Since there are many different computer needs in a law office, there are many different types of business law software available to attorneys and law office managers. Software that is specifically designed for law offices can fulfill many needs, including law office management, time management and billing, appointment management, contract writing, legal terminology in word processing, and case management. Most attorney and law office software falls under four major types: law office management software, time management and billing software, legal process software, and software specifically for business or civil law.
Law office management software is the most common type of business law software, and these software applications help attorneys and their office managers take care of the many business transactions that can go on in a law office on a day-to-day basis. Managers of law offices must be able to keep track of different cases and their associated documents, as well as organizing schedules for legal aids and attorneys. While document management software helps office managers keep track of legal documents, time management and billing software helps them keep track of attorneys’ time.
Since attorneys make money based on the time they spend in appointments, many types of business law software are used for appointment setting and billing. Law office managers need very powerful appointment setting software that can keep track of many different clients, and if a law office has more than one attorney, the software must also keep track of the time for multiple attorneys. Often, appointment-setting and billing software will be combined into law software that keeps track of and automatically bills for an attorney’s time.
Other types of business law software help attorneys manage cases and other legal processes like filing deadlines and court appearances. It is very important that attorneys perform many legal processes in a timely manner, and case management software is designed to help schedule these legal processes. Case management software is also called docketing software because an attorney’s court schedule is called a docket.
Software that is used specifically in business or commercial law offices can help attorneys manage business contracts and the nuances of business law. These kinds of business law software applications include word processing software that helps lawyers and legal aids write business contracts. Legal software may also include packages of pre-written contracts or a spell-checking dictionary loaded with the legal terminology commonly used in business law.
