Educated Attorney Software Review: MyCase

January 7, 2013

MyCase is another cloud based practice management software just like Clio, Total Attorneys & Rocket Matter. The software has a major focus on client communication organization, client document caseload management & practice management as a whole. The software is $39/month per attorney and $29/month for paralegals and support staff. Like their competitors, they offer a 30 day trial, and also much like their competitors they give the attorney options for managing calendars, tasks, time, documents, and billing all within a VERY secure cloud based application. The MyCase calendar syncs with Outlook & Google Apps and there is even iPhone app for MyCase so you can access your firm data, firm calendar and client info in the car or in court.

The product itself is very easy to use, you probably won’t even need to contact support or access the training guides at first. MyCase has an interactive training bar that walks you through each of the basic functions within MyCase. In addition to telephone support they also offer webinars, a knowledge base, video tutorials and other resources that will help you through the software. On top of all that, MyCase offers personalized training with a member of their staff. With all of that said they do not offer integration options or advanced add-ons outside their standard package. This is very unlike their competators but works if your simply looking for firm management software without all the extra bells and whistles. This does worry me a bit because other than the iPhone app and the Outlook and Google integration it seems like they are not looking to branch out with other popular software.

MyCase is accessed through an internet browser. Like Clio & Rocket Matter, MyCase offers a number of security features. All communications between your browser and MyCase servers run over channels with 128-bit encryption. 256-bit AES encryption is used for all data stored on MyCase. Additionally, MyCase runs on Amazon EC2 cloud servers which means they offer the same security offered when storing credit cards or make purchases on Amazon. Due to these security options plus the Amazon connection, this has to be one of the most secure options over all other competitors.

MyCase is incredibly easy to navigate. With no training you’ll be extremely comfortable navigating their interface minutes after your first login. According to other reviews of MyCase, some experienced a number of minor bugs while navigating through MyCase. At one point a dialog box regarding new cases remained on the screen after having created a new client, but this could be a browser issue. Others say that when updating contact information, they are not able to easily navigate back to the MyCase main dashboard without clicking the back button on the browser. It is important to understand that within any web app, those back and forward buttons on your browser should be used at a minimum. There should always be a way to navigate where you want without using those buttons. These are minor bugs, not total deal breakers.

MyCase offers a great document storage solution as well. Like Clio and Rocket Matter, MyCase offers unlimited document storage space, and adding documents to a case is incredibly easy. Just like Total Attorneys, you can upload all file types to MyCase. This is a great feature because case files often include photo and video evidence that attorneys may want to store with the rest of the case files.

Final Thoughts…

It may be hard to make a determination between MyCase and the other cloud based practice management software out there. MyCase doesn’t really have any functionality that makes it stand out other than it’s iPhone app. Even that bonus is something that other companies are working on as we speak, soon that won’t even be that special, it’ll be the norm. I guess the best part about MyCase is that it’s incredibly easy to use and the document and storage security is second to none. This is especially important when talking about a cloud based application. The lack of third-party integration aside from Google and Outlook calendars is a draw back if you’re already using services such as Dropbox, Evernote or Box.com. In my opinion, talk to a sales rep, see if it works with your billing software, namely, Quickbooks, and give it a trial. Remember, the free trial is important. It may seem like a pain in the ass, but once you put the time in and pick the right practice management software for your firm, your done!