Selecting the right legal software is crucial, yet daunting for any law practice.
This comparative review promises to clearly evaluate the key capabilities of CASEpeer and Amicus Attorney to help you make an informed decision.
We'll dive into the features, integrations, support, and pricing of each platform, highlighting the main differences and expert recommendations so you can confidently choose the solution that best fits your needs.
Introduction to Legal Software Comparison
Legal professionals rely on law practice management software to streamline workflows and enhance productivity. CASEpeer and Amicus Attorney are two popular options for case management, document organization, calendaring, time tracking, billing, and more. This article provides a comparative review between these two legal software tools to help legal teams evaluate which solution may be the best fit.
We will examine key features including:
-
Case management functionality
-
Client communication capabilities
-
Reporting and analytics
-
Data backup and security
-
Email integration
-
Ease of use
The goal is to outline the strengths and weaknesses of each platform to help inform legal professionals as they search for software to meet their unique needs. By comparing factors like features, support, and pricing, legal teams can determine if CASEpeer or Amicus Attorney is better suited for their firm.
Comparing CASEpeer and Amicus Attorney
CASEpeer and Amicus Attorney take different approaches to law practice management, with each platform offering distinct features and functionality.
CASEpeer positions itself as an intuitive, cloud-based legal software integrating case management, document automation, client portals, and more. It aims to centralize matter workflows with collaboration tools for legal teams.
Amicus Attorney is a more established player in the legal software space, owned by LexisNexis. It focuses heavily on case management with strong calendaring and time tracking capabilities. Amicus Attorney offers on-premise and cloud versions to meet law firms' preferences.
While the platforms share some functionality, there are clear differences that legal professionals should evaluate based on their unique needs and constraints. We will explore those differences across key categories in this comparative review.
Objectives of the Software Review
When comparing CASEpeer and Amicus Attorney, we will focus on reviewing:
-
Case Management - The ability to effectively track matter details like clients, cases, documents, events, tasks, and expenses.
-
Client Communication - Built-in tools enabling contact with clients through email, portals, and document sharing.
-
Reporting - Generating reports and analytics to extract insights from case data.
-
Data Backup & Security - Ensuring critical firm and client data remains protected yet accessible.
-
Email Integration - Syncing emails from outside accounts into the legal software platform.
-
Ease of Use - The intuitiveness of the interface and workflows for legal teams.
By comparing performance in these key areas, legal professionals can determine the best software match for their practice.
Understanding CASEpeer and Amicus Attorney by CARET Legal
CASEpeer and Amicus Attorney are two leading legal practice management solutions designed to help law firms streamline operations and enhance efficiency.
The Evolution of CASEpeer in Legal Tech
CASEpeer is a comprehensive cloud-based legal software that centralizes matter management, calendars, documents, time tracking, accounting, and reporting. Key features include:
-
Central dashboard to track all legal matters in one place
-
Robust document management with version control
-
Customizable workflows and checklists
-
Time tracking and billing
-
Integrations with Clio, QuickBooks, Office 365, Gmail
Originally launched in 2012, CASEpeer was acquired by AbacusNext in 2021. They now serve over 100,000 users globally. CASEpeer typically suits small and mid-sized law firms looking to modernize legal operations.
Amicus Attorney: A CARET Legal Solution
Amicus Attorney is a legal practice management platform part of CARET Legal's suite of solutions for firms. Key capabilities include:
-
Matter-centric database to organize case details
-
Document assembly and management
-
Calendaring and docketing
-
Time, billing and accounting
-
Email management and templates
-
Reporting and analytics
CARET Legal is a long-standing legal tech provider serving 50,000 lawyers globally. Amicus Attorney appeals to small and solo attorney practices seeking an affordable cloud-based legal solution.
In summary, both CASEpeer and Amicus Attorney aim to streamline law practice management but take slightly different approaches based on their target customer size. Firms should evaluate their specific needs and size to determine the best solution.
Feature Showdown: CASEpeer vs Amicus Attorney
Comparing Case Management Capabilities
CASEpeer and Amicus Attorney both provide robust tools for tracking cases and matters.
Key capabilities include:
-
Centralized dashboard to view case details
-
Customizable fields to track case specifics
-
Tools for tracking deadlines, tasks, events
-
Document management and tagging
While both platforms offer strong case management, CASEpeer provides more flexibility with fully customizable fields and layouts to match each firm's unique needs.
Document Management and Automation
CASEpeer offers more advanced document automation and templating tools compared to Amicus Attorney.
With CASEpeer, users can:
-
Create document templates that auto-populate with case data
-
Build automated workflows to streamline document generation
-
Integrate with third-party providers for advanced templating
Amicus Attorney has more basic document merge capabilities but lacks the workflow automation and integration options.
So firms needing advanced document assembly and automation will find CASEpeer better suited.
Calendaring Systems: Scheduling and Deadlines
Both Amicus Attorney and CASEpeer enable creating court calendars with key dates and deadlines.
Distinguishing capabilities include:
-
CASEpeer better handles high volume court dates with customizable calendar views
-
Amicus Attorney has automatic date recalculation when dates shift
-
CASEpeer integrates with Outlook calendars; Amicus Attorney does not
For most firms, CASEpeer's flexibility in viewing calendars and integrating with Outlook makes it a better fit.
Billing Practices: Invoicing and Financial Management
Amicus Attorney has more robust time, billing, and accounting functionality out of the box. Key features:
-
Time entry and expense tracking
-
Automated invoicing tools
-
Financial reporting
CASEpeer offers basic time entry and invoicing but lacks the depth in accounting and financial management.
So for firms needing full practice management capabilities, Amicus Attorney is better suited. CASEpeer users may need to integrate with separate accounting software.
Report Options: Analytics and Insights
Amicus Attorney has customizable reporting templates to quickly pull common reports on cases, finances, productivity, etc.
CASEpeer provides more flexibility for firms to build custom reports but requires more technical expertise.
So out-of-the-box, Amicus Attorney has an edge for fast reporting. But CASEpeer offers more potential for advanced analytics if firms have the technical resources.
sbb-itb-585a0bc
Integration Capabilities: CASEpeer and Amicus Attorney
Email Integration and Calendar Syncing
Both CASEpeer and Amicus Attorney offer integration with email and calendar applications like Outlook and Gmail.
CASEpeer has built-in email that syncs bidirectionally, allowing users to save emails directly into case files. Its calendar integrates with Outlook, Gmail, and iCal for scheduling events and tasks.
Amicus Attorney offers email integration with Outlook and Gmail, including syncing contacts and appointments to its calendar. Users can track emails related to cases. Its calendar integrates with Outlook, Google, iCloud and Office 365.
Overall, both tools provide robust integration with email, contacts, and calendars. CASEpeer has slightly more flexibility for saving emails directly into case files.
Third-Party Software Integrations
CASEpeer offers over 150 integrations with tools like Clio, QuickBooks, Dropbox, and Office 365 through its API and partner network. It also integrates natively with NetDocuments and Worldox.
Amicus Attorney integrates natively with Worldox and NetDocuments. It offers add-ons for tools like Dropbox, Google Drive, Office 365, and accounting software. However, its integration options are more limited compared to CASEpeer.
So CASEpeer provides significantly more flexibility for connecting with external tools and custom systems through its open API and partner network.
Customization Options: Tailoring Your Legal Software
Both CASEpeer and Amicus Attorney enable customizing fields, views, and templates to match law firm workflows.
CASEpeer allows creating custom fields, layouts, filters, and templates. Users can customize details and views for matters, contacts, documents, tasks, and more.
Similarly, Amicus Attorney enables adding custom fields and tabs. Users can create templates for documents and letters. Views and layouts can also be customized.
Overall, both tools provide extensive options for customization and tailoring to law firm needs. CASEpeer may offer slightly more flexibility but both are highly customizable.
In summary, CASEpeer provides more extensive integration capabilities through its API and partner network. Amicus Attorney's integrations are mostly limited to core legal tools like document management systems. For customization, both tools enable tailoring fields, views and templates to user needs.
Support Services: CASEpeer and Amicus Attorney
Comparing Technical Support and Responsiveness
CASEpeer and Amicus Attorney offer technical support through multiple channels.
CASEpeer provides email and phone support during business hours. They also offer an online knowledge base and community forum for self-service troubleshooting. Response times are typically within 24 hours.
Amicus Attorney offers phone, email, and live chat support 24/7. Their support team is very responsive, with most inquiries answered in under an hour. They also provide video tutorials and a searchable knowledge base portal.
Overall, Amicus Attorney's support services seem more robust and responsive compared to CASEpeer.
Training and Onboarding Processes
CASEpeer offers live onboarding sessions and access to training videos in their knowledge base. The onboarding process is simple but comprehensive.
Amicus Attorney provides customized onboarding plans including live training sessions. They also offer a library of training videos and guides. Their onboarding process is extremely thorough.
Both tools provide solid training resources, but Amicus Attorney's onboarding process is more tailored and extensive.
Access to Community and Resources
The CASEpeer community forum provides a venue for users to interact and share knowledge. Their knowledge base contains troubleshooting guides and how-to articles.
Amicus Attorney offers a user forum to connect with other customers. Their help center features an extensive library of training materials and FAQs. Users can also access webinars and events.
While both have community platforms and self-help materials, Amicus Attorney provides more robust resources overall.
Pricing Structures: Evaluating CASEpeer and Amicus Attorney
Subscription Models and Pricing Tiers
CASEpeer and Amicus Attorney offer tiered subscription models based on number of users. CASEpeer has three tiers:
-
Starter: Up to 5 users, $50/month
-
Professional: Up to 15 users, $150/month
-
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Amicus Attorney has four tiers:
-
Solo: 1 user, $59/month
-
Small Firm: Up to 4 users, $129/month
-
Medium Firm: Up to 9 users, $359/month
-
Large Firm: Custom pricing
Both tools offer discounts for annual subscriptions paid upfront rather than monthly payments. Overall, Amicus Attorney offers more granular and flexible tiers for small to medium firms. CASEpeer pricing jumps from 5 to 15 users between tiers which may not suit all firm sizes.
Assessing Value for the Investment
Given the features, support, and training provided, CASEpeer offers exceptional value in their Professional tier at just $10 per user per month. Amicus Attorney's pricing is comparable at the Solo and Small Firm tiers.
Key factors in assessing value:
-
CASEpeer includes unlimited client logins and data storage. Amicus Attorney charges extra fees.
-
Both have live chat, email, and phone support at all tiers.
-
CASEpeer provides onboarding training and access to an online knowledge base. Amicus Attorney offers limited onboarding only on higher tiers.
Overall CASEpeer delivers more features and resources per dollar spent. Their mid-tier pricing beats Amicus Attorney for firms with 6-15 users.
Calculating Return on Investment
Legal software ROI relates to productivity gains in areas like:
-
Document automation and templates
-
Workflow streamlining
-
Improved client communication
Firms using CASEpeer or Amicus Attorney can expect 20-30% time savings per case. With average billing rates around $250/hr, 5 lawyers working full time could see $100,000-150,000 in productivity gains per year.
Both tools offer strong ROI especially with higher case volumes. CASEpeer may reach breakeven faster for mid-sized firms based on more competitive pricing.
Conclusive Thoughts and Expert Recommendations
Distinguishing Features and Main Differences
Based on the review and comparison, the main differences between CASEpeer and Amicus Attorney are:
-
CASEpeer offers more robust case management and document organization features, allowing for better tracking of case details, deadlines, tasks, documents, etc.
-
Amicus Attorney provides better email integration and client communication tools like SMS texting.
-
CASEpeer has more customizable reporting options to analyze case data.
-
Amicus Attorney offers better data backup and recovery tools to prevent data loss.
Practical Use Case Recommendations
For solo practitioners or small firms: Amicus Attorney is likely the better choice due to its simple interface, lower costs, and focus on client communication.
For larger law firms or complex caseloads: CASEpeer is recommended for its extensive case management capabilities to handle high case volumes efficiently.
For document-intensive practices: CASEpeer has superior document organization and analysis features.
For client-focused firms: Amicus Attorney enables better client access and communication.
Final Verdict: Choosing the Right Legal Software
Ultimately, CASEpeer is the winner for large firms handling complex cases requiring robust tracking, analysis and document management. Amicus Attorney offers better value for solos and small firms focused on client communication. Evaluate your firm's needs and priorities first when deciding on legal practice software. Both platforms can drive productivity and efficiency gains.
