PracticePanther Legal Software Reviews

Pros

Before PracticePanther we had started an Excel spreadsheet to log our contacts for conflicts checks. We created a joint email account with Gmail so our email would be centralized and that also gave us a central calendar that we all had access to in order to set appointments, record deadlines, etc. We also created a Dropbox account for file storage.

While everything was low cost or free, all the parts felt scattered. PracticePanther pulls it all together in one beautiful, user-friendly interface. Now, instead of having to pull up 5 or 6 different apps/websites, we are able to pull up just one site and have everything right there. All of the components of PracticePanther are really easy to use. The entire program is designed for efficiency and ease of use. Color-coding allows you to see and understand your financial details in mere seconds. Tasks, events, and timekeeping are easy.

Cons

I would like to see the software integrate with more programs. Quickbooks is great, but my brain works better with Wave Accounting; LawPay is great, but being able to integrate with PayPal also, would be even better. However, these are minor things and not worth seeking a different program I like as much as Practice Panther. I had shopped around quite a bit before choosing Practice Panther; I doubt I would find anything I like as much.

Hands down, our favorite thing about PracticePanther is the superior support staff. If you have a problem and leave a message after hours in the chat box, you get a response generally within the hour. There is also training videos and a help center that will help you find the help that you need.

Pros

Super easy to use! We love that we can create custom fields for a contact or matter and have really enjoyed the automation portion of the software. The templates are easy to create and automatically pull the information from the contact and matter sections that we need.

Cons

Under Matter, instead of editing the whole section, it would be nice if I could hoover over the field I only need to update.

I also wish I could highlight text in the matter or notes section.

I create multiple matters under one client and some of the information in the fields is always the same. It would be nice if I could select an option so any time I create a new matter for that client, the information in the matter auto fills for any new case going forward.

Alternatives Considered

CosmoLex, Smokeball, Tabs3 and Clio

Reasons for Choosing PracticePanther Legal Software

Had to upgrade every so often and had to log onto our server to use. With PracticePanther, I log in from anywhere.

Switched From

Tabs3

Reasons for Switching to PracticePanther Legal Software

Price and ease of use

Pros

We like the client portal where we can send clients messages and documents. The software is not easy to use. The reports are not user friendly, they do not meet our needs. It is difficult to maneuver.

Cons

I have to keep a separate data base for my clients because there is no way to print an envelope from PP. Our software automatically renewed annually and we had a staff member who left our company shortly thereafter. We decided not to replace the position. I contacted PP almost immediately thereafter and have been trying to get a refund of that user's account fees and after a month, they finally got back to me and they will not refund the annual subscription fee. So, if you are on an annual plan, you cannot reduce the number of user accounts you have. The three way trust account reconciliation is not a true reconciliation that complies with the Rules of Professional Responsibility, so we have to still reconcile using other software. The email sync only works with limited versions of Outlook. When we signed up, we were assured their customer service was top notch and the longer I am with them, the longer it takes to get answers. Many times, they will close my help tickets without answering the questions. If you leave a bad review for their company they will call and address the review immediately, but they will not address the underlying issue that resulted in the bad review. Despite me raising my concerns over the software, no changes have been made.

Pros

Sent to clients straight the invoice periodically.

Cons

The program CANNOT pint out the invoice from the beginning with statements. In addition, when we tried to make an appointment to talk to support group, it is hard to get an appointment. Once appointment was made, they would not alert or start zoom; instead, they claimed that we cancel the first appointment; [sensitive content hidden], the appointment is scheduled on [sensitive content hidden], but [sensitive content hidden], I called and found out the appointment was cancelled again. If I am not pushing hard, it would be the the third appointment. After almost ONE attorney billable hour, [sensitive content hidden] wanted to tell me that it was our fault to cancel the appointments and offered me to talk to [sensitive content hidden]. If the computer does not send me the link to get on the link, how did they claim I cancelled the appointment. When I asked [sensitive content hidden] to ask their IT to figure the glitch, and ask the company developing the "roadmap" so that small firms can print out the whole historical entries all in one invoice with clear statements and payments that client has paid. [sensitive content hidden] tried so hard to persuade me that their computer showed "You cancelled the [sensitive content hidden] "training.

Pros

I love how seamless this software makes my practice. It is so user-friendly. The client portal is wonderful, and I love how the accounting features are organized. Customer service is amazing. The templates feature saves me countless hours. The tasks feature really keeps me on track. I love how you can link relationships, create emails that sync automatically with the matter, and create events that send text notifications to clients. The support is quick and always friendly and helpful. The e-signature feature is also really cool.

Cons

(1) the phone app should be able to have multiple timers up at once, so you can go back and forth between working on different projects, like the desktop version.
(2) The "history" section at the bottom of matters should include time entry descriptions. I cannot stress that enough. I do not use the "history" section at all as it is currently operating, but it would be invaluable if that one change was made! If time entry descriptions were included, the "history" section would actually tell me the history of the work that's been done on the matter.
(3) We need a better text integration that's part of Practice Panther, so that clients can text us through the software, or something like how we can create a new email that links with the matter, but for texting.
(4) Company contacts - love the idea, but when you link a subordinate member of a company contact to a matter, the only email address you can actually auto-populate is the number one contact of the company contact. It's very annoying. I've had to create separate individual contacts for all the members of a company contact. Like for court services, I would like to be able to have all the employees of court services under the Court Services company contact, and then be able to link the particular officer assigned to supervise my particular client. But right now I have to link the court services company contact AND the individual contact to be able to send emails to the correct officer.

Alternatives Considered

Clio

Reasons for Switching to PracticePanther Legal Software

I felt like Practice Panther was just as good as Clio, but more cost appropriate for my smaller firm. Also, I liked that I always have the option to figure things out myself, or with a virtual helper, instead of having to call support. The same was true with the purchasing experience. I didn't get bombarded with phone calls, but I knew someone would be available to speak with me if I wanted to have a conversation. I felt that spoke volumes to the kind of company you are and the understanding and respect you have for your customers' time.

Pros

I've been a PracticePanther user for four years now. The most important factor in my selecting PracticePanther was the ease of use. With my prior software, I had to hire independent contractors and pay for "maintenance agreements" just to have access to the help desk. With PracticePanther, their support team can assist. More important, they have videos that will walk you through the process of setting up the various systems and integrations. Finally, I love the integrations. PracticePanther integrates with Microsoft Office, Box, Dropbox and Quickbooks. Your information stays in it's original locate with seamless access from PracticePanther.

Cons

Initially, there was a big push to produce new features. I'm not seeing new features coming out as frequently. However, I would note the quality of the new features, e.g., workflows with conditional logic and e-signatures.

Pros

I like being able to bill, take credit/debit card payments, and tell clients their balance with the app while in court. There are simple reports and a great dashboard to see how much is outstanding, to be billed, and the amount in my trust account. Practice panther has cut down on the time it takes for billing and made my office more efficient.

Cons

I print checks directly from practice panther, which takes several steps, but it makes it easy to add the cost to the client's billing. I would like the software to allow a report of vendors/payees' payments over various time periods as it does with tags and categories.

Alternatives Considered

Clio

Reasons for Choosing PracticePanther Legal Software

I used to use quick books for billing, but it is not as geared to attorneys as practice panther. Contingency cases were especially difficult. Practice panther even has a feature for evergreen retainers.

Reasons for Switching to PracticePanther Legal Software

quick books was overly cumbersome with numerous unnecessary features. Practice panther has needed features for a law firm that are not available in quick books. It is much easier to use than quick books.

Pros

I like the intuitive interface, clean look, and the ability to customize my own workflows.

Cons

I would like to see a private server capability added in instead of having to rely on Box. One that we can access via VPN would be helpful. I wish we could add in a bit more automation customization. For example, I would like to be able to send my clients a customized email with attachments and helpful info before specific events, rather than the generic reminder email. I would also like the ability to create conditional logic in certain events.

Alternatives Considered

Clio

Reasons for Choosing PracticePanther Legal Software

There was much more functionality and customization available with PP than Abacus.

Switched From

Abacus Private Cloud

Reasons for Switching to PracticePanther Legal Software

The main reason I initially chose it was price and interface look. Now I wouldn't change for anything because it is constantly evolving with my firm's growth and provides all the support we need.

Pros

They add features on a regular basis and have loads of training. The support staff is super helpful and if they don't know the answer they will try to find it. I understand that every system is different and every one has it's pros and cons. I really think once we utilize every single feature this program has we will be a much better law firm.

Cons

The email integrations phase in and out on working. It may simply be the plugin I have for Gmail but that can be a struggle.

Alternatives Considered

CosmoLex and Clio

Reasons for Choosing PracticePanther Legal Software

Leap was far too expensive for what they provided.

Switched From

LEAP

Reasons for Switching to PracticePanther Legal Software

The pricing and some of the features. I think Cosmolex may have the accounting side better locked down but I liked the ease of PracticePanther.

Pros

PracticePanther has helped keep my firm organized. We handle a large number of cases and we needed software that could help us manage them all, stay on top of tasks, and store information efficiently. PracticePanther has also been key in allowing for rapid growth in my practice.

My favorite feature is the payment plans through PantherPayments. My collections are significantly higher than some of my colleagues and it helped simplify this process. We can easily set up payment plans that automatically pull funds from a credit card or bank account which means I don't have to spend a ton of time chasing clients for money that I could be spending on their case.

Cons

I started out practicing solo and quickly grew to more staff. Every firm has growing pains, so I was initially worried about acclimating new staff to PracticePanther. Thankfully, those hesitations were put at bay and we've been able to use the platform with ease.

Alternatives Considered

Clio

Reasons for Switching to PracticePanther Legal Software

I researched several different software options, such as Clio, before making my final decision. I found that PracticePanther provides all of the same features as Clio and more, but at half the price. No other software in PracticePanther’s price range is anywhere near as robust.

Pros

Practice Panther out performs on integration with Outlook. Users can send email from within the platform and the email will send in outlook, as well as be saved in the PP file. Similarly, emails that are received can be added by a drag and drop that resides on the Outlook side.

It also has better document automation and work flows than the competitive products.

Cons

The dash board at the matter level could be better. All of the information is there, but one has to move from tab to tab to find it. I'd like a "status" feed at the top (with the ability to generate reports for all open matters and current status) instead of the feed that is at the bottom of the case dashboard (which we don't seem to use).

Alternatives Considered

Firm Central, MyCase, AbacusLaw, Rocket Matter and Clio

Reasons for Switching to PracticePanther Legal Software

Pricing, ease of use, and Office Integration.

Pros

Unlike a number of the cheaper practice management software programs on the market today, Practice Panther has a wide range of functions within the software which are easy to use. Instead of just having "Tasks" or "to-dos", PP allows you to create Activities which can be "Events" "E-mails" "Phone calls" or "Tasks". On the Task front, PP allows you to set sub-reminders that can send you e-mails or text messages in advance, like say "7 days before," and "3 days before," for a filing deadline. I also think it is pretty fantastic that PP shows whether a time entry has been completed for EVERY SINGLE ACTIVITY marked "completed" or "in progress". This would be incredibly useful for practitioners (mostly civil) managing staff and trying to deal with staff not accounting for all of their time in billing. The "mail sync" function is also easy to use, and allows you to e-mail out of your native software (MS Outlook, GMAIL, etc) and simply "bcc" the client matter itself. When you do this, the e-mail is automatically saved into the matter. Almost every other program out there that I have used requires you to use their client messaging portal to get the same functionality.

The templates are easy to use for creating documents to merge out of PP also. Think client engagement letters, releases, and basic letterheads that you use in every file. We don't use PP for accepting payments so I cannot comment on that portion.

Cons

1. Matter pre-bills or invoicing. In many civil cases there will be a time when you need to prepare a billing report to present to the court solely for a claim of attorney's fees. In other software that I have used, you can run a report for a set period of time or type of billing entries which will then create a printable draft invoice-looking document. You would then be able to slap an exhibit sticker on that document and use it for your attorney's fee request. I haven't found a way to easily do this in PP yet, and it seems like you would have to utilize a draft invoice which captures all time billed in the matter. I could be wrong.

2. No Batch Entry System for E-mails. PP has a GREAT syncing system that works with your native e-mail so you can BCC messages into the matter when you send or receive them. However, if you forget to include the mail-sync in your BCC line, or don't forward a message to the mail-sync, there is no easy way to subsequently get the e-mails into the matter in PP. What I mean is this: say you have a number of e-mails from someone that weren't saved into a client PP matter and instead lived in your Outlook before the client actually hired. You would have to manually forward each one of your emails to the mail-sync to get them into PP.

Additionally, if you are a federal criminal lawyer and use CORRLINKS to communicate with your clients you will know that you can't forward out of that system. PP doesn't let you copy/paste emails so your stuck.

Pros

I love the IT help, the invoicing system and the templates feature. I had a lot of questions and needed a lot of help in the beginning. Being able to schedule times to discuss my issues with the IT guys at PracticePanther was great. The fact that they can take over your computer remotely so they can see what you see in real time is even better. Their response time to non-scheduled issues is pretty fast. I have also found their FAQs and how to videos to be extremely helpful but having a live person to speak with who can access your computer is just as good as having someone standing next to me while I work.

The invoicing system is phenomenal. It keeps track of all of my client banking accounts. I can see at any time how much is in my IOLTA account, how much is in my operating account, how much a client owes, how much a client has paid and how much I have billed a client but not yet invoiced. I can do this client by client, matter by matter or as an overall total. LawPay is free if you sign up through PracticePanther which is awesome because it handles my credit card transactions and when a client pays, it automatically updates my invoicing and accounts. PracticePanther also knows how to deduct things from a client's retainer when sending out an invoice so you don't have to worry about that either. Their timing device feeds right into the system. It is awesome.

Pros

It's very hard to pinpoint what I like the most about PracticePanther since there are so many features I rely on for my law practice. I very much like that I can find everything related to a contact or matter in one place. All emails and their attachments, notes, documents, billing, payments, calendar, "to do" list (Tasks), time entries, and communications for a contact and matter can be found in PracticePanther. I use the templates and workflows on a daily basis, which save me time and keep me on track. With a simple click I can send an online questionnaire to a client that, once completed, is kept in the client account.

The tags allow me to filter and label my contacts and matters any way I want. I use PantherPay for online payments which is very easy and shows all payments in the billing account immediately.

I also like that new features are made available regularly - the software is always improving!

Cons

1) Would like for clients to start, save, and continue an intake form at a later time and have them receive a copy of their answers after being submitted.

2) The timer buffers endlessly if the page has not been refreshed. I realize you are working on this. :-/

3) If a client has a PP account with another law firm, that client cannot open a new account with my firm using that same email address. Is there a way to fix this?

4) Would love to have conditional/dynamic fields in the intake forms.

Pros

Before PracticePanther, there was no aggregation of data that would allow me to analyze in real-time how we were performing, and we were leaving a lot of pennies on the table because of it. We were able to take an outdated, paper-based reporting system and modernize it. This allowed us to get a clear picture and make adjustments as needed. In a world where there is more remote work, it becomes more important than ever to be able to track those things so that your business is maximizing its profitability and efficiency with its employees.

Cons

The most stressful part for us was getting all the data into the system in a format that would work. Once it’s in there and rolling, it cuts down on so much work. There’s a little pain upfront, but you’ll find that with any software like this, that it takes a bit of time to get it right, once it’s in there you really do wonder how you lived without it.

Pros

The product is easy to manipulate and anyone can migrate through entering time.

Cons

Their billing templates are not interchangeable. I have clients that use different placements for the law firm id/customer id. Contacted customer support (as there is an option to copy the template) to find out how to reverse the 2 columns and was told that it cannot be done and that he would bring it up with the developer. I highly doubt that that is the case since I never received any response back. This means that each month I have to go into the ledes file and reverse the numbers in the 2 columns. Very time consuming and not realistic if you have more than 1 client utilizing ledes billing. Also, their reporting is horrific as you cannot create your own customized report.

Pros

What I loved about this software is that it is very complete. It allows you to have a database of all your clients with all the information you will need to work on their case. Also, time tracker to track work time for every client. It doesn't only do that, it allows you to issue an invoice and send it to clients. In addition to this, the program allows to create matters, this makes it very easy to track the work and very useful because every client we had could have several matters open. The task assignment is amazing and the calendar features incredible. The support I received whenever I had an issue, was very good quality.

Cons

What I didn't like was that it has an amazing sync with your dropbox and email BUT if you deleted any matter the whole folder in dropbox erased. So, if we deleted something just to close the case it would be deleted from our database in dropbox. We as lawyer, needed to keep files for at least 3 years.

Pros

As a small practice, I needed to organize and implement an office management system that I could use if my assistant was not here. This software is the most intuitive, responsive and useful that I have tried...and I have test driven four of the top recommended products. I have everything I need in one package; whereas, other companies require additional packages to connect to email and form templates. The learning curve has been very small. Both of us here have not had any training yet and are up and running (for the most part) after only a week or so. Now we will be taking advantage of the great training videos and one-on-one training to hone our skills and use it to its fullest extent.

Cons

So far, our experience has only been positive. Graphics are simple and somewhat old-fashioned, BUT they work great for finding things...that's what counts.

Pros

User-friendly - Learning curve is easily the lowest of any firm management software out there
Support - Short training videos and support chat are right at your fingertips and easy to use so you get the most out of the software. Support staff are personable and very responsive - no waiting for days to get answers
Integration - Easily syncs with commonly used products like Quickbooks, Gmail, Outlook, and other legal software
Price - The price is competitive and gets you more bang for your buck compared to other software out there. They also partner with other companies which allows them to add little freebies, like covering the cost of your LawPay account if you use it. I expect they will keep giving cool incentives like that.

This software and company have changed how I run my law firm. I'm a believer and I hope they continue to do great things.

Cons

Still developing - PP is still developing so you do run into hiccups sometimes, but it is still the easiest firm management software to use and I have not had an issue yet that was not resolved by a quick chat session with support staff. They are continuing to add features and developing the product all the time, so I am excited to see what they do - really looking forward to seeing what they do with voice command integration

Pros

Super simply to use. The dashboard snapshot of a case if fantastic. You can see how much is trust, the next task, etc.

Cons

I absolutely loved the software until issues began developing with how it syncs with Box. Files and documents would go missing. Every time we reached out to tech support we were told "user error." It didn't seem right. But then, after paying careful attention, we began to show it was NOT user error but the software remapping the location of various folders into places that we weren't looking. Half of the call was spent convincing tech support that it wasn't us, but them. They would then look into and find out that it was a software glitch.

Pros

The organization of this software, entry systems and program itself are all easy to use and easy to train new employees on.

Cons

When I originally bought this software, this company was pretty new. They were very communicative and very helpful. Since they have grown, they have lost some of their customer service. They have recently added new things which help their bottom line but aren't as customer focuses as they once were.

Alternatives Considered

Clio

Reasons for Switching to PracticePanther Legal Software

Price, ease of use and ease of install.

Pros

At this point, nothing. They are not responding via telephone nor their support online

Cons

My header changed and no state or zip code now appears. I did nothing to change it.

Pros

Our team has a number of favorite features, being able to access Box via the Panther Mobile app is a big one, and being able to shoot text reminders to clients about appointments and deadlines is another favorite, but how much time Panther has shaved off of our billing cycle is definitely the top. Using Panther, we have cut in half the time it takes to review and approve pre-bills, invoice the client, and get paid.

Cons

Being a larger firm and having migrated case management software several times already made the transition and adoption challenging. Practice Panther allows for very easy import and export of information as csv files, which is great for producing your own reports, but created a lot of front end work massaging data from the previous system in order to import into Panther. As of Summer 2018, the QuickBooks integration is a little basic and still needs some work.

Pros

Integrations with Gmail and WealthCounsel have been absolutely critical and it is so easy to send a client an electronic invoice/receive an online payment. I also really enjoy the workflow function - this is amazing for task tracking and automatically tracking deadlines. Another great feature is the Activity Dashboard that keeps you on track with daily activities.

Cons

It takes a bit to fully immerse yourself in this software and utilize all functions. The template function is a LOT but once you do it a few times you can figure out the ins and outs.

Alternatives Considered

Clio

Reasons for Switching to PracticePanther Legal Software

It seemed smaller and easier to manage

Pros

I have been with PracticePanther for a long time. I knew that I needed billing software as I grew the first iteration of my practice, and came across PracticePanther. For me, the billing aspect was the selling point. The ability for clients to pay their invoices with PantherPayments - this feature has decreased my ongoing A/R, and frees up the time and energy it takes to run credit cards.

Cons

PracticePanther has been very receptive to any tweaks or feature suggestions I've had.