One private workspace for your matters, documents, time, billing and client portal.
Overview
LawCase OS keeps a law firm's day-to-day work in one place: matters, clients and contacts, documents, diary and tasks, time recording, invoices and accounts. It runs as a private workspace inside your firm's own WordPress website, on a server your firm controls, and it stores your data in your own database and private document store.
Staff see the matters they are allowed to see. Clients can sign in to a separate portal and see only what you choose to share with them. Every important action is written to an audit trail that can be checked for tampering, and key steps such as issuing an invoice need a second administrator to sign them off.
LawCase OS is a record-keeping and workflow tool. It is not legal, tax or regulatory advice, and it carries no regulatory certification. Your firm stays responsible for its own procedures.
Who it is for
UK law firms that want to run their matters, documents, time and billing in one system they host themselves. Because the two-person sign-off needs two different administrators, the firm needs at least two people who can act as administrators.
Features in detail
Matters, clients and contacts
Keep everything about a case on one matter page.
Matter references are generated for you from your firm's prefix
Each matter page brings together its overview, timeline, tasks, documents, notes, contacts, time, billing and audit history
A client register for people, companies and other organisations, with a "how they found us" field for reports
Contacts such as an opponent's solicitor, a witness or an expert, each with a role
Reviewed tools to import, merge and bulk-update contacts: you see what will change before it is saved
One search across the matters, clients and documents you are allowed to see
Diary, tasks, notes and messages
Hearings, deadlines and conversations stay attached to the matter.
A calendar for hearings, meetings, limitation dates, filings and completions, with reminders
Events marked "Client" appear in the client portal; internal events do not
Tasks with a due date, priority, assignee and status
File notes for attendance, telephone calls and instructions, kept internal or shared with the client
Document templates (client-care letters, engagement letters and more) with merge fields filled in from the matter
Threaded discussions that are internal or visible to the client. A sent message cannot be edited in place: you request a correction, a second administrator signs it off, and the original stays recoverable
Documents
Uploads are checked, encrypted and versioned.
PDF, Word, RTF, text, JPG and PNG files up to 20 MB
Each file is scanned for malware on upload and kept in a private, encrypted store, never in a public folder
A checksum and version number for every file, so you can show later that it has not changed
Choose who can see each document: internal only, client portal or shared
Preview PDFs and pictures on the same page and read each document's history
Time recording and billing
Record time as you work, bill only reviewed time, and get a second pair of eyes on every invoice.
A timer, or enter time by hand for work done away from the screen
Time becomes billable only after a different administrator signs it off
Rate rules by staff member, practice area or activity, with the most specific rule applied
Write off approved, unbilled time with a recorded reason
Invoices with VAT lines, for hourly, fixed, retainer or stage billing
A draft can be edited; it is issued, and given its final number, only after a second administrator signs it off
Download the issued invoice as a PDF, and use credit notes to correct an issued invoice instead of editing it
Expenses and disbursements recorded so they can be passed on to the client, and payments recorded as bookkeeping entries
Accounts, reports and period locks
See the position per matter and protect finished periods.
Ledger accounts such as client cash, client liability and office cash, with the postings behind each balance, and CSV export
Management reports: outstanding invoices by age, invoiced value by month, open tasks by person and where clients come from
A VAT and tax worksheet for a period, as a working paper reviewed by a second administrator. It is not a VAT return
Period locks that stop anyone posting entries dated on or before the last signed bank reconciliation
Client and office money records
Keep client money and office money apart.
Client accounts and office accounts are registered separately, and each has its own book
Moving client money to the office needs a reason and sign-off from a second administrator, and is written to the audit trail
Payments and transfers cannot take a client balance below zero
Limited support for foreign-currency client money (nine currencies, switched on by the server administrator). Foreign-currency bank statements are not imported or reconciled inside LawCase OS, and there is no interest calculation or client statements
LawCase OS is a software tool for keeping records. Your firm should agree its own client-money process with its own accountant and compliance officers before relying on it
Bank statements and reconciliation
Show that your books agree with the bank.
Import a bank statement from a CSV file; LawCase OS checks that the opening balance plus the lines equals the closing balance
Match each line to a recorded payment or transfer
Compare the cashbook, the client ledger and the statement on a chosen date, with sign-off by a different administrator
Conflicts, ethical walls and client identification records
Record the checks your firm makes.
Conflict searches across your own matters, clients, contacts and opponents, with the result recorded for review
If a real issue is found, an escalation asks an administrator to clear it, require a wall or decline
Restricted matters, so staff who are not on the list cannot see a matter (an ethical wall), and clients see a restricted matter only if it is assigned to them
Records of client identification and risk checks: identity, address, source of funds, risk level and when to review again
Departments for practice areas, with review rules
These screens record your firm's own checks. They are not a clearance and do not replace your firm's judgement
Workflows and deadlines
Turn a checklist into tasks with due dates.
Seven editable starter workflow packs: civil litigation, conveyancing, family, immigration, criminal, employment, and probate and estate
Start a workflow on a matter and a task is created for each step
Holiday calendars and deadline rules that you enter and keep up to date, plus a calculator whose results are marked "for review only" until a second administrator confirms the date
LawCase OS contains no court rules, limitation periods or statutory forms. The starter packs are examples, not legal advice, and every calculated date must be checked by a person
Intake, undertakings, complaints, closure and retention
Keep the paperwork around a matter in order.
Record a possible new client and what happened to the enquiry
A list of undertakings with who is responsible and when they are due
A complaints log with the person dealing with it and the response deadline
Close and archive a matter with a retention date, then extend it, place a legal hold or reopen it
Permanently remove a document's private file when its retention period ends. This needs two people, cannot be undone, and does not edit your backups
Built-in signature requests
Ask someone to review and accept a document.
Send a signer a link to review one private document and accept it
You get a basic acceptance record. It is not a qualified electronic signature
Client portal
A separate, simple sign-in for your clients.
Clients see only the matters you assign to them
Shared documents with preview, secure messages with a reply box, document upload, and billing status
Portal accounts are created through the same two-person approval as staff accounts
An optional public request form, off by default, with email confirmation and abuse limits. A request never gives access by itself
Security and audit trail
Give people the access they need, and no more.
Three kinds of user: administrator, staff and client
Two-factor sign-in with an authenticator app for administrators (recommended for staff too)
A security policy for the whole firm: restrict sign-in to your office addresses, password length, idle timeout, and a view of where your own account is signed in
Staff, departments and ethical walls are managed through the two-person approval route
An audit trail in which each entry is linked to the one before it, so tampering shows up. Read it, check it and export it as a file
The permissions for the main roles were tested on every record type before this version was released
Running it
Tools for the person who looks after your server.
Encrypted backups of the database, the private document store and the theme, with a checksum for every file
Restore into a new, empty site, so a restore never overwrites an existing one
A checked upgrade process with a rollback route
Pages for system status and background-worker health
Key rotation tools for the document store key and login secrets
What you get
LawCase OS (version 0.24.0) as a download, available straight after payment from a secure link and in your account.
A 148-page illustrated user manual in British English (PDF) covering installation, first-time set-up, everyday use, backups and upgrades, and a list of limits, together with the operator tools for installing, checking, backing up, restoring and upgrading the system and the licence (GPL-2.0-or-later) and attribution files.
After-sales support for the system as supplied (see below).
What you need to provide: LawCase OS is installed by the person who looks after your web server, such as your IT supplier or hosting provider. It needs a Linux server (Apache or Nginx) with HTTPS and a WordPress website set up for it (it runs as the site's theme), PHP 8.1 or newer, WordPress 6.5 or newer, a MariaDB or MySQL database, a malware scanner such as ClamAV with up-to-date virus definitions (uploads are refused until it works), a way for WordPress to send email, a scheduler that runs every minute, and command-line access for the set-up and backup tools.
Terms
Before you buy
LawCase OS version 0.24.0 has been tested on a local test copy with made-up firms, people and amounts. We have not run it with a live firm's data.
Outside services have not been proven with live accounts. LawCase OS contains optional connections to outside services for payments, identity checks, e-signatures, AI and document reading, bank feeds and Microsoft 365. They have only been tested against simulated responses, never with real accounts, money or documents, so we do not offer them as features of this version. If you decide to try one, test it first with a small, harmless example.
Not included: court rules, limitation periods and statutory forms; importing or reconciling foreign-currency bank statements; interest calculations and client statements; translations (English only); WordPress multisite.
Test first. Try LawCase OS on a test copy with sample data before you put real client information into it, as the manual advises.
Your responsibility: you should check dates and calculations yourself, and agree your client-money process with your accountant and compliance officers.
After-sales support
Your purchase includes after-sales support for the system as supplied. If something does not work as described in the user manual, tell us and we will investigate and fix it.
After-sales support does not include changes, additions or tailor-made (custom) work, such as altering screens, wording, workflows, reports or notifications, or adding new features. These are charged separately. For changes to your system, see our System Customisation Service, or ask us for a quote for larger work.
After-sales support also does not cover hosting, domain names, email account set-up, server administration, outside-service accounts, or any third-party fees, which remain your responsibility.
Yes. LawCase OS installs on a WordPress website on a server your firm controls, with HTTPS. The person who looks after your server, such as your IT supplier or hosting provider, carries out the installation using the manual. It needs PHP 8.1 or newer and WordPress 6.5 or newer, and the interface is in English only.
Does LawCase OS carry any regulatory certification?
No. LawCase OS is software for your firm to use under its own responsibility. It carries no regulatory certification, and it is not legal, tax or regulatory advice. Your firm should agree its client-money and compliance procedures with its own accountant and compliance officers.
Does it look after client money?
It keeps separate records for client money and office money, with sign-off by a second administrator and an audit trail. It is a record-keeping tool: your firm should agree its own client-money process with its own accountant and compliance officers before relying on it.
Does it know court rules and limitation periods?
No. LawCase OS contains no court rules, limitation periods or statutory forms. You enter your own deadline rules and holiday calendars, and every calculated date is marked "for review only" until a second administrator confirms it.
Can my clients sign in?
Yes. Clients use a separate portal where they see only the matters, documents and invoices you choose to share, and they can send messages and upload documents.
Can it take card payments or connect to my bank?
Not as supported features of this version. You can import a bank statement from a CSV file and match it inside LawCase OS. Optional connections to payment and bank services exist in the code but have only been tested with simulated responses, so we do not offer them as part of the product yet.
Are changes or custom work included?
No. After-sales support covers the system as supplied. Changes and tailor-made work are charged separately, for example through our System Customisation Service.
Ready to run your law firm from one place? Buy now, or contact us with any questions.
