Legal software that works together

The systems a firm depends on

A typical small or midsize firm relies on four kinds of software. Microsoft 365 handles email, calendars, Word, Excel and Teams. A practice management system tracks matters, contacts, deadlines and time. A document management system, or a well-organized SharePoint setup, holds the files. And a billing or accounting system handles invoices and trust accounting. Many firms also use e-filing portals, e-signature tools and a secure way to share files with clients.

Each of these may work fine by itself. Problems come from the gaps between them: documents saved to desktops instead of the matter file, calendars that don't sync with docketing, or a former employee who still has access to one system after being removed from another.

Microsoft 365, set up for a law firm

• Secure sign-in. Multifactor authentication and conditional access rules, so sign-ins from unmanaged devices or unusual places get extra checks or are blocked.
• Email and calendars. Shared mailboxes for intake and billing, shared calendars for court dates, and retention settings that match your firm's records policy.
• Teams and SharePoint. Organized by practice group or matter, with permissions that reflect who should see what, including ethical walls where needed.
• Sensitivity labels and data loss prevention. Where licensing allows, labels that mark privileged or confidential material and rules that warn before sensitive data leaves the firm.
• Licensing. The right plans for each person, so you're not paying for features nobody uses or missing the security features you need.

Practice management and document management

Whether your firm uses a cloud practice management platform or an on-premises system, we handle the IT side: installation, add-ins for Outlook and Word, user setup and removal, integration with Microsoft 365, and coordination with the vendor's support team when an issue is on their end. We don't sell legal software, so our advice on what to keep or change is based on how your firm works.

For documents, the goal is one place for each matter's files, with consistent naming, version history and search that actually finds things. That might be a dedicated document management system or a carefully structured SharePoint environment. We help you choose, then we plan and run the migration so files arrive where people expect them.

Ready for discovery and litigation holds

When litigation is likely, a firm may need to preserve its own or its client's electronic information. A well-configured Microsoft 365 tenant can place mailboxes and sites on hold, keep deleted items and search across email, Teams and files. We set up retention and hold features in advance, so when an attorney asks for a preservation hold or an export, it can be done quickly and documented properly. Litigation strategy and review stay with your attorneys and your e-discovery vendor. We make sure the data is preserved, findable and exported cleanly.

Sharing files with clients securely

Emailing large attachments with sensitive content is risky and often fails anyway. We set up secure client sharing through your practice management portal, SharePoint or another tool you already pay for, with expiring links, access limits and a record of who opened what. Clients get a simple experience, and the firm keeps control of its documents.

Ongoing support

Software changes constantly. Vendors release updates, Microsoft changes features and new staff need accounts on every system. We handle onboarding and offboarding across all of them, test major updates and keep a current record of each system, who administers it and how it connects to the rest.

Questions about legal software & microsoft 365