PracticePanther Reviews

Pros
PracticePanther is intuitive and very user friendly. It has a ton of features that expedite minuscule tasks and free up admin time. It syncs with all my favorite resources, like QBO, MailChimp, and Box, making communication with clients a lot easier and keeps routine mailings operational. If you use a lot of form templates, the template builder is a major time saver and cuts down on user error and oversights. I use this program every day in my law office and am very grateful for how easy it is. Even better, the customer support team is phenomenal. I rarely have any issues with the program (it is easy to use), but when I run into something I need help with, a quick message to the PP team is responded to within minutes and the problem is solved or at a minimum I am given an update and expected time of completion. I couldn't recommend this program more to a solo or small legal practice.

Cons
Nothing, the team is constantly updating its software and programs that it connects to. They provide online videos to help and I frequently learn of new ways to use the program from regular updates by the team.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
I like being able to bill, take credit/debit card payments, and tell clients their balance with the app while in court. There are simple reports and a great dashboard to see how much is outstanding, to be billed, and the amount in my trust account. Practice panther has cut down on the time it takes for billing and made my office more efficient.

Cons
I print checks directly from practice panther, which takes several steps, but it makes it easy to add the cost to the client's billing. I would like the software to allow a report of vendors/payees' payments over various time periods as it does with tags and categories.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 9/10

Pros
never any data corruption issues like Timeslips. Time consuming backups not necessary, can have users tracking time while billing is being run. Web Based and can enter time tracking from anywhere on any computer or on your phone.

Cons
Some report features not available but over the past two years greater functionality has continued to be added

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 9/10

Pros
Clients can pay online. I honestly can't think of anything else to say.

Cons
Where do I start? The time keeping function is terrible. You cannot edit start and stop times. You cannot start and stop multiple timers in the mobile app. The software auto-saves frequently, and when it does, it moves the cursor in the entry to the end of the text. This is annoying. You cannot start a timer and then add the client-matter without causing the time to round up. The syncing with G Suite is bad. The software will not sync with all the fields in Google Contacts, and the "custom fields" in PracticePanther do not sync into Google Contacts. This results in a lot of duplicate data entry, which is what I was trying to void with practice management software. The software does not sync will with Google Drive well at all either. Apparently, you can't have any folders in Google Drive with the same name. For example, Client_01\general and Client_02\general would result in an error and none of your Google Drive documents will be visible in PracticePanther. The software billing feature is terrible. First, you cannot have multiple companies or entities tied to the same individual. Thus, if you have a contact who owns multiple businesses that are clients, you will not be able to list all those businesses under the client's name. To make matters worse, you can only email invoices to individuals who are listed under the company. I had to create multiple dummy contacts called "Accounts Payable" just so that I could email my clients their invoices. I ran out of space.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 0/10

Pros
I like the ease of use. It's intuitive. Great support team.

Cons
Still cannot use the batch invoice feature because I do flat fees and when there is no money owing apparently it does not take this as an active invoice.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
This program fit the needs of a very busy litigation practice. Easy to manage clients, experts, opposing parties/counsel, calendar events, etc.

Cons
The only thing I have found that I do not like is the inability to add more than one file/matter to a single calendar event. Makes my calendar look very crowded and difficult to manage when I have to schedule 3-4 files for calendar call in the same one hour time block.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Everything is in one place. It makes my job infinitely easier to document and track everything. In fact, I don't know how I ever ran my practice without it. It saves me so much time and everything is exactly where you left it.

Cons
The accounting for what's due, billable etc. is always wrong. It doesn't matter how much time you waste trying to balance what is paid and what is owed, the numbers are always incorrect. It also likes to take bills and put a negative sign in front of the amount owed.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Mobile interaction. You can bill, add calendar events, and review an entire client file online from anywhere you have cell service.

Cons
Sorting some of the billable items by category is more difficult then it needs to be, and having additional invoice template email options would be nice.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
The combination of all the features and all the 3rd party integrations makes this a true one-stop-shop. I no longer have to use one platform to track my time, another to do my billing, and another to track client files.

Cons
I wish it had the ability to create contracts from a clause library (e.g., to build a contract by selecting or dragging and dropping clauses), and a document compare feature (similar to word's), and it would be perfect!

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
The simplicity and ease of use. It has an intuitive interface, so a person can figure out what to do without consulting a technical manual.

Cons
To go from client to client you have to go back to a general matters page, rather that going direct. That is the only thing I would change in the system.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
I like the intuitive interface, clean look, and the ability to customize my own workflows.

Cons
I would like to see a private server capability added in instead of having to rely on Box. One that we can access via VPN would be helpful. I wish we could add in a bit more automation customization. For example, I would like to be able to send my clients a customized email with attachments and helpful info before specific events, rather than the generic reminder email. I would also like the ability to create conditional logic in certain events.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
This software is intuitive, easy to navigate and very user-friendly. Tech support is promptly available and they are very patient. Practice Panther continues to make improvements on the software and they listen to their customers feedback. They have fixed our issues with our calendar being very slow to load. It's fast now and working very well.

Cons
There are still room for improvement in terms of features and functions. (1) The format (layout) of the calendar is not user-friendly for mid to large firms with more than 10 employees. Everyone's events are scattered across the calendar and overlap with each other which makes difficult to identify availability for specific staff. Events are displayed with different colors assigned to each staff. It's hard to follow 10+ different colors on computer screen and it is definitely not working for staff who are color-blind. It's really difficult to see who has appointments at each hour throughout the day. We suggested to have columns for each staff so that it only takes a glance to identify who is available when, just like how calendars are in Time Matters from Lexis Nexis. (2) Sorting function for customized fields is not available unfortunately. What makes this software great is the customization you can make to fit it to your exact needs. However, customized fields are not sort-able, and without the sorting function for the customized fields, data is not as valuable and usable as it should be. As a legal administrator who manages the data and runs productivity report for legal staff, we are currently spending a lot of time downloading the information from the software to MS Excel, sorting and manipulating the data in Excel, and finally coming back to the PracticePanther to make necessary changes within the software. (Continues to overall experience)

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 5/10

Pros
Unlike a number of the cheaper practice management software programs on the market today, Practice Panther has a wide range of functions within the software which are easy to use. Instead of just having "Tasks" or "to-dos", PP allows you to create Activities which can be "Events" "E-mails" "Phone calls" or "Tasks". On the Task front, PP allows you to set sub-reminders that can send you e-mails or text messages in advance, like say "7 days before," and "3 days before," for a filing deadline. I also think it is pretty fantastic that PP shows whether a time entry has been completed for EVERY SINGLE ACTIVITY marked "completed" or "in progress". This would be incredibly useful for practitioners (mostly civil) managing staff and trying to deal with staff not accounting for all of their time in billing. The "mail sync" function is also easy to use, and allows you to e-mail out of your native software (MS Outlook, GMAIL, etc) and simply "bcc" the client matter itself. When you do this, the e-mail is automatically saved into the matter. Almost every other program out there that I have used requires you to use their client messaging portal to get the same functionality. The templates are easy to use for creating documents to merge out of PP also. Think client engagement letters, releases, and basic letterheads that you use in every file. We don't use PP for accepting payments so I cannot comment on that portion.

Cons
1. Matter pre-bills or invoicing. In many civil cases there will be a time when you need to prepare a billing report to present to the court solely for a claim of attorney's fees. In other software that I have used, you can run a report for a set period of time or type of billing entries which will then create a printable draft invoice-looking document. You would then be able to slap an exhibit sticker on that document and use it for your attorney's fee request. I haven't found a way to easily do this in PP yet, and it seems like you would have to utilize a draft invoice which captures all time billed in the matter. I could be wrong. 2. No Batch Entry System for E-mails. PP has a GREAT syncing system that works with your native e-mail so you can BCC messages into the matter when you send or receive them. However, if you forget to include the mail-sync in your BCC line, or don't forward a message to the mail-sync, there is no easy way to subsequently get the e-mails into the matter in PP. What I mean is this: say you have a number of e-mails from someone that weren't saved into a client PP matter and instead lived in your Outlook before the client actually hired. You would have to manually forward each one of your emails to the mail-sync to get them into PP. Additionally, if you are a federal criminal lawyer and use CORRLINKS to communicate with your clients you will know that you can't forward out of that system. PP doesn't let you copy/paste emails so your stuck.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
The user experience from the moment a client logs onto our website, uses the embedded intake form, to create a client profile to PP is seamless. This is just one of the time-saving tools we have discovered. This automated way of working and being able to integrate systems has forced M Legal to rethink how we work and more importantly, how to we can simplify our working processes. While many of us worked with CRMs in the past, most of them were clunky and stand-alone systems that could not work with other applications or software. PP has made managing clients much easier, where our lawyers are in control from the moment a case is initiated, all the way through to billing clients. We have experienced our fair share of poor technical support teams when using other software programs. With PP, despite the time differences between Miami and Sydney, their technical support team are always available, whether it is through the chat portal, email or by phone. Each technical person is professional, knowledgeable and continues to take care of your matter until it is resolved. Further, they always have something new to teach you about the PP system on each call. I cannot express how impressed we are, with what we consider as stellar service from this tech support team.

Cons
Naturally, a product such as this is not going to have universal application across all legal fields. I would say that in the immigration space the status of a case is really important, so having a status bar that is customisable would be a feature that could be improved. Also, a lot of our data from clients are taken from in-take forms - we require intake forms that are easier to build and that have the capability of storing more information. While these are work in progress type issues, this certainly does not take away from PP's product, which we believe is a well designed and thought through CRM system.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 9/10

Pros
I love the IT help, the invoicing system and the templates feature. I had a lot of questions and needed a lot of help in the beginning. Being able to schedule times to discuss my issues with the IT guys at PracticePanther was great. The fact that they can take over your computer remotely so they can see what you see in real time is even better. Their response time to non-scheduled issues is pretty fast. I have also found their FAQs and how to videos to be extremely helpful but having a live person to speak with who can access your computer is just as good as having someone standing next to me while I work. The invoicing system is phenomenal. It keeps track of all of my client banking accounts. I can see at any time how much is in my IOLTA account, how much is in my operating account, how much a client owes, how much a client has paid and how much I have billed a client but not yet invoiced. I can do this client by client, matter by matter or as an overall total. LawPay is free if you sign up through PracticePanther which is awesome because it handles my credit card transactions and when a client pays, it automatically updates my invoicing and accounts. PracticePanther also knows how to deduct things from a client's retainer when sending out an invoice so you don't have to worry about that either. Their timing device feeds right into the system. It is awesome.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
There are many things I like about the software. The main ones are: - The search function. This makes searching for contacts or matters very easy. This is available on many of the screens as well as the dashboard. - The price is very reasonable for a sole practitioner, and cheaper than the other software I have investigated - Easy to create templates - The screens are easy to understand and its a joy to use the software - its relatively easy to import contacts (which i did from my gmail) - billing is really good - the client portal is amazing (you can even see when your client's read their invoices) - it is improving all the time - there are regular weekly and monthly updates - I find the relationships tab really useful to keep all my contacts related to the matter together for each of use - there are many other pros about this software - try it and see for yourself

Cons
- the software is not perfect - it would be good if viewing emails from external email (e.g. gmail) could be improved so that they are more readable - secure messages could be improved to allow attaching multiple files without the need to zip - greater connection with Box so that Box's sharing could be linked to a contact without the need to manually enter the contacts email address when you are inside the contact's matter

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Beautiful layout, easy to use, functions as a basic CRM, matter and time management, and billing program all in one.

Cons
Flat fee billing is not well thought out, and the billing module presents clients with a reckoning of my operating account as well as their trust account. (I understand Panther may have made the operating account info optional by now, or that is in their near term plan.)

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Before PracticePanther we had started an Excel spreadsheet to log our contacts for conflicts checks. We created a joint email account with Gmail so our email would be centralized and that also gave us a central calendar that we all had access to in order to set appointments, record deadlines, etc. We also created a Dropbox account for file storage. While everything was low cost or free, all the parts felt scattered. PracticePanther pulls it all together in one beautiful, user-friendly interface. Now, instead of having to pull up 5 or 6 different apps/websites, we are able to pull up just one site and have everything right there. All of the components of PracticePanther are really easy to use. The entire program is designed for efficiency and ease of use. Color-coding allows you to see and understand your financial details in mere seconds. Tasks, events, and timekeeping are easy.

Cons
I would like to see the software integrate with more programs. Quickbooks is great, but my brain works better with Wave Accounting; LawPay is great, but being able to integrate with PayPal also, would be even better. However, these are minor things and not worth seeking a different program I like as much as Practice Panther. I had shopped around quite a bit before choosing Practice Panther; I doubt I would find anything I like as much. Hands down, our favorite thing about PracticePanther is the superior support staff. If you have a problem and leave a message after hours in the chat box, you get a response generally within the hour. There is also training videos and a help center that will help you find the help that you need.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
One of the best features of the software is not so much a feature but the logic employed in designing the flow of data. I have used a number of the more popular programs and can heartily recommend this as the best I have found. The ease of use makes it a top choice if you have staff that will use it. I am a single solo and it is not one of my concerns yet. But, I can't see anyone not understanding the flow of information. The automation is superb. Document assembly is easy and logical. One of the best features is the Forms generator. Email the form to your client or prospective client - they fill it out - and it goes right into your data. No need to waste time inputting names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and any other data you would like to have handy in your file. Tracking time is a breeze as is generating invoices, tracking retainer accounts, tracking trust accounts and more (I find the accounting component more than meets my needs). Over time you will come to rely on the information in the program over the physical file. It has become my organizational hub for all that I do.

Cons
I would like to see a thick book explaining all the capabilities and limits. The support people are great and can answer any question - I just like to read it and push the software to its limits. I have used PP for some time - moving to another package for some time. At twice the price - it did less. In my brief time away the product dramatically improved & I am back and very happy.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Great tools, great automation, great customer support

Cons
There are continuing areas that we could further automate to make the product even more amazing.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
Ease of use, and tutorials that allowed me to quickly gain the requisite knowledge for utilizing each feature were absolutely critical to starting my law firm. One of the greatest assets to Practice Panther is its amazing team. I love the one on one trainings, and how many of the features I had questions about were already on the agenda for discussion (provided by the team member conducting the training ahead of time). Thus, saving me time, and only needing me to add additional ones, if necessary. I love the tutorials, templates, pop ups, and live chat features. Live chats have been so helpful in a pinch when I encounter a new challenge with things like linking two client matters together. I love how links to possible video tutorials pop up, while I am waiting for a team member to reply, to see if my question can be answered with one of the step by step videos . I use those videos for future references all the time.

Cons
There is nothing I do not like about the software. I only had one hiccup with syncing the LawPay feature with Practice Panther, and one of my client's could not submit their credit card payment online. There was an additional step after your LawPay account is approved, and you must go into your Practice Panther account settings to select the banking accounts that you want to use with LawPay. There were no instructions for this step in the process. However, this appeared to be more of a LawPay issue due to the 3 day time delay for approving the LawPay account. Because Practice Panther is so easy to use, I was actually able to figure out where the problem was, and get my client's payment through within a few minutes. Both Practice Panther and LawPay were quick on responding to the issue, and did an amazing job.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
What I loved about this software is that it is very complete. It allows you to have a database of all your clients with all the information you will need to work on their case. Also, time tracker to track work time for every client. It doesn't only do that, it allows you to issue an invoice and send it to clients. In addition to this, the program allows to create matters, this makes it very easy to track the work and very useful because every client we had could have several matters open. The task assignment is amazing and the calendar features incredible. The support I received whenever I had an issue, was very good quality.

Cons
What I didn't like was that it has an amazing sync with your dropbox and email BUT if you deleted any matter the whole folder in dropbox erased. So, if we deleted something just to close the case it would be deleted from our database in dropbox. We as lawyer, needed to keep files for at least 3 years.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 8/10

Pros
I really like two features the most. First, is the absolutely fabulous customer support that I receive. I get answers within less than 60 minutes from the time I contact them. Second is the ease of use. Practice Panther is almost intuitive in its use. If the answer doesn't jump out at you, there are tons of training videos available and the online customer help is spot on.

Cons
I use the basic Essential Monthly Plan. It is the lowest cost but the value is exceptional. I do wish I had some of the additional features in the higher priced plans but those don't fit my budget currently. Those features I can supplement with my own documents or programs.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
There are too many to list. On the top - great customer service. I'll say that again - great customer service! Ability to have Panther open in two or more screens to perform various tasks at the same time. Ease of use. Being able to create work flows. Customizable (not sure if that's a word, but it is true.) Multiple time entry screen. Being able to export time and expense entries into an Excel spreadsheet. Mobile app for on the go. Tasks and deadline reminders to my cell phone. Oh - and a great price! Plus the Practice Panther team is always updating and improving the software. Tutorials? Super helpful.

Cons
Probably the most annoying thing is that when I come in to work the dashboard is not updated to reflect the new day. I have to refresh. There are a few fields that don't let me edit them (because I messed them up and now want to clean them up). Um.... maybe when I lose my time entries because the computer goes down, but I'm not sure I attribute that to Panther. Perhaps an auto save in the background?

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10

Pros
As a small practice, I needed to organize and implement an office management system that I could use if my assistant was not here. This software is the most intuitive, responsive and useful that I have tried...and I have test driven four of the top recommended products. I have everything I need in one package; whereas, other companies require additional packages to connect to email and form templates. The learning curve has been very small. Both of us here have not had any training yet and are up and running (for the most part) after only a week or so. Now we will be taking advantage of the great training videos and one-on-one training to hone our skills and use it to its fullest extent.

Cons
So far, our experience has only been positive. Graphics are simple and somewhat old-fashioned, BUT they work great for finding things...that's what counts.

Rating breakdown

Likelihood to recommend: 10/10