Selecting the right legal practice management software is a daunting task for any law firm.
This comparative analysis of Aderant Expert and Elite 3E will equip you to make an informed decision between these two robust solutions.
You'll gain insight into their features, pricing, implementation, and more, culminating in a verdict on which option may better meet your firm's needs.
Introduction: Navigating Legal Practice Management with Aderant and Elite 3E
Legal practice management software is essential for law firms to streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and provide excellent client service. As the market leaders, Aderant and Thomson Reuters Elite 3E offer robust solutions catered to the needs of large law firms. This article provides an in-depth comparison of these two industry titans to help law firms select the best option aligned with their requirements.
Both Aderant and Elite 3E enable automation of key processes like time tracking, billing, accounting, and more. Core functionality includes calendaring, task management, document assembly, analytics, and matter management. With advanced features like AI-based insights, virtual deal rooms, and mobility enhancements, these systems aim to future-proof legal technology.
When evaluating Aderant vs Elite 3E, law firms must assess their unique needs and pain points. Do they require strengthened financial controls or collaboration tools? Is mobility a key priority? Defining these specifics will determine which platform offers the best fit. We cover all critical considerations across features, technology, support, and more in this comprehensive face-off.
Equipped with this detailed comparison, legal professionals can make an informed decision between Aderant and Elite 3E. Optimizing legal practice management is essential for operational efficiency, cost management, and client satisfaction in today's dynamic landscape. This article serves as the definitive guide for navigating this crucial software evaluation.
What type of software is Aderant?
Aderant is a leading provider of practice and business management software solutions for law firms. Specifically, Aderant offers the following types of legal software:
Practice Management Software
Aderant's practice management software is called Expert. Expert helps law firms manage workflows and operations with features like:
- Matter management and tracking
- Automated calendaring
- Billing and accounting
- Reporting and analytics
- Email and document management integration
Expert enables law firms to streamline administrative tasks, improve productivity, and make data-driven decisions.
Business Management Software
In addition to Expert, Aderant provides business management software for law firms called Handshake. Handshake supports functions like:
- Budgeting and forecasting
- Resource planning
- Project management
- Profitability analysis
- Performance dashboards
With Handshake, law firms can optimize resource allocation, enhance profitability, and drive overall business performance.
In summary, Aderant delivers comprehensive legal software solutions spanning both the practice and business of law. Their offerings cater to the end-to-end needs of law firms to manage workflows, operations, and strategic planning. Aderant's expertise and market leadership in legal software makes them a trusted choice for law firms seeking efficiency, productivity, and data-driven insights.
How many clients does Aderant have?
With a 35-year history as a global industry leader, Aderant supports nearly 3,200 clients in more than 30 countries, representing 77 of the top 100 Global Law Firms and more than 88 percent of the Am Law 200. As a long-standing provider of practice management software to large law firms worldwide, Aderant has established an extensive client base across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and other global regions.
Some key facts about Aderant's client base:
- Supports over 3,200 law firm clients globally
- 77 of the top 100 Global Law Firms use Aderant software
- Over 88% of the Am Law 200 law firms are Aderant clients
- Leading market share in US, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia, and Asia
- Trusted by large law firms seeking robust practice management solutions
With decades of experience providing mission-critical legal software, Aderant continues to be a dominant choice among large and complex law firms seeking to leverage technology to enhance productivity and profitability. Its specialized focus on "Big Law" firms has allowed Aderant to tailor its Expert and other software suites to address the unique needs of this client segment.
By maintaining long-term relationships with leading law firms across the world, Aderant has established itself as a reliable and feature-rich software vendor catering to large legal enterprises. Its substantial client base is a testament to Aderant's capabilities serving the complex requirements of billion-dollar global law practices.
Where is Aderant based?
Legal Buddies' specialized legal virtual assistants can provide cost-effective support for law firms regardless of their practice management software. However, many law firms use solutions like Aderant or Elite 3E to manage workflows.
Aderant Headquarters
Aderant is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with several other offices across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. As a global company, Aderant aims to provide law firms around the world with practice management software to optimize legal operations.
By outsourcing repetitive tasks to Legal Buddies' dedicated legal assistants, law firms that use Aderant software can focus their in-house teams on higher value legal work. This allows them to maximize ROI from their Aderant investment. Legal Buddies ensures alignment of time zones, cultural compatibility and access to qualified talent.
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A Deep Dive into Aderant Expert's Offerings
Tracing the Legacy of Aderant
Aderant was founded in 1978 under the name MK Technology. It developed some of the first software for law firm accounting and timekeeping. Over the years, Aderant expanded its product suite through strategic mergers and acquisitions of companies like Handshake Software and Expert Systems.
Today, Aderant is a global leader in legal software, providing solutions to over 12,000 law firm users in about 40 countries. Its flagship product, Aderant Expert, holds significant market share as an all-in-one legal management system. Aderant has cultivated a reputation for reliable and scalable software backed by quality support.
Unpacking Aderant Expert's Key Features
Aderant Expert brings together software tools for time and billing, accounting, reporting, client relations, and more onto a single database. Some key capabilities include:
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Timekeeping: Robust tools for capturing billable and non-billable time with flexible data entry options. Easy timeslip review and adjustments.
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Billing: Highly customizable invoice generation, delivery, payment options, and AR management. Handles alternative fee arrangements.
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Accounting: Multi-currency general ledger, accounts payable/receivable, and more. Tight integration across financials.
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Business Intelligence: Hundreds of standard reports on timekeeper productivity, WIP analysis, financial KPIs, and beyond. Ad hoc custom reporting.
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Matter Management: Central database for matter profiles, contacts, documents, events, notes, and email.
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Mobility: Native mobile apps provide remote access to timesheets, tasks, documents, contacts, and other data.
Cost Considerations: Aderant's Pricing Strategies
Aderant offers both perpetual licensing and SaaS subscription plans for Expert. Pricing is customized based on firm size, modules needed, and other variables. Small firms can budget around $25K-$100K+ in first year costs for Expert licensing, support, maintenance, and implementation. Larger firms commonly invest over $500K.
Ongoing fees range from 15-22% of license costs. Cloud hosting and managed IT services cost extra. Volume discounts apply for multi-year deals or bundling other Aderant solutions like Handshake CRM.
Seamless Integration and Support with Aderant
Aderant Expert can be deployed on-premise or hosted in the cloud. Implementation typically takes 9-18 months including data migration, testing, change management, training, and go-live transition. Dedicated client success managers provide white-glove onboarding and ongoing support.
The software leverages an open API architecture for smooth integration with other law firm systems like document management, digital dictation, e-signature tools, and more. Custom configurations help optimize Expert for specific workflows and reporting needs.
Robust training resources ensure lawyers and staff get up to speed quickly. Support options range from online ticketing to 24/7 telephone assistance.
Assessing Aderant's Strengths and Areas for Improvement
Aderant Expert shines when it comes to reliability, security, customizability, and overall practice management capability. As an industry veteran, Aderant intimately understands law firms' pain points around timekeeping, billing, reporting, and matter collaboration.
Potential downsides center on its total cost of ownership and learning curve. Transitioning from legacy systems can prove complex. The abundance of configuration options makes it less user-friendly out the box. Smaller firms may find Expert overkill despite discounts.
Competitors like Thomson Reuters Elite 3E offer comparable core functionality. But Aderant's laser focus on law firms gives it an edge in depth of features and overall usability. For large firms seeking an integrated, scalable back-office platform, Aderant remains a go-to choice.
Elite 3E: The Comprehensive Legal Solution
Elite 3E is a robust legal management software solution from Thomson Reuters Elite. As one of the most widely-used platforms in Am Law 200 law firms, Elite 3E aims to streamline legal operations and provide attorneys with the tools and insights needed to deliver excellent client service.
The Evolution of Elite 3E
Elite 3E was created in 2010 after Thomson Reuters acquired Elite, a pioneer in legal practice management software since the 1980s. By combining Elite's expertise with Thomson Reuter's industry leadership in legal research and data, Elite 3E emerged as an end-to-end solution marrying financial and practice management.
Over 30 years, Elite 3E has become an industry standard - used by over 180 Am Law 200 firms. As the legal landscape shifts, Elite 3E continues evolving through new partnerships and ongoing development of features like analytics, mobility, and integrations.
Exploring Elite 3E's Robust Feature Set
As an enterprise-level platform built for complex legal environments, Elite 3E offers a vast range of capabilities across its core modules:
- Financial Management: Trust accounting, billing and invoicing, budgeting, financial reporting, and more
- Practice Management: Matter and case management, calendaring, document management, email management, and more
- Business Intelligence: Interactive dashboards and reports for insights into workloads, productivity, profitability, and other KPIs
- Client & Matter Intake: Streamline new client and matter creation, conflicts checking, and experience for clients and staff
- Enterprise Search: Fast unified search across all content and data in Elite 3E
Other key features include mobility with native iOS and Android apps, security controls, integrations with other popular legal software tools, and configurability to support specific processes.
Elite 3E's Approach to Pricing and Licensing
Given the breadth and depth of capabilities, Elite 3E is priced as an enterprise-level software platform. Exact pricing is customized based on factors like:
- Number of users
- Modules needed
- Level of configuration/customization
- Cloud vs on-premise
Licensing models are flexible across subscription-based or perpetual licenses. As a Thomson Reuters solution, Elite 3E pricing often represents significant investment for most law firms. Firms can offset costs through increased efficiencies and insights over time.
The Implementation Journey with Elite 3E
Elite 3E offers both cloud-based and on-premise deployment options to align with customer preferences. Implementations are facilitated through Elite's global professional services team from planning through launch and beyond.
Key elements in an Elite 3E implementation journey include:
- Detailed requirements gathering, planning, and setup
- End user training on the Elite 3E platform and new workflows
- Data migration support from legacy systems
- Testing and validation before go-live
- Post go-live support with account management and access to expertise
Elite 3E prides itself on guiding firms through changes in people, processes, and technology when transitioning from old systems.
Elite 3E in Review: Pros and Cons
For large firms seeking an established legal management platform, Elite 3E stands out as a leader.
Pros
- Comprehensive features and configurability for complex legal environments
- Modern UX and mobility capabilities
- Wealth of integrations with other legal software tools
- Experienced services for implementations and change management
Cons
- Significant investment associated with licensing and services
- Learning curve given breadth of platform
- Limited pricing transparency before sales cycle
While not the right fit for every firm, Elite 3E enables enterprise legal teams to leverage data and technology to provide excellent service amidst the dynamics of today's legal landscape. For firms running legacy Elite Enterprise or looking to upgrade peer platforms, Elite 3E represents a robust path forward.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison: Aderant Expert vs Elite 3E
This section will directly compare how Aderant and Elite 3E stack up across key functionality like time and billing, accounting, reporting, etc.
Timekeeping and Invoicing: A Critical Look
Both Aderant Expert and Elite 3E provide robust timekeeping, invoicing, and payment processing capabilities tailored to law firms' needs.
Key strengths of Aderant's time and billing features include:
- Highly customizable time entry forms and rules
- Support for pre-bills and draft invoices
- Automated payment allocation
Elite 3E also shines when it comes to core billing functions:
- Streamlined time capture from anywhere
- Built-in payment processing integrations
- Configurable billing rules engine
While the systems take slightly different approaches, attorneys and billing staff at large law firms can carry out essential tasks like entering billable time, generating invoices, receiving payments in a streamlined manner with either solution.
When evaluating these platforms, law firms should consider invoice configuration options, availability of pre-built integrations, and flexibility around tailoring workflows to their specifications.
Accounting for Law Firms: Financial Tools Analyzed
Robust accounting tools are imperative for proper financial management and trust accounting at scale.
As all-in-one legal software for large firms, Aderant and Elite 3E both enable:
- Multi-entity general ledger management
- Automated trust accounting workflows
- Reporting on AR, AP, Collections, and more
Some key differences:
- Elite 3E provides a visual graph view for bank account reconciliation along with automated matching.
- Aderant delivers strong audit trail capabilities and attorney-client liability reporting out-of-the-box.
For larger firms with complex financial reporting needs across business entities or international offices, Elite 3E's global accounting framework could offer more flexibility.
Firms should assess each system's ability to manage multi-location trust accounting, bank integration capabilities, and availability of pre-packaged legal financial reports.
Data-Driven Decision Making: Reporting Capabilities
Accessing actionable data to inform critical decisions is imperative for law firm leadership and practice group managers.
For analytics and reporting needs, Aderant Expert provides robust packaged report templates for timekeeper productivity, WIP management, and more. Elite 3E shines with drag-and-drop report building and interactive data visualizations through its BI platform.
Some key considerations around reporting:
- Aderant enables drilling into granular timekeeper data and benchmarking metrics derived from aggregated client info.
- Elite 3E allows users to create dashboards with key visuals and graphs for real-time insights.
Firms should weigh the availability of pre-built legal operational reports vs flexibility for ad-hoc reporting and analysis when evaluating these tools.
Efficient Matter Management: A Closer Look
Smooth matter workflows are critical for attorney and staff productivity.
Both Aderant Expert and Elite 3E provide core matter management capabilities like:
- Automated matter opening and closing
- Configurable matter templates
- Calendar notifications and deadlines
However, Aderant shines with its MatterWorks platform. Some standout features include:
- Robust matter templates and numbering
- Visual matter conflict checking
- Email filing directly into matter files
Meanwhile, Elite 3E delivers a visually intuitive matter management experience with Kanban-style matter tracking boards for at-a-glance status.
For global firms, Elite 3E provides multi-language support and consistent information across local and global matters.
Case Files at Your Fingertips: Document Management
Secure document management and collaboration enable firms to "go paperless" and work more efficiently.
While Aderant Expert offers embedded DMS features, Elite 3E provides tight integration with NetDocuments for advanced document assembly and workflow.
Key advantages of Elite 3E for document management include:
- Contextual DMS access from relevant matters
- Automated OCR and smart file naming
- Collaboration via annotation and version control
With either platform, users can securely access case files and documents from one unified interface. Firms can configure context-driven rules, enhance productivity through templates, and reduce administrative tasks around filing emails and other content.
When evaluating solutions, document management integration capabilities, mobility, and collaboration features should be assessed.
Rolling Out the Red Carpet: Implementing Aderant and Elite 3E
First Steps with Aderant and Elite 3E: Onboarding and Training
Both Aderant and Elite 3E offer comprehensive training programs to ensure users are set up for success from day one.
Aderant provides both online and in-person training options, with role-based curriculums to tailor the experience. Hands-on exercises allow users to get comfortable with real-world examples. Elite 3E takes a similar approach, with instructor-led sessions focused on key workflows. Their training team can also provide customized programs tuned to a firm's needs.
Ongoing support doesn't end after initial rollout. Aderant offers a training sandbox, video tutorials, daily training webinars, and a dedicated client training team. Similarly, Elite 3E provides web-based training on demand, regional user group meetings, and additional tailored assistance as needed over time.
Ensuring Ongoing Success: Support Systems
When it comes to ongoing support, both Aderant and Elite 3E aim to provide responsive, multifaceted assistance.
Aderant offers 24/7 phone and online ticketing support, fielding thousands of calls annually. They also provide access to support engineers and account managers for more complex needs. Elite 3E likewise has around-the-clock phone assistance and ticketing systems, in addition to remote support tools. Both also offer user community forums to tap insights from peers.
For personalized help, Aderant provides customer success managers to understand unique needs. Elite 3E takes a similar approach with client partners who get to know a firm's roadblocks and goals. Both platforms aim to provide hands-on, tailored support.
Tailoring to Your Firm's Needs: Customization Explored
Given the vast differences between law firms, customization is key for legal practice management solutions. Fortunately, both Aderant and Elite 3E enable deep personalization.
Aderant allows custom fields and layouts, scripting and rules engines, configurable dashboards, and custom templates. Workflows can also be tailored via visual design tools. Elite 3E offers comparable flexibility, with customizable entities, views, and templates. Integrated visual scripting empowers firms to build workflows catered to their needs.
For third-party tools, Aderant has a marketplace of integrated apps, while Elite 3E allows API access for custom solutions. Both platforms provide ample opportunities to tailor systems to each firm’s unique requirements. Meeting specific needs ensures maximum efficiency and user adoption.
Expanding Horizons: Integration Potential with Aderant and Elite 3E
To maximize value, law practice management systems must integrate seamlessly with other solutions. Fortunately, both Aderant Expert and Elite 3E provide broad interoperability.
Aderant features a marketplace with 140+ integrated apps spanning practice areas, analytics, payment processing and more. Robust APIs also enable custom integration. Elite 3E has an open API and offers 100+ third-party integrations out of the box with leading solutions.
For key systems like document management or accounting, Aderant and Elite 3E both interoperate with top platforms. Supporting open data standards like LEDES further eases data exchange between solutions. With their extensive connectivity, firms can assemble customized legal tech stacks tied together by their chosen management platform.
Future-Proofing Your Practice: Innovation in Upgrades
To stay competitive, law firms need practice management solutions that rapidly evolve with legal landscape shifts. Here too, Aderant and Elite 3E aim to lead the way.
Aderant issues major upgrades quarterly plus monthly enhancements to continually optimize workflows. With Elite 3E, firms get two major updates per year focusing on new functionality. Both also provide early access programs to preview cutting-edge features.
Staying updated on the latest innovations gives firms a competitive advantage. With Aderant and Elite 3E, legal teams can implement emerging best practices for timekeeping, billing, reporting and more. By future-proofing workflows, productivity and profitability get a boost.
Final Verdict: Choosing Between Aderant Expert and Elite 3E
Aderant Expert and Elite 3E both offer robust features and functionality for large law firms. When choosing between them, firms should evaluate based on their specific needs and priorities.
Key Factors to Consider
Some key factors to weigh when deciding between Aderant Expert and Elite 3E include:
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Integration capabilities: Aderant offers out-of-the-box integration with NetDocuments while Elite 3E has partnerships with other leading DMS platforms. Evaluate current tech stack and future integration needs.
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Configurability vs out-of-the-box features: Elite 3E provides more configuration options while Aderant Expert comes with more pre-built functionality. Consider the level of customization required.
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Support and training: Both platforms offer account management, customer support, and training. Compare quality of support based on law firm size and needs.
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Cost: Pricing models differ. Evaluate total cost of ownership based on number of users, products, and services required.
Align Platform Capabilities with Firm Goals
Ultimately, firms should think strategically about business goals and determine which platform better supports objectives around efficiency, visibility, data security, and more. Larger firms may benefit more from Aderant's depth and configurability, while mid-size firms can leverage Elite 3E's flexibility.
With a clear understanding of firm priorities and platform capabilities, law firms can confidently choose the best legal software solution for their practice. Legal Buddies has experience supporting law firms in selecting and implementing the right legal tech platforms to meet their needs.
