PracticePanther Legal Software Reviews

Ease of use, and tutorials that allowed me to quickly gain the requisite knowledge for utilizing each feature were absolutely critical to starting my law firm. One of the greatest assets to Practice Panther is its amazing team. I love the one on one trainings, and how many of the features I had questions about were already on the agenda for discussion (provided by the team member conducting the training ahead of time). Thus, saving me time, and only needing me to add additional ones, if necessary. I love the tutorials, templates, pop ups, and live chat features. Live chats have been so helpful in a pinch when I encounter a new challenge with things like linking two client matters together. I love how links to possible video tutorials pop up, while I am waiting for a team member to reply, to see if my question can be answered with one of the step by step videos . I use those videos for future references all the time.

There is nothing I do not like about the software. I only had one hiccup with syncing the LawPay feature with Practice Panther, and one of my client's could not submit their credit card payment online. There was an additional step after your LawPay account is approved, and you must go into your Practice Panther account settings to select the banking accounts that you want to use with LawPay. There were no instructions for this step in the process. However, this appeared to be more of a LawPay issue due to the 3 day time delay for approving the LawPay account. Because Practice Panther is so easy to use, I was actually able to figure out where the problem was, and get my client's payment through within a few minutes. Both Practice Panther and LawPay were quick on responding to the issue, and did an amazing job.

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.

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).

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.

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.

We were up and running within minutes. The software is intuitive and when we need answers there is a library of how to videos and a very responsive customer service team.

We have used Practice Panther since our firm was established. We have not implemented every feature, and hope to do so in the future.

Being able to integrate all of the features expected of a legal management software in one, but in such a intuitive way.

Nothing. I am very happy with it. We've been using it for 2 years and they keep adding great additional features as we and other request them, but its still not clunky.

clients like the interface, auto posting of lawpay and accounts for trust versus other payments with ease.

The billing every month is SO PAINFUL. To review bills or edit them, you have to open every invoice in a separate window. There is no "next" button to review invoices like every other billing platform out there. When asked about adding this, the response from PP is they will check with the development team. Clearly their developers didnt actually try out invoice review/edits for more than a few clients at a time. This is not a good solution if you have more than 5 clients. The task management also doesnt send notifications to all those tagged in the tasks, and if you assign tasks but are not the one assigned to do them, you cant track the progress. So we are using Asana instead so now using two platforms instead of one integrated solution.

I love the ease of use for conflicts checking. I love the secure client portal, as I often exchange sensitive documents with the client. I love the client notes feature and the calendaring.

I have had clients who could not get the secure portal to work - that may have been user error, but there are enough of them that I had to develop a back up plan. I would like to see a better overview of available features so I can decide what works best for me. I do not use most of the billing features, so I would like a way to disable that, rather than have it look like I am running a huge deficit! I would like to learn more about integration with Wealth Counsel software. Cross-population of clients would be a huge benefit for me!

The software is simple its flexible and allows for use across platforms so Mac Windows etc
The support team superb
Since using we have seen a 45 per cent increase in billable hours

Nothing, it's great software nothing at all I don't like

Love the ease of use for the billing program. It's clear, easy to use, and easily adaptable / modifiable for your billing needs.

Sometimes glitches occur that cause you to have to break down your billing into smaller sections which is a little more time consuming.

Our entire office, from attorneys to support staff to office administrator, have all commented how intuitive and easy the software is to use. There is no doubt that our attorneys and paralegals have become more productive from using this software. Also, the reports for A/R, billable time per user, and many others are extremely valuable. We are a new firm, and this is our first (and last) billing software for our office.

If there is one thing I am "disappointed" with, it would have to be the add-on we purchased from Law Tool Box for court rules. When we first started using it, the rules for Nevada (where we practice), were almost all incorrect, or useless for our civil litigation practice. Despite providing Law Tool Box with all of the information on the proper court rules that apply here in Nevada over a month ago, they have still not made those changes. We have not been able to use or rely on it for anything. A great concept, but not functional. Useless.

Clients can pay online.
I honestly can't think of anything else to say.

Where do I start?

The time keeping function is terrible. You cannot edit start and stop times. You cannot start and stop multiple timers in the mobile app. The software auto-saves frequently, and when it does, it moves the cursor in the entry to the end of the text. This is annoying. You cannot start a timer and then add the client-matter without causing the time to round up.

The syncing with G Suite is bad. The software will not sync with all the fields in Google Contacts, and the "custom fields" in PracticePanther do not sync into Google Contacts. This results in a lot of duplicate data entry, which is what I was trying to void with practice management software. The software does not sync will with Google Drive well at all either. Apparently, you can't have any folders in Google Drive with the same name. For example, Client_01\general and Client_02\general would result in an error and none of your Google Drive documents will be visible in PracticePanther.

The software billing feature is terrible. First, you cannot have multiple companies or entities tied to the same individual. Thus, if you have a contact who owns multiple businesses that are clients, you will not be able to list all those businesses under the client's name. To make matters worse, you can only email invoices to individuals who are listed under the company. I had to create multiple dummy contacts called "Accounts Payable" just so that I could email my clients their invoices.

I ran out of space.

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.

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.

I like using it - it's easy to use and people on my team enjoy it too. Easy for billing and time managements, which is primarily what my law firm uses it for. We have had it since about 2018, and overall, I'm satisfied with the functionality. I haven't tried any of the competitors so I don't know how it compares.

Customer support is highly inadequate. I've had an issue with uploading billing entries and costs onto invoices on my iPad. It can only be done on a computer or laptop, but it doesn't work on iPad. When I open an invoice to edit it, and click on the link that states "add unbilled time, expenses and flat fees" to upload the billing entries and costs, nothing happens and therefore they can't be added to the invoices. It's frustrating that this feature doesn't work on iPad as I can do everything else on my iPad. I informed Practice Panther of the issue over a year ago, gave them technician access probably over ten times, talked to customer support on the phone repeatedly in the course of months as well as exchanged dozens of emails with multiple customer support reps - and nothing. Eventually, they failed to resolve the problem and stopped getting back to me. Notably, over a year later, the issue is still UNRESOLVED. So although I enjoy the software overall, I find their customer support inadequate and it hinders my business that I still can't add the billing entries to my invoices whenever using the software on my iPad.

One of the best features of the software is not so much a feature but the logic employed in designing the flow of data. I have used a number of the more popular programs and can heartily recommend this as the best I have found. The ease of use makes it a top choice if you have staff that will use it. I am a single solo and it is not one of my concerns yet. But, I can't see anyone not understanding the flow of information. The automation is superb. Document assembly is easy and logical. One of the best features is the Forms generator. Email the form to your client or prospective client - they fill it out - and it goes right into your data. No need to waste time inputting names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and any other data you would like to have handy in your file.

Tracking time is a breeze as is generating invoices, tracking retainer accounts, tracking trust accounts and more (I find the accounting component more than meets my needs).

Over time you will come to rely on the information in the program over the physical file. It has become my organizational hub for all that I do.

I would like to see a thick book explaining all the capabilities and limits. The support people are great and can answer any question - I just like to read it and push the software to its limits. I have used PP for some time - moving to another package for some time. At twice the price - it did less. In my brief time away the product dramatically improved & I am back and very happy.

I really like two features the most. First, is the absolutely fabulous customer support that I receive. I get answers within less than 60 minutes from the time I contact them. Second is the ease of use. Practice Panther is almost intuitive in its use. If the answer doesn't jump out at you, there are tons of training videos available and the online customer help is spot on.

I use the basic Essential Monthly Plan. It is the lowest cost but the value is exceptional. I do wish I had some of the additional features in the higher priced plans but those don't fit my budget currently. Those features I can supplement with my own documents or programs.

Great tools, great automation, great customer support

There are continuing areas that we could further automate to make the product even more amazing.

The look and feel was one of our deciding factors to go with PracticePanther. It’s incredibly intuitive, and most of your data is available whenever you need it. In immigration law, there’s a lot of very important dates and information that need to be tracked, so being able to create all the custom fields we needed was a big win. I also love how easy it is to track our billing. We can automatically track who has paid, and then follow-up with anyone we still need to collect from. Giving extra transparency to our clients really showcases our ability to use technology to enhance our services.

When starting with any new software you need to approach it with some patience. There’s a lot of training available, both videos and text-based. So getting ramped-up and knowing that we needed to experiment with customization and intake forms, and get the team to support using it was going to take some time.

Other than it being a "one stop shop" and the ease of accessibility, I have been impressed with Practice Panther's ability to respond to my specific needs. A significant amount of my work is for unions and clients with multiple matters. Initially, Practice Panther was unable handle invoicing and billing for an individual contact with multiple matters. However, I approached them with my needs and they created a "fix" to their system within a week. They also followed up to ensure that I was satisfied. I was certainly impressed by Practice Panther's speed and attentiveness.

I am still trying to learn all of the ins and outs. I need a bit more tutelage on the nuances. At times, customer service may not answer all of the questions, however, they have been very responsive to my needs once I call or make them known.

The customer service reps are always available (through the website/app!) and are extremely flexible as far as meeting individual requests. The software overall is very intuitive and once the basic information is inputted, training other attorneys and staff is easy. The PracticePanther reps even offered to help with training and do individualized training as necessary!
The iphone app is simple yet you can do everything on it you need to - right from court. I never have to worry about missing court dates or even reminders to review certain files or specific documents because in less than a minute I can have a task set, reminders set, and it will popup as I set it. The calendar syncs with Google Calendar and they imported all of our client contacts from Quickbooks Online, saving us many hours of data entry.
We are getting into the more advanced functions like templates, workflows, and other automation and that's really where the software shines. You create the custom fields, you choose what information is important for every matter, and you can add-on as you are creating matters. The flexibility and ease of access to everything - including client files from DropBox, which can mirror any network - is unrivaled.
Really happy we went with PracticePanther. The amount of time saved having customer care/customer service always available is invaluable. Highly recommended for law firms of all sizes.

Still working on getting the office transitioned from a paper filing and calendaring system to online. So the one suggestion I would have is to maybe have an app for the calendar that is independent from the phone app - similar to google calendar.
Also, there should be a way to turn the default settings to "Do not email assignees" when a workflow is applied. But that's a tiny suggestion. Overall no major complaints.

Ease of use, iphone ap, customer service, training videos, layout

I honestly cannot think of anything I don't like

I like the set up and font size of Practice Panther. Once you get use to the functionality, it is easy to operate and understand.

The customer service does not follow-up with any real responses other than "we are working on it". It has taken months of no real response to a very simple issue. I would say the inability or lack of IT people that can fix the bugs that exist in program would make me reconsider whether the investment in Practice Panther is worth it.

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.

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.

Billing is easy to complete with PP. It sometimes syncs with QB (when it doesn't it causes major issues)

The customer service is horrible and has gotten progressively worse over the years. It seems like when the company changed ownership there was no money put into development to make the system better and it is constantly getting beat by competitors. The customer service is almost non existent and there seems to be constant turnover.

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.

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

When an attorney can access the most recent case status at any time or place, he or she can direct their assistants to reschedule, contact a client, or draft a document for review, directly from within the software. "Time" is more than money, it can be the difference in a favorable decision for your client, and effective service can lead to your next client referral.
Everything you need to know, from billable hours, account balances, recent notes, phone calls, or critical events are available from the app on your phone or your home or office computer. Practicepanther provides you the "time" to provide your clients with the best legal service you can give. Practicepanther even provides a billable timer than integrates directly into the matter you are working on.
As a previous user of Needles, and Time Matters, Practicepanther has faster integration, and does so much more. It's design makes it simple to use for even those who have never used legal office-management software. Perfect for solo offices or large firms.