Selecting the right legal technology can be an overwhelming decision for law firms.
This comparative review promises to clearly examine two top options - Lexis+ AI and SmokeBall - across key factors, from features to pricing.
By the end, you'll have the insights to confidently determine which solution best aligns to your firm's needs and priorities around legal research, practice management, workflows, integration, adoption, support, and budget.
Introduction to Lexis+ AI and SmokeBall
Lexis+ AI and SmokeBall are two leading legal technology solutions that leverage artificial intelligence and software to help law firms and legal professionals streamline workflows and enhance efficiency.
Lexis+ AI integrates advanced AI into LexisNexis' premier legal research platform to provide litigation analytics, case law analysis, and data-driven insights to inform legal strategy. SmokeBall offers an end-to-end practice management suite designed specifically for small to mid-sized law firms, with features spanning document automation, legal CRM, billing and accounting, calendaring, and more.
This article provides an overview of the key capabilities of Lexis+ AI and the core components of SmokeBall's software, comparing the two solutions across key criteria to help legal professionals evaluate which platform aligns best with their firm's needs and priorities.
Understanding the Role of AI in Lexis+
Lexis+ AI harnesses artificial intelligence algorithms to enhance the legal research capabilities within LexisNexis' Lexis+ platform. Specific AI-powered features include:
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Litigation Analytics: Analyze verdict and settlement data to benchmark case valuation and determine litigation strategy.
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Brief Analysis: Review brief quality, identify cases frequently cited together, and analyze how courts view specific cases.
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Practical Guidance: Leverage lawyer-created templates, checklists, and how-to guides covering a wide breadth of legal issues and topics.
Exploring SmokeBall's Law Practice Management Suite
SmokeBall's cloud-based law practice management suite helps streamline workflows for improved efficiency, productivity, and client collaboration. Core components include:
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Legal Billing: Create, track and send invoices, record payments, automate billing workflows.
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Document Management: Generate, store, share and eSign legal documents from one centralized platform.
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Legal CRM: Manage client records, interactions, tasks, and reporting all in one view for enhanced visibility.
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Legal Calendar: Maintain schedules, track deadlines, facilitate court filings from a shared, cloud-based calendar.
Comparative Review of Core Features
Legal Research: Lexis+ AI vs SmokeBall
Lexis+ AI provides robust legal research capabilities through its litigation analytics, Brief Analysis, Search Term Tree, and the well-known Shepard's citation service. These tools allow lawyers to quickly analyze case law, assess potential outcomes, and strengthen legal arguments.
In contrast, SmokeBall focuses more on jurisdictional content to support legal research targeted to specific courts and regions rather than litigation-focused analytics. SmokeBall can still assist with legal research, but lacks some of the more advanced intelligence and insights of Lexis+ AI.
Overall, Lexis+ AI has a clear advantage for data-driven legal research, while SmokeBall offers content tailored to local jurisdictions. Firms focused on litigation may favor Lexis+ AI, while those working regionally may prefer SmokeBall's offerings.
Law Practice Management Capabilities
Both Lexis+ AI and SmokeBall provide strong law practice management features such as:
- Legal billing for tracking time and expenses
- Document management with version control
- Client relationship management (CRM) tools
- Calendars and schedules
Lexis+ AI focuses specifically on the needs of large law firms, while SmokeBall caters more towards solo practitioners and small firms. For sizable practices involved in complex cases, Lexis+ AI's enterprise-class management capabilities are likely a better fit.
Legal Calendar and Workflow Automation
Lexis+ AI and SmokeBall both enable law firms to automate calendars, deadlines, and workflows through their practice management platforms. This can significantly improve legal team productivity.
Key capabilities offered include automated court date reminders, deadline tracking, workflow checklists that guide legal staff through key processes, and more. Both solutions are robust when it comes to law practice automation.
SmokeBall has an edge, however, when it comes to flexibility for firms to customize workflows and templates. For teams needing high adaptability in their automation, SmokeBall is likely the superior choice.
Legal Document Management Solutions
A core strength of both Lexis+ AI and SmokeBall lies in their legal document management capabilities, enabling superior organization and collaboration around client files.
Key features include centralized cloud-based storage, remote access to documents, robust search, user permissions controls, version histories, integrations with MS Office and other tools, and more.
While both platforms offer strong document management for law firms, SmokeBall has an advantage when it comes to flexibility around custom metadata, templates, and configurations tailored to each firm's unique needs. Lexis+ AI compensates with advanced search algorithms and analytics around documents.
In summary, both solutions meet critical needs around legal document management, with SmokeBall favored for its adaptability and Lexis+ AI for its intelligence capabilities. Firms should weigh their specific requirements and priorities around documents to determine the best fit.
Integration and Legal Technology Ecosystem
Extending Lexis+ AI with APIs and Integrations
Lexis+ AI offers several APIs and integrations to extend its capabilities and connect with other legal technology tools.
Some key highlights include:
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LexisNexis InterAction API allows integrating Lexis+ AI features like litigation analytics, Brief Analysis, and Search Term Trees into other applications. This facilitates embedding Lexis+ AI insights directly into law practice management tools.
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The platform offers out-of-the-box integrations with leading tools like Clio, Rocket Matter, MyCase to enable seamless workflow between Lexis+ AI and popular legal software.
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Lexis+ AI can integrate with e-billing and time tracking tools through APIs. This allows legal teams to capture billable time directly within Lexis+ AI for better time and cost management.
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Several third-party analytics and business intelligence tools can connect to Lexis+ AI to leverage its litigation data and insights for advanced reporting and benchmarking.
By providing open APIs and pre-built connectors, Lexis+ AI enables legal teams to incorporate its AI capabilities more deeply into their tech stack for an integrated legal workflow.
Enhancing SmokeBall with Third-Party Integrations
SmokeBall offers integrations with other legal technology tools to streamline practice management workflows.
Some of the key capabilities enabled through SmokeBall integrations include:
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Integration of SmokeBall Legal Calendar with Outlook, Gmail, Office 365 and iCal enables centralized calendaring and scheduling across the legal team.
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SmokeBall's Legal CRM integrates with solutions like Clio Grow and Lawmatics to enhance client relations capabilities.
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The document management module integrates with NetDocuments, iManage and Worldox to centralize matter documentation.
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SmokeBall integrates with Xero accounting software for streamlined legal accounting and billing workflows.
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The platform offers single sign-on integration with solutions like Clio and Lawcus to minimize access friction.
With its integration ecosystem, SmokeBall aims to provide a unified platform for key aspects of legal practice management encompassing client relations, document management, legal accounting, and more.
Cost Analysis: Lexis+ AI and SmokeBall Pricing
Investing in Lexis+ AI: Plans and Pricing
Lexis+ AI offers flexible pricing plans to meet the needs of different sized law firms. Their key plans include:
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Starter Plan: Best for solos and small firms just getting started with legal AI. Includes core Lexis+ AI features like litigation analytics, Brief Analysis, and Search Term Trees. Priced at $50/month.
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Professional Plan: Ideal for mid-sized firms seeking robust legal AI capabilities. Adds features like Shepard's Citation Service, Practical Guidance, and more advanced analytics. Priced at $150/month.
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Enterprise Plan: For large law firms wanting maximum legal AI power. Includes all features, higher search limits, custom integrations, and dedicated support. Pricing customized based on firm size and needs.
Lexis+ AI also offers volume-based pricing models. The more searches conducted per month, the lower the per-search rates become.
SmokeBall's Financial Commitment: Pricing Plans
SmokeBall offers transparent pricing for law firms wanting legal practice management software. Their plans include:
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Solo Plan: For individual attorneys and solos. Includes core features like document automation, legal CRM, and calendaring. $39/month.
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Standard Plan: Adds user seats and features like task delegation, document storage, intake forms, and more. $79/month base price.
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Premium Plan: For larger law firms. Unlimited user seats, legal accounting, advanced reporting, API access, and priority support. Custom quoted based on firm size.
SmokeBall also offers flat-fee unlimited search packages to pair with their core plans. Prices range from $100-500/month depending on search volume needs. Free 30 day trials available.
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Identifying the Ideal Customer for Each Law Firm Solution
Who Benefits Most from Lexis+ AI?
Lexis+ AI provides advanced legal analytics capabilities powered by artificial intelligence. This makes Lexis+ AI ideally suited for larger law firms and corporate legal teams that handle complex litigation and want to uncover strategic insights from case law.
Specifically, Lexis+ AI is a great fit for:
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Law firms with over 50 attorneys involved in litigation practices like personal injury, medical malpractice, product liability, etc. The litigation analytics can help uncover insights to strengthen case strategies.
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Corporate legal teams involved in intellectual property litigation. Lexis+ AI can analyze prior IP case law to inform patent filing strategies and identify the best jurisdictions.
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Firms focused on privacy and cybersecurity issues who want analytics on emerging trends and precedent cases. This allows them to better advise clients on compliance and risk management.
In summary, medium to large law practices involved in litigation can derive the most benefit from Lexis+ AI's advanced analytics capabilities. The key value lies in uncovering strategic insights from case law data.
The Perfect Match: Law Practices for SmokeBall
SmokeBall is a cloud-based legal practice management solution designed for small to mid-sized law firms. It specializes in streamlining day-to-day operations.
The types of law practices that are an ideal fit for adopting SmokeBall include:
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Small firm general practice lawyers looking for an all-in-one solution for calendaring, document management, billing and more. SmokeBall consolidates key functionality which smaller firms need.
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Solo attorneys who want legal practice management capabilities without the hassle of managing servers and software. SmokeBall is cloud-based and has flexible plans.
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Law firms focused on personal injury, workers compensation and mass torts. SmokeBall has tailored templates and workflows aligned to these practice areas.
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Virtual law practices who need to securely collaborate with remote staff and securely share files with clients. SmokeBall facilitates easy cloud collaboration.
In essence, SmokeBall is designed for the needs of small to mid-sized law firms ranging from solo attorneys to firms with 10-50 lawyers. It brings legal practice management to teams with limited IT resources.
Ease of Adoption: Implementing Lexis+ AI and SmokeBall
Implementing new legal technology can be challenging, but with the right strategy, law firms can smoothly onboard solutions like Lexis+ AI and SmokeBall. Here are some key factors to consider:
Onboarding with Lexis+ AI: A Step-by-Step Guide
When implementing Lexis+ AI, follow these best practices:
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Assign product owners to drive adoption and serve as internal experts and points of contact. They should complete extensive training.
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Roll out gradually. Start with a small pilot group before expanding organization-wide. Get feedback to address pain points.
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Provide training resources. Create customized user guides, videos, FAQs, quick reference cards. Offer live virtual training sessions.
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Highlight key features. Showcase practical examples of high-value capabilities like litigation analytics, Brief Analysis, and Search Term Trees.
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Track usage metrics. Monitor system usage to identify adoption laggards and high-performing users to replicate best practices.
Implementing SmokeBall: Strategies for Success
To drive SmokeBall adoption:
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Get leadership buy-in to communicate importance and dedicate resources.
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Map workflows. Document current workflows and plan process changes to integrate SmokeBall.
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Offer incentives. Consider contests, public recognition, and rewards for active users.
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Conduct training. Cover platform basics plus specialized features like legal calendaring, billing, CRM. Offer refreshers.
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Solicit user feedback. Survey users regularly to address concerns and improve integration.
With the right approach, law firms can transform adoption of Lexis+ AI, SmokeBall, and other legal technologies into smooth, successful endeavors. The keys are taking a structured, strategic approach and providing ample training and support.
Support Services: LexisNexis vs SmokeBall
Navigating LexisNexis Customer Support
LexisNexis offers robust customer support resources to help users effectively utilize their legal technology solutions.
Their self-service Knowledge Base contains setup guides, user manuals, troubleshooting tips, and best practices across all LexisNexis products. Users can easily search for answers or browse content by product.
For more direct assistance, LexisNexis provides phone, email, and live chat support. Their support team has extensive knowledge across Lexis+ offerings and can quickly resolve technical issues.
They also host a Community Forum where users can post questions and engage in discussions with other LexisNexis customers and staff. This allows for helpful peer-to-peer troubleshooting and advice.
Accessing SmokeBall's Customer Support Network
SmokeBall aims to provide exceptional support through multiple channels including email, phone, live chat, and remote assistance.
Their searchable Knowledge Base covers getting started guides, product updates, tips for maximizing SmokeBall tools, and troubleshooting common problems. Visual tutorials are also available.
For urgent issues, SmokeBall offers live chat and phone support during business hours. Support staff are well-versed in SmokeBall functionalities and integrations. They can screenshare to diagnose problems and walk users through solutions.
Additionally, SmokeBall provides a private online User Community for peer advice and best practice sharing. Support team members actively monitor community discussions to assist.
Final Verdict: Lexis+ AI vs SmokeBall
Comparative Summary: Key Differentiators
Lexis+ AI and SmokeBall offer robust legal technology solutions with some key differences:
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Lexis+ leverages advanced AI capabilities like litigation analytics and data insights, while SmokeBall focuses more on practice management features.
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Lexis+ integrates comprehensive legal research and Shepard's citation analysis, providing access to an extensive collection of legal content. SmokeBall does not offer embedded legal research.
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SmokeBall provides more extensive tools for calendaring, document automation, billing and invoicing. Lexis+ AI has more limited practice management features.
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Lexis+ AI offers predictive insights through its Brief Analysis feature. SmokeBall does not currently include AI-powered analytics.
In summary, Lexis+ AI excels in legal research and advanced analytics while SmokeBall leads in law practice management tools for firms.
Choosing the Right Legal Tech: Recommendations
When selecting between Lexis+ AI and SmokeBall, consider your firm's key priorities:
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If advanced analytics and legal research are critical, Lexis+ AI is likely the better fit.
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If streamlining billing, documents and calendars is more important, consider SmokeBall.
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Larger law firms may benefit more from Lexis+ AI's scalable AI capabilities.
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Solo practitioners and small firms may favor SmokeBall's practice management features.
Evaluate your budget, resources, use cases and growth trajectory when deciding between these two capable solutions. Lexis+ AI and SmokeBall each have unique strengths suiting different firm needs and objectives. Defining your "must-haves" will clarify the better choice for your legal team.
