Smokeball vs ProLaw

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Our analysts compared Smokeball vs ProLaw based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Legal Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

ProLaw Software Tool

Product Basics

Smokeball is a hybrid solution to manage various facets of a legal firm, including cases, billing, documents, clients and daily operations. It provides comprehensive billing including automated timekeeping & activity tracking, custom invoices, online payments and trust accounting. Users can create and manage legal documents and forms using over 20,000 forms, perform e-filing and request e-signatures. Assign, collaborate and automate tasks and workflows with smart reminders on priorities, events and deadlines, as well as increased visibility with convenient access to its intuitive legal calendar. It also provides centralized access to organize relevant legal case data and a secure portal to enhance client communication.

Its real-time reporting and dashboarding modules enable data-driven insights on business trends, performance, finance and profitability. It offers intuitive integrations with Lawpay, QuickBooks, MS Word and Outlook, and more. to enhance its billing, payment and management functionality. In addition to its user-friendly remote accessibility, its hybrid implementation enables both online and offline access. Firms are entitled to dedicated onboarding, training and support services.

Pros
  • User-friendly interface
  • Streamlined workflows
  • Strong document management
  • Good customer support
  • Mobile app available
Cons
  • Limited reporting
  • Costly for small firms
  • Inconsistent integrations
  • Learning curve for users
  • Occasional bugs
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ProLaw is an end-to-end solution designed for law firms to streamline and manage different aspects of their businesses. It provides inclusions to coordinate and support the processes of various facets of the firm, including executive, legal, IT and finance. It provides a cover-all integration with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Westlaw court rules and other popular applications to help lawyers build and maintain a productive, profitable practice.

It provides real-time business intelligence on the health of the firm, enabling access to and management of all important processes on the go with the mobile app and online portal. It offers additional modules, such as card processing, e-billing, legal calendar and researching to address the entire matter lifecycle to service clients more efficiently and effectively. It also provides personalized training options to promote firm-wide literacy.
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$39/Month
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Tailored to your specific needs
$30,000 One-Time
Get a free price quote
Tailored to your specific needs
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Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
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Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Easy Access to Information: Consolidate all case-related information, including documents, contacts, workflow and communication in a central hub. 
  • Requires Minimal Training: Minimize time spent on reskilling and training employees using the intuitive user interface and training materials. 
  • Automated Billing: Accurately track time and create bills for client work via the AutoTime module. 
  • Seamless Integrations: Integrate with all the popular apps like Microsoft Office, Outlook Calendar, Contacts, email clients and more. 
  • Matter-Specific Document Search: Easily locate particular documents and case files. Find documents used in specific contexts, depending on the firm’s requirements. 
  • Increased Productivity: Smokeball automates time-consuming tasks like document generation and billing, freeing up your time to focus on what matters most: serving your clients.
  • Improved Client Communication: Smokeball's secure client portal allows you to share documents, invoices, and other information with clients instantly, keeping them informed and engaged throughout the legal process.
  • Enhanced Collaboration: Smokeball provides a central platform for your team to collaborate on cases, share ideas, and track progress, streamlining your workflow and fostering a more efficient work environment.
  • Boosted Profitability: Smokeball's accurate time tracking and billing features help you capture every billable hour and ensure you are getting paid for all the work you do.
  • Reduced Costs: By automating manual processes and eliminating paper, Smokeball helps you save time and money, allowing you to reinvest those resources back into your business.
  • Improved Scalability: Smokeball grows with your firm, providing the tools and resources you need to manage your caseload effectively, regardless of size.
  • Enhanced Security: Smokeball's cloud-based platform is backed by robust security measures, ensuring your data is always safe and protected.
  • Peace of Mind: Smokeball's reliable performance and expert support team give you the peace of mind to focus on what you do best: practicing law.
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  • Improved Profitability: Find the best use of company time and waste fewer resources on repetitive day-to-day tasks using automation. 
  • Built-in Integration: Use Westlaw services for client tasks and directly add cost transactions to bills. 
  • Streamlined Client Service: Stay on top of client obligations and provide prompt service with an up-to-date database of clients, leads and case information. 
  • Rules-Based Calendaring: Efficiently juggle cases across multiple jurisdictions with a legal calendar that automatically calculates deadlines based on Federal and State court rules. 
  • Intuitive File Identification: Locate specific files quickly with the intuitive matter-based search function. 
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  • Time and Expense Tracking: Automatically track time spent on in-platform tasks, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Outlook and associate it with relevant legal matters. Prepare invoices for billable hours and run reports on profitability and productivity. 
    • Productivity Insights: Generate productivity reports by practice area, staff member and matter. Identify non-billable hours, potential issues and productive staff members to improve the firm’s bottom line. 
    • Automated Billing: Populate billing entries and send invoices directly from the time and expense tracking portal. Pull data from associated matters to automatically create customizable entries. 
  • Document Automation: Draft and edit documents automatically from the information stored in associated legal matters. Integrate with Microsoft Word to move documents and generate PDFs directly from the source. 
    • Document Standardization: Improve the firm’s standard documentation processes with smarter fonts, letterheads and state-prescribed texts. 
    • Form Library: Access over 17,000 public legal documents through the Law Firm Form Library portal. Organize the forms by matter, contacts and/or practice areas and search by keywords. Automate form retrieval processes with “If, Then Else” and “Ask” commands. 
    • Area Specific Automation: Populate legal documentation with information specific to the associated matter. Eliminate overlapping of data with over 250 unique practice areas to choose from. 
  • Client Portal: Smokeball Communicate provides clients with a simple messaging and file-sharing portal. Collaborate on cases, share updates and send files securely with multi-factor authentication and full encryption. 
    • Time Tracking: Automatically log all the hours spent on client correspondence to transform them into billable time. Concentrate all communication through a single portal to simplify tracking and billing. 
    • Communication Management: Directly turn messages into tasks. Manage all email correspondence, in-platform messages and in-app communications under the same roof. 
  • Electronic Filing and Signatures: Integrate with InfoTrack and DocuSign to attach signature clauses to documents. Additionally, insert text boxes, radio buttons, checkboxes and more. 
    • Document Status: Keep track of all the documents sent for signatures. Automatically save the signed documents alongside associated legal matters. 
    • Court Searching and Tracking: Utilize InfoTrack to run searches across PACER, state courts, Federal and Bankruptcy courts, and trial and appeal boards. 
    • Filing Resources: Fill out 1099S forms, sign IT Electronic Signatures and legally incorporate firms anywhere in the U.S. Electronically file documents directly from the relevant legal matter with automated expense tracking. 
  • Mobile Application: View and edit legal documentation, attend hearings, send emails and add billing entries from anywhere via the mobile app. Get a quick and clean overview of the legal calendar. 
  • Workflow Management: Assign tasks to team members and set multiple reminders for important events, dates and hearings. 
    • Workflow Automation: Set up standardized automated workflows for regular processes like client intakes, filings, closings and more. 
    • Next Step: Create a sequence of simple or multi-step tasks against each other for every legal matter. Set up prescriptive tasks, litigation reminders and drafting deadlines in advance. 
    • Daily Digest: Broadcast an email every morning to staff members with reminders of upcoming tasks and events. 
  • Case Management: Organize legal cases according to practice areas with matter-specific information. 
    • Digital File: Automatically structure all email correspondence according to associated matter. Staff members have complete access to every file relevant to their work. 
    • Data Structuring: Organize matter-specific information like emails, notes, documentation, billing information, contacts, case numbers and more under one file. Access files from any device with an internet connection. 
  • Email Management: Sort thousands of emails into relevant folders to simplify access by staff members. Integrate with Microsoft Outlook to save an unlimited number of emails, grouped together by associated matter. 
    • Email Time Tracking: Send and receive emails to automatically log billable hours through the time tracking extension. Draft an email via the toolbar to autofill the address bar. 
    • PDF Creation: Convert any document to a PDF file or combine multiple ones into a single PDF before sending an email attachment. 
  • Calendar Management: Create calendar entries and automatically link associated matter and client files to get a 360-degree view of legal cases. Sort the calendar by workweek, month and case timeline to always stay on top of obligations. 
    • Integration: Integrate with Microsoft Outlook to automatically track events and accepted invitations. 
    • Calendar Sync: Access everyone’s legal calendar to stay on top of important events and hearings. Automatically synchronize important dates and tasks across the entire staff’s calendars. 
  • Firm Insights: Use the firm insights dashboard to generate reports on matter-type profitability, referral revenue, real-time performance and more. Filter reports based on practice areas for greater insights and agile decision-making. 
    • Flexible Analysis: Combine time tracked and billing reports to get greater insights into non-billable hours, profitable practice areas, write-offs, discounts and productivity. 
    • Workload Analysis: Identify which practice areas need more work. Use the insights dashboard to evenly distribute the workload between attorneys, assistants and paralegals. 
    • Fixed-Fee Data: Adjust fixed fees, client expectations and staff workloads based on real data from firm insights that show the true cost of work performed for each client. 
  • Billing Management: Prepare custom invoices for firm activity traced by the time tracking portal. Interact directly with the relevant time entries to review and approve invoices. 
    • Integrations: The billing portal integrates with LawPay to process credit card payments and online transactions. Manage trust and operating accounts ethically and offer clients flexible payment options. Additional integrations include QuickBooks Online. 
    • Activity Codes: Create custom activity codes for similar time and expense entries to expedite data entry and billing. 
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  • Data Repository: Store and maintain a centrally accessible database of client and lead information. 
  • Conflict Checks: Scan potential clients for possible conflicts of interest before the onboarding process. 
  • Court Docketing and Calendar Management: Synchronize the legal calendar with jurisdictional rules to track deadlines and statutes of limitations. 
  • Case and Matter Management: The centralized database provides instantaneous access to legal documents, matters and contact information. Edit case-related data, appointments and matter information without any hassle. 
  • Time and Expense Management: Simplify the capture of daily activities, maximize the capture of billable time, reclaim client-related expenses, and increase profitability with flexible time and expense tracking options. 
  • Firm-Wide Reporting: Generate preconfigured reports to measure productivity and financial performance. Leverage actionable insights to make swift business decisions. 
  • Contingency Analysis and Disposition: Analyze firm’s financials and client’s net under differing scenarios to prepare flexible settlement strategies. Perform accounting tasks to meet the requirements of contingency-based cases. 
  • Mobile Application: Maintain access to all essential functions while on the move. View, edit and update matter information, track time, save emails, share documents and manage legal calendar remotely with the mobile application. 
  • Firm Reporting: Leverage advanced reporting capabilities to make critical decisions in real time. Build consolidated reports on productivity metrics, client profitability, billings, finances, workflow efficiency, human resources and more. Make edits with the Microsoft toolbar and export reports to Excel with the SSRS Report Builder. 
  • Integrations: Seamlessly integrate with third-party applications to keep all firm data under one environment. Commonly used integrations include Microsoft Outlook, Exchange, HotDocs, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Copitrak, QuickPayroll and more. 
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Product Ranking

#31

among all
Legal Software

#43

among all
Legal Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

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Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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Billing And Payments Calendaring And Legal Docketing Client And Contact Management Dashboard And Reporting Document Management Matter/Case Management Mobile Capabilities Task Management Time And Expense Management 97 97 99 81 91 89 88 100 0 25 50 75 100
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User Sentiment Summary

Excellent User Sentiment 747 reviews
Good User Sentiment 141 reviews
95%
of users recommend this product

Smokeball has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 95% when considering 747 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

72%
of users recommend this product

ProLaw has a 'good' User Satisfaction Rating of 72% when considering 141 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

4.9 (14)
n/a
4.8 (176)
3.3 (38)
4.76 (189)
3.69 (44)
4.7 (179)
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4.8 (189)
3.7 (43)
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4.0 (16)

Awards

SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Smokeball and concluded it deserves the award for the Best Overall Legal Software available today. Smokeball stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

Analysts' Pick Award
User Favorite Award

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Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Data Management: The platform’s data storage and organization capabilities are top-notch, according to 100% of users reviewing this feature.
Functionality: According to 91% of users who reviewed this aspect, the software offers various useful functions, including task management, case organization, accounting and AutoTime.
Ease of Use: 88% of users who mentioned this element said the solution is straightforward with an intuitive UI and robust knowledge base.
Integrations: 81% of users mentioning this aspect were satisfied with the variety and effectiveness of available integrations.
Service and Support: All the users who reviewed customer service mentioned that it’s responsive.
Automation: 75% of users who mentioned this element swear by the platform’s automation feature, especially document templates and automated emails.
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Customizable: ProLaw's flexibility allows users to tailor the software to their specific needs, including custom fields, reports, and workflows to match individual preferences and firm-specific processes.
Comprehensive Features: ProLaw offers a wide range of features covering various aspects of law practice management, including time tracking, billing, accounting, calendaring, document management, and reporting, providing a centralized platform for managing legal operations.
Integrations: ProLaw integrates with other software applications commonly used in law firms, such as Microsoft Office and QuickBooks, streamlining data exchange and reducing manual data entry.
Scalability: ProLaw is suitable for law firms of all sizes, from solo practitioners to large firms, as it can accommodate growing data volumes and user bases without compromising performance.
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Steep Learning Curve: Smokeball's interface can be complex and require significant training, especially for users unfamiliar with legal practice management software.
Limited Customization: While Smokeball offers some customization options, it may not be flexible enough for law firms with unique workflows or specific needs.
High Cost: Smokeball can be expensive, especially for small law firms or solo practitioners.
Integration Challenges: Integrating Smokeball with other legal software applications can be challenging and may require technical expertise.
Limited Reporting: Some users find Smokeball's reporting features insufficient for generating detailed insights into firm performance.
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Learning Curve: ProLaw presents a steep learning curve due to its intricate interface and extensive features, often requiring substantial training and ongoing support for users to become proficient.
Customization Challenges: Adapting ProLaw to specific workflows or unique firm requirements can be complex, often necessitating advanced technical expertise or reliance on external consultants, potentially leading to increased implementation costs and delays.
Integration Limitations: Integrating ProLaw with other essential legal software or business applications can pose challenges, potentially hindering data exchange and workflow efficiency, particularly for firms with diverse technology ecosystems.
Reporting Flexibility: Generating customized reports or extracting specific data from ProLaw may require intricate knowledge of the system's reporting tools or necessitate manual data manipulation, potentially impacting efficiency and data analysis capabilities.
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User reviews of Smokeball paint a mixed picture, highlighting both its strengths and weaknesses. While some users find it incredibly helpful for streamlining workflows and enhancing collaboration, others struggle with its complex interface and limited customization options. Positive reviews often praise Smokeball's ability to automate tasks, save time, and increase efficiency. One user remarked, "My billable hours increased by over 50% while my work hours remained the same!" Another noted, "Smokeball has made my job of opening new files and maintaining case information exceedingly easy." These comments highlight the software's potential to improve productivity and profitability, especially for busy legal practices. However, some users find Smokeball's steep learning curve and complex interface a significant drawback. One reviewer lamented, "It took me months to feel comfortable using all the features." Another commented, "The interface can be overwhelming, especially for users unfamiliar with legal practice management software." These challenges highlight the need for comprehensive training and support, which may be lacking for some users. Comparatively, users often cite Smokeball's robust security features and comprehensive functionality as key advantages over competitors like Clio and PracticePanther. One user noted, "I feel confident that my client data is safe with Smokeball's encryption and access controls." Another commented, "Smokeball offers everything I need to manage my practice effectively, from document creation to billing and reporting." These comments emphasize Smokeball's strong security and wide range of features, making it a compelling option for law firms seeking a comprehensive legal practice management solution. However, its higher cost compared to competitors can be a barrier for some. One user remarked, "Smokeball is a great program, but it's simply too expensive for my small solo practice." This highlights the importance of considering individual needs and budgets when choosing a legal practice management software. Overall, user reviews suggest Smokeball is a powerful and feature-rich legal practice management solution, but its complexity and cost may not be suitable for all users. Law firms should carefully weigh the software's strengths and weaknesses against their specific needs and budget before making a decision.

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If you're a lawyer drowning in paperwork and struggling to keep your firm's finances in order, ProLaw might just be the life raft you need. ProLaw, developed by Thomson Reuters Elite, is a comprehensive legal practice management software that helps law firms of all sizes manage their cases, clients, and finances. It's like having a personal assistant, accountant, and paralegal all rolled into one! ProLaw's strengths lie in its ease of use, comprehensive feature set, and ability to improve efficiency and productivity. Users rave about its intuitive interface and how it streamlines tasks like time tracking, billing, and document management. ProLaw's robust features, including client and contact management, matter management, conflict checking, and document automation, make it a one-stop shop for all your law firm's needs. ProLaw also integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Office, which is a major plus for many users. However, ProLaw does have a couple of drawbacks. Its high price tag can be a barrier for smaller firms or solo practitioners, and its lack of integration with certain other software can be frustrating. Despite these shortcomings, ProLaw is still considered one of the top legal practice management software options on the market. So, who is ProLaw best suited for? Law firms with 10 or more members who are looking for a comprehensive, all-in-one solution to manage their practice will find ProLaw to be a valuable asset. It's particularly well-suited for firms that handle a large volume of cases and clients, as it can help them streamline their workflows and improve their bottom line. If you're looking for a software that can help you take your law firm to the next level, ProLaw is definitely worth considering. Just be prepared to invest a significant amount of money upfront.

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