accept online payments with CosmoLex?

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.

Does CosmoLex integrate with Zapier?

Yes, CosmoLex integrates with Zapier.

Can I automate documents with CosmoLex?

Yes. As with most LPMS systems, document assembly is accomplished by connecting 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.

Is CosmoLex compatible with both PC and Mac?

Since CosmoLex is accessed through your browser, it is compatible with both PC and Apple products.

Additional Details about CosmoLex

Workflows

Using CosmoLex’s Workflows feature, you can add a series of tasks that are triggered by the completion of the previous task or another time frame you set. Importantly, you can store these workflows as templates for later use.

Client Portal & Communication

Client Portal

CosmoLex offers a secure client portal so you can communicate with your clients without worrying about your attorney-client privilege. This portal allows you to share documents, 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 a match cannot be found. Additionally, as you categorize emails, you can keep track of your billing of each of these communications.

Billing & Accounting

Time & Expense Tracking

In addition to Trust & Law Firm Accounting, CosmoLex includes thorough legal billing components, including a mobile app to help you track your time and expenses on-the-go. You can also email invoices to your clients, and easily track retainer expenses.

Include Your Accountant

If you intend to do your accounting in CosmoLex, 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 CosmoLex’s features before you jump in.

CosmoLex Customer Support

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. For non-financial data (i.e., contacts, matters, and associated information), you will have to work with their software technicians. 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 do have to wait until your non-financial data has been migrated. CosmoLex technicians or certified partners can also take care of migrating your financial data for a fee, or a minimum-term commitment.

Partner Video

https://fast.wistia.com/embed/medias/gpwz0sjzzx.jsonp

Who CosmoLex is for

CosmoLex is an excellent choice for firms that want robust accounting. Emerging 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 who bring in business. Firms considering migration from Needles, PC Law, or other on-premises platforms will want to give CosmoLex a look.

CosmoLex probably isn’t an excellent fit for firms that need to link several software and services, or for those looking to integrate their potential client intake into their LPMS, unless CosmoLex CRM fits the bill.

Not sure where to begin? Download our Field Guide

Take the guesswork out of researching, purchasing, and implementing the right legal tech products and services for your law firm. Our Field Guide answers your essential questions and breaks down the features most important to your business, so you can buy with confidence.

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CosmoLex Community Reviews

3.3

Based on 3 Ratings

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  • Deian M. says:
    January 14, 2020 at 11:05 am

    Just left CosmoLex

    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.

  • J. Ansley S. says:
    February 1, 2018 at 10:55 am

    4.7 Rating - Great to have accounting and case mgmt combined

    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.

  • Narissa J. says:
    January 31, 2018 at 9:40 am

    Robust Features

    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.

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