When a firm outgrows shared folders and spreadsheets, the conversation turns to platforms. Clio, NetDocuments and iManage come up often in the legal market, along with several others. They are not identical products, and they are not always direct competitors. Clio is widely known for practice management, covering matters, contacts, billing and calendars. NetDocuments and iManage are document and email management systems with deep roots in larger firms.
This post is not a product ranking. Features and pricing change, so you should confirm current details with each vendor. Instead, it offers questions that help you decide what you need.
Start with the problem, not the product
Write down what is not working today.
- Lawyers cannot find the latest version of a document.
- Billing is slow or error-prone.
- Email on a matter lives only in individual inboxes.
- Intake is inconsistent and conflicts checks are manual.
- Remote access is awkward.
A short list of pain points gives you criteria. Without it, demos tend to favor whichever vendor has the most polished presentation.
Questions about fit
- How many attorneys and staff will use it, and how might that change in three years?
- Do we need practice management, document management or both? Some firms use separate systems and integrate them.
- What practice areas do we have, and does the vendor support our workflows, such as trust accounting rules or court deadline calculation?
- How well does it work with Microsoft 365, Outlook and Word, where our lawyers spend their day?
- Does it work on mobile devices, and how?
Questions about security
The platform will hold privileged information, so put security questions in writing.
- Does it support single sign-on and MFA, and can we require them?
- What role-based permissions exist, and can we restrict access by matter?
- Can we build ethical walls and conflict screens?
- Where is our data hosted, and what certifications or independent audits does the vendor have? Ask for current reports rather than relying on marketing claims.
- Is data encrypted at rest and in transit? Who controls the encryption keys?
- What audit logs are available, and for how long?
- What is the vendor's breach notification process?
- What do the agreements say about confidentiality and data ownership?
These questions connect to your duties of competence and confidentiality, and the ABA has encouraged lawyers to evaluate cloud vendors with care. Confirm any state-specific guidance with your state bar.
Questions about data and exit
- Can we export all of our data, including documents, metadata, notes and billing history, in a usable format?
- What are the costs and timeline for export if we leave?
- What happens to our data after cancellation, and how is deletion confirmed?
A vendor that makes leaving difficult is a risk even if you never plan to leave.
Questions about migration
Migration is where projects often succeed or fail.
- Who moves the data, the vendor, a consultant or us?
- How will folder structures, permissions and document versions be mapped?
- How long will old and new systems run in parallel?
- How will we clean out duplicates and obsolete files first? Moving clutter into a new system just creates expensive clutter.
- What testing will occur before cutover?
Questions about adoption
The best system fails if lawyers will not use it. Ask the vendor for training options and plan internal champions in each practice group. Consider a pilot with one team before full rollout. Measure whether people actually file emails and documents into matters, not just whether licenses were purchased.
Questions about cost
Look past the per-user monthly price.
- Are there fees for storage, add-ons, integrations or API access?
- What are implementation, migration and training costs?
- Are there minimum seat counts or annual commitments?
- What internal time will the project take?
Build a three-year total, not a first-month quote.
Involve IT early
Your IT provider can evaluate the technical side: identity integration, device requirements, bandwidth and backup. Ask whether you need to back up data hosted in the platform separately, because cloud vendors generally focus on keeping their service available rather than on restoring your deleted files.
Decision tip
Score each vendor on the same criteria and record the reasons. A written decision helps explain the choice to partners and to clients who ask how you protect their files.
Counsel Cyber supports law firms using Clio, NetDocuments, iManage and Microsoft 365, and can help you evaluate options, plan migration and secure the result. If you are early in the process, we can help you build your requirements list.