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Case Management

by Terri Olson

What is Case Management Software?

In the last year, I've gone from getting the occasional question about case management software to a daily deluge about what to buy, where to get it, etc. Everyone, it seems, wants case management software. This is not surprising, for the term itself implies a highly desirable state of affairs: who wouldn't want his or her cases managed? However, if you put five lawyers into a room and asked each to explain what "case management" meant, you'd probably get five different statements about what case management software should do. One lawyer may want financial records to be handled; another may need dates tracked; and a third may simply want note-taking capability.

Even though different law firms have different "case management" needs, we can establish some ground rules for what the software should do. So, the short answer to our question is that case management software is designed to provide the lawyer with an up-to-date database of information regarding the status of a matter, people involved in it, dates connected to it, and miscellaneous information regarding it.

But because there is so much confusion floating around out there as to what exactly constitutes a case management program, it may be prudent to start our discussion with some basic comparisons between what's being marketed as case management software and other, related, products.

Time and Billing Software. Since over two-thirds of law practices now use some type of automated billing system, most firms are aware that case management and billing (including entry of time and invoice generation) are separate functions. But the line is not always a well-defined one. Both billing software and case management software are built around databases, and, in most instances, the databases overlap considerably, in that both ask the firm to input basic client information (name, address, telephone number) and basic information relevant to the matter (matter number, docket number, opposing counsel, etc.). In addition, some case management programs can mark calendar entries as billable and export them to a linked billing program, further blurring the lines between the two.

Litigation Support. Programs defined as "litigation support" may provide many aspects of case management, but their primary function is dealing with the massive amounts of paper that accompany litigation. Thus, litigation support software offers users the ability to search through, annotate, organize, and report on such items as depositions, other transcripts, correspondence, or even, depending on the capability of the program, non-text documents like blueprints, medical notes, or videotapes. However, case management software may link to important documents, so some litigation support function may be involved in case management.

Calendar/Docket Control. All case management programs are also calendar control programs, but not all calendaring programs offer case management features. In its simplest form, a calendaring program graphically replicates a desk or personal calendar into which the user can input appointments, reminders, and to-dos. More sophisticated calendaring programs have multiple views, individual and group calendars, recurring appointments, and other desirable calendaring features. The distinction lies in the underlying database. A calendaring program keeps track of dates. A case management program tracks all information (people, places, events) related to a matter, of which the dates (events) are an important component, but not the only one. Because case management programs attempt to accomplish so much more than calendaring programs, they frequently lack the graphical bells-and-whistles of their less expensive cousins.

Personal Information Managers. Personal information managers, or "PIMs" as they are also called, have been on the market for more than ten years. Borland's Sidekick was an early and beloved example of the genre. PIMs were generally built around two central items — a calendar and a card file (like a Rolodex). As time went on, savvy lawyers noticed that calendars and card files were two items critical to their success, and became avid users of general-purpose PIMs such as Ecco, ACT!, Instant Recall, Lotus Organizer, and many others.

So, in some ways, PIMS can legitimately be regarded as case management programs. But PIMs designed for the general public often lack specific features law offices need, such as ticklers for critical dates, statute of limitations warnings, and the ability to easily link multiple items within the PIM as related to a particular case. However, there are products marketed as legal PIMs (such as TimeMatters and sometimes Amicus); functionally, there is little difference between one of these prodcuts and one marketed as a true case management program.

What features should purchasers look for?

If you are looking for a case management program, you may want to establish priorities for needs within certain general categories, such as calendaring functions, database functions, level of integration with other products, and operating system/network system issues. For example, a firm running Macintoshes must immediately narrow the list to programs like CaseTrack and Amicus that are available for that platform. Similarly, if a firm decides that strong integration with its existing billing software (STI's TABS) is a high priority, the number of available candidates shrinks to those offering that capability, such as STI's own CaseMaster.

The following checklists may be handy in evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of programs you come across. While the features listed are not always critical for all firms, they are certainly desirable, and also widely available. The list assumes that most users will be running Windows, Windows 95, or Windows NT.

General features

Calendaring features


Database features


Integration with other software


Case management software for specialty practices

If you practice in a firm that limits itself to a particular area of law, such as estate planning, bankruptcy, immigration, or criminal defense, you may not be happy with standard-issue case management software. Certainly these programs are a big improvement over databases or PIMs designed for the general public, but they're often not adequately tailored to the demands of that practice area. Common complaints include "where's the field for port of entry?" or "but we need to keep track of the parcel identification number ..."

So what does the specialty practice do? Happily, there are many solutions in between hiring a programmer to customize a database for the firm and making do with a product that does not fit the practice area. For one thing, more and more case management programs now permit the user to customize some or all of the fields in the database. So, instead of "opposing counsel's cellular phone number," the criminal defense lawyer can track something more useful like "arraignment date". Sometimes this level of customization is all that's required. Since most case management programs are built around a litigation model, this approach works particularly well for specialized litigation practices, like criminal defense, family law, and personal injury.

But a firm that relies on unique deadlines or financial calculations, or that despairs of convincing a case management program that drafting a will does not generally involve discovery or opposing counsel, may also wish to look at the variety of case management programs out there designed for specialized areas of law. Bankruptcy, collections, probate, personal injury, worker's compensation, and real estate are all represented by customized products that track information (and often generate documents) for that particular kind of practice. The bad news is that specialty case management software may cost double or triple what a generic litigation package runs.

Network versus single user

As mentioned above, PIMs are often limited to a single user. Although they can be installed on a network, they are literally personal information managers. Most case management software, on the other hand, is available either for a single user or for multiple users. So will a firm need to be networked in order to use the software effectively? As is the case with so many things, the answer is a rousing "it depends."

The ideal vision for any program designed to store large amounts of data is for many users to be able independently to dip into that data according to their unique needs. So, a receptionist may pull up a data entry screen for a new client; a secretary may set an appointment for an existing matter; an associate may review notes made during the course of discovery; and a senior partner may look over a summary report of that associate's open files. Obviously, this vision is facilitated by the existence of a network with workstations in everyone's office. But it is not entirely incompatible with a scenario in which some or all attorneys do not have their own PC's.

For example, to make training easier and maintain tighter controls, an office may wish to have one person primarily responsible for data input and report generation. Partners who do not have their own computers may request reports from the appropriate person or provide information regarding appointments and deadlines for someone else to enter. While this is not an ideal use of case management software, it provides many of the benefits without forcing unwilling lawyers into changing established work habits.

Purchasing tips

What do you get for your money? Readers who quickly scan a comparative price listing for case management software will see prices ranging from several hundred to many thousands of dollars. The obvious question is: why are some products so much more expensive than others? Inexpensive programs can be very feature rich, and should certainly include solid calendar control, flexible contact and case information databases, note-taking capabilities, basic network functionality (although sometimes at an increased price) and some level of information import and export (usually as word processing merge files or billing software data files). Higher-end products should provide all of that and many if not all of the following: rule-based docketing, custom report writers, solid support for a range of networks and operating systems, imaging support, SQL support, client expense tracking, and built-in document assembly. In addition, the companies will sometimes offer on-site installation, training, and customization of the program as part of the purchase price.

The new product blues. No one wants to be the involuntary beta test site for a new product. It used to be that purchasers could look at the version number of the software and get a rough idea of the developmental state of the product. 1.0 was always the first release; 1.01 was a bug fix; 1.2 was a minor upgrade, etc. Now developers, spurred on by the unfortunate example of Microsoft in this regard, are much more likely to paste on a version number roughly comparable to what else is on the market. So the only safe way to know how long the product has been out there is to ask. "How many months/years has this been shipping?" Even better, "How many registered users do you have?" (But don't expect a straight answer to that one.)

Upgrade and maintenance policies. A program that costs $500 is no bargain if maintenance upgrades (a.k.a. patches or bug fixes) are sold at $400 a time. Current registered users should be offered free maintenance upgrades and product enhancements at very modest costs. Users who are switching from a version running on one operating system to one that runs on another (DOS --Windows upgrades or Macintosh — Windows NT upgrades, for example) should expect to pay more, owing to the considerable expense that has probably gone into new product development at that point.

Extra fees for extra matters. Some case management programs, particularly those designed for a specialty law practice, have limitations on the number of matters that can be active and open at any one time in the program. To exceed this number, the user pays an extra fee to receive the "enhanced" or "deluxe" version. This practice is a holdover from way back — once upon a time, database programs had to set aside blocks of space for all potential records, whether they were actually used or not, so developers had to set limits in advance. In this author's opinion, this practice is no longer justified, since no additional programming or other developer work has gone into the "extra matters" enhancement. In fact, the reverse is true — it takes additional programmer time to incorporate the arbitrary limitation on the number of active files. Users who purchase programs with such limitations and then find their firm in a state of rapid growth may find themselves unable to support their expanded case list.

Where do you find case management software?

Personal information managers designed for the mass market, like Ecco or Lotus Organizer, can be found on the shelves of any full-service computer store or mail-order software company. Most products developed specifically for the legal market need to be ordered directly from the company that developed them. The following list may assist you in locating the right case management program for your office. Other sources of valuable information include specialized magazines such as Law Office Computing, Computer Counsel, or The Lawyer's PC. Also, call your state Bar offices to see if you live in one of the dozen or so states and provinces with a Law Office Management assistance service that may be able to provide you with product reviews, buying advice, or software training.1

Product: Abacus Law
Company: Abacus Data Systems
Number for inquiries: (800) 726-3339
Web site: www.abacuslaw.com
Downloadable demo-- updates only
current version number: 1.1
lowest price (single user):$599

Product: Amicus Attorney
Company: Gavel & Gown Software
Number for inquiries: 800-472-2289
Web site: www.amicus.ca
Downloadable demo-- yes
current version number: 2.53
lowest price (single user): [$299 (attorney) $149 (assistant)] + $99 (annual support)

Product: TimeMatters
Company: Data.TXT
Number for inquiries: 800-328-2898
Web site: www.timematters.com
Downloadable demo -- yes
current version number: 2.0
lowest price (single user): $350

Product: Case Master III
Company: Software Technology, Inc.
Number for inquiries: 800-487-7111
Web site: www.stilegal.com
Downloadable demo -- yes
current version number: 8.2
lowest price (single user): $295

Product: Gryphon
Company: Poseidon
Number for inquiries: 800-547-9746
Web site: www.poseidon.com
Downloadable demo -- yes
current version number: 2.0
lowest price (single user): $995

Product: Needles
Company: Chesapeake Interlink, Ltd.
Number for inquiries: 410-363-1976
Web site: www.needpins.com
Downloadable demo -- yes
current version number: 1.06
lowest price (single user): $5,000

Product: Trial Lawyer's Assistant
Company: Oakley Associates, Ltd.
Number for inquiries: 800-960-0644
Web site: www.tla2.com
Downloadable demo? yes
current version number: TLA2
lowest price (single user): $595

Product: Jr. Partner
Company: Millennium Software
Number for inquiries: 800-577-2786
Web site: www.millenniumsoft.com
Downloadable demo -- yes
current version number: 2.01
lowest price (single user): $349

Product: LawBase for Windows
Company: Synaptec Software
Number for inquiries: 800-569-3377
Web site: www.lawbase.com
Downloadable demo -- no
current version number: 2.2
lowest price (single user): $3,000

LegalEdge for Windows
Company: LegalEdge Software
Number for inquiries: 610-975-5888
Web site: www.legaledge.com
Downloadable demo -- no
current version number: 3.0
lowest price (single user): $3,200

21st Century Lawyer
Company: CLCS, Inc.
Number for inquiries: 800-492-5279
Web site: www.21stcenturylawyer.com
Downloadable demo -- no
current version number: 2.5
lowest price (single user): $2999

Terri Olson is the former Director of the Law Practice Management Program.

1 Software Prices quoted were accurate as of original publication of this article.  Please refer to the manufacturer for more current information 

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