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Firm Central Review: Law Practice Management Software

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Lawyerist Rating for FirmCentral

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Rating Breakdown

Our Rating: 3.3/5

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.

3.3/5

Product Details

Apps
  • Web
Installation
  • Cloud

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

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I use Firm Central?

Since Firm Central is a web-based application, it can be used on any device running a modern browser. The site is mobile friendly, however, there is no mobile app.

What is the price of Firm Central?

Firm Central has five pricing tiers that start at $40/user/month and go up to $142/user/month with the Accounting add-on. Most lawyers will likely need the time and trust accounting features of at least the second tier at $65/user/month.

Is Firm Central secure?

Yes. Firm Central is reasonably secure. They use bank-grade encryption in transit and at rest, and store client information on Thompson’s US-based servers.

Does Firm Central integrate with Microsoft 365?

As of this review, Firm Central has a two-way sync with Microsoft Outlook. Lawyers can also link with other Microsoft products through Thompson’s web of integrated products like Practical Law, Westlaw, and others.

Does Firm Central integrate with Google Workspace?

No, at the time of this review, Firm Central does not offer any integrations with the Google Workspaces family of products.

Can Firm Central handle my Trust Accounting?

The platform has the capability to handle most law firm trust accounting. However, this feature does not come with the entry level tier “Core.”

Can I accept online payments with Firm Central Review: Law Practice Management Software?

Yes, they have a built-in online payment solution, ClientPay that allows users to accept and manage ePayments through the software.

Does Firm Central integrate with Zapier?

No, as of this review, Firm Central does not directly integrate with Zapier.

Can I automate documents with Firm Central?

Yes. Users can automate documents through the platform using mail-merge style document creation.

Is Firm Central compatible with both PC and Mac?

Yes. As a web-based product, firms can access the platform through any modern browser.

Additional Details about Firm Central

Tight integration with Thomson Reuters products. This includes Westlaw, Westlaw Form Builder, Practical Law, and Drafting Assistant, although each is sold separately.

Searchability. All documents and other information a firm uploads into the platform are indexed to make search quick, easy, and pretty comprehensive.

QuickBooks integration. This software can handle timekeeping, expense tracking, billing, and trust accounting. Users who add an Accounting module get access to Accounts Receivable, Check Writing, Reporting, and other features they would expect from basic accounting software. Additionally, it integrates with QuickBooks, which is likely where most users will get their business accounting functionality.

Tiered pricing. The Core plan is $40/user/month, but most lawyers will want the Essential plan, which is $65/user/month and adds timekeeping and billing and trust accounting. The Premier plan jumps to $105/user/month and includes more powerful features like rules-based calendaring, docket notifications, and more.

Deadline Assistant. Firm Central’s Deadline Assistant tool helps law offices manage court deadlines and syncs them with their Outlook calendar. Firms willl even receive email alerts when important court dates have been changed. However, this is only available to Premier plan subscribers.

Security. This company provides plenty of information about security on its website, but the important parts are these: Firm Central encrypts data in transit and at rest using “bank-grade” encryption. All data is stored on Thomson’s US-based data centers. (Many other law practice management software providers use Amazon Web Services servers.)

Secure client portal. Firms and their clients can send and receive messages, files, and tasks securely.

Who Firm Central is For

Firm Central is really just meant for existing Westlaw customers. If an office doesn’t  use Westlaw or other Thomson Reuters products, it’s hard to recommend Firm Central.

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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