Practice Management Software for Newly-Solo Attorneys

Clio vs MyCase vs PracticePanther vs Smokeball. 48-hour decision guide. No fluff.

Overall pick for newly-solo generalists: Clio Manage. Best IOLTA/trust-accounting UX, best client portal, broadest integrations. 7-day free trial.

Start Clio 7-day trial ->

Cost pick: MyCase ->

Affiliate disclosure: links earn a referral commission. Verdict reflects the majority of newly-solo use cases, not payout.

The verdicts at a glance

Clio - Overall pick. Default for a reason. IOLTA UX is the best, 200+ integrations, strong client portal.

MyCase - Cost pick. ~30% cheaper than Clio, close on features, weaker integrations.

PracticePanther - Boutique pick. Lightweight and fast for 1-3 attorney firms that don't want complexity.

Smokeball - Doc-heavy pick. Best-in-class document automation for estate planning, family law, real estate.

Why this matters more for you than for a BigLaw lateral

BigLaw had in-house accounting. Solo, you are doing IOLTA yourself. Trust-accounting mistakes are among the most common sources of bar complaints in every state.

The right PM software auto-generates three-way reconciliations, prevents funds commingling, and flags negative-balance clients. The wrong software = you are reconciling in Excel, which is exactly how complaints happen.

Second thing people underestimate: billable-hours leak. Solo attorneys leak 15-30% of billable time to untracked work. The right PM software captures it automatically.

Side-by-side

Feature	Clio	MyCase	PracticePanther	Smokeball
Monthly cost (solo)	$49-129	$39-89	$49-89	$39-119
IOLTA 3-way reconciliation	Built-in	Built-in	Add-on	Built-in
Client portal	Strong	Strong	Basic	Moderate
Document automation	Add-on (Clio Draft)	Basic	Basic	Best-in-class
Integrations	200+	80+	70+	50+
Mobile apps	iOS + Android	iOS + Android	iOS + Android	iOS + Android (thin)
Free trial	7 days	10 days	7 days	Demo only
Best for	General practice solo	Cost-sensitive solo	Small boutique	Doc-heavy practice

60-second chooser

Do you do estate planning, family law, or real estate (document-heavy)? -> Smokeball.
Will your firm stay at 1-3 attorneys and you value simple over powerful? -> PracticePanther.
Is monthly cost a deal-breaker? -> MyCase.
Otherwise: -> Clio.

Trust

All four vendors are affiliate partners. Payouts are in a similar range. The primary pick is based on typical newly-solo use cases, not payout.
Pricing pulled from each vendor's public site at time of writing.
Not legal advice on trust accounting or bar rules - confirm with your state bar association.

FAQ

Do I really need PM software from day one, or can I start with Excel + QuickBooks?
Day one. The specific thing you don't want to improvise is IOLTA/trust accounting.

Can I switch later?
Yes, but migration is painful. Try to pick once.

What about LawPay or Headnote?
Payments-only; they integrate with all four PM suites. Pick your PM first.

middot; Affiliate disclosure