Frequently Asked Questions

SmartAdvocate is available in both Cloud and Server based versions. SmartAdvocate® Server is the most powerful and full-featured law firm software and case management system available. You own the software and maintain it on your own server. Backups and maintenance are handled by you and your IT personnel. SmartAdvocate® Cloud is a hosted version that provides the ease and affordability of the cloud, while still providing the depth and sophistication that make SmartAdvocate® the best. You avoid the trouble and expense of purchasing and maintaining a server.

Both the Server and the Cloud versions of SmartAdvocate are fully browser based. As a result, your data is available anywhere you have an internet connection, from your laptop, iPad, iPhone, or Android device.

Apps are available for iPhones, iPads, and Android devices. The apps allow you to search your cases, send texts and emails, view the calendar and add appointments, view and attach documents, track your time, and much more. You can even create new cases from almost anywhere using the Investigator’s App on an iPad or Android tablet.

SmartAdvocate has two calendars. The Case Calendar can display all events (appointments, tasks, and critical deadlines) relevant to the particular case you are in. You can easily filter the calendar by date range, event type, people involved, etc. The Office Calendar provides an overall view of the calendar for the entire office. You can quickly see anyone’s availability, who will be where when, and limit the calendar to specific people or groups. It is a true comprehensive Office Calendar. And, of course, all appointments and Critical Deadlines can be easily synched with your Outlook calendar.

SmartAdvocate has many license options for both the Cloud and Server versions. Please contact a Business Development Specialist at 1-877-GET-SMART (1-877-438-7627) to discuss which choice would be best suited for your particular firm.

SmartAdvocate comes with a wealth of Dashboards and Reports to help you keep track of critical case information, as well as vital firm financial and operational details. Track firm income, staff performance, intake statistics, medical records requests, upcoming SOLs and Critical Deadlines, and so much more. With the Subscribe feature, you can even have Reports automatically emailed to you on any schedule you choose.

Of course! The SmartAdvocate Case Browse feature allows you to create custom reports based on hundreds of criteria and have them automatically emailed to you or anyone else on any schedule you choose. Need specialized information? We can create custom reports to meet your needs.

You can create document templates from virtually any Word, Excel, or PDF form. As a result, virtually any form your firm currently uses can converted into a SmartAdvocate template. Of course, you can also create a template from scratch. Over 2,500 merge codes allow for virtually any information in a case to be inserted into a document. Specialized table merge codes let you insert lists of information, such as expenses, liens, medical providers and bills, tracked time, and much more. You can even create your own customized merge codes. Once the template is saved in SmartAdvocate, creating a document that includes practically any data from the case is easy. Simply choose the template you want to use and tell SmartAdvocate to generate the document. The case data merges into the document, which then opens on your screen. It really is that easy!

SmartAdvocate WorkPlans function as a checklist, but also automate some of your routine processes, streamlining the operation of your firm. Automated Procedures allow you to create repeating tasks, send automated text messages or emails to clients, create multiple reminders, or automatically generate documents, all triggered by various events in the case. Taken together, these exclusive SmartAdvocate features guide your staff to ensure that each stage of your cases is handled in an appropriate and consistent way.

SmartAdvocate’s Case Browse and Contact Search features make it simple to generate mass communications (letters, texts, or emails) to your clients, defense attorneys, adjusters, or any other contacts in your system.

SmartAdvocate integrates with numerous texting services, which allow you to send and receive texts from within the system. Notes are automatically created when texts are sent or received, so you can easily track your text messages within the case. Have a different texting service you would like to use? Ask us. We can!

SmartAdvocate partners with AssureSign to provide you with the best state-of-the-art eSignature solution. You can create your eSignature documents using SmartAdvocate’s Template Editor and send documents for eSignature via email or text directly from the case. Once documents are signed and returned, they are automatically uploaded to the appropriate case in SmartAdvocate.

SmartAdvocate currently integrates with numerous intake services, including the three mentioned above. Have a different intake service you would like to use? Ask us. We can integrate it with SmartAdvocate!

It certainly can. SmartAdvocate will automatically calculate multiple Statutes of Limitations based on the type and jurisdiction of the matter being created. Other Critical Deadlines can also be created based on the requirements of the jurisdiction and the procedures utilized by your firm. Both SOLs and Critical Deadlines can even be added to your Outlook calendar for an additional layer of safety.

SmartAdvocate was designed with these types of cases in mind. You can easily relate a Master Case to its Member Cases and share information between them. Project Details are available for many common types of these cases and you can create Plaintiff Fact Sheets to track the relevant information or Court ordered requirements for each type of case. SmartAdvocate makes it easy for your staff to determine whether a particular prospective client fits the criteria for a specific type of Mass Tort, Class Action, or MDL.

SmartAdvocate integrates seamlessly with numerous intake services, including web chat, call centers, and more. You can quickly and easily create new cases internally using Intake Wizard, which runs an automatic conflict-of-interest check. The Investigator’s App allows your staff to input new cases on their iPad or Android tablet from almost anywhere. The SmartAdvocate Case Monitor Widget provides a list, right on your desktop, of all new cases externally entered into your system, to ensure appropriate follow-up. Cases remain on the list until a staff member enters a Note into the case. SmartAdvocate WorkPlans and Automated Procedures can be set up to automatically generate Documents, Tasks, Email and Text Messages that are triggered based on the status of a matter (such as Intake or Investigation). Communication can then be sent automatically to a lead or potential client and the staff can be assigned a Task to do a follow up if necessary.

SmartAdvocate is an incredibly powerful, entirely Web-based, and fully customizable case management system used by a wide range of litigation firms. SmartAdvocate is continually updated to make sure that all of our customers can handle the challenges of today’s fast-paced, highly competitive, and tech-demanding legal landscape. With our help, law firms can increase their overall profitability and efficiency.

Yes. One great feature of SmartAdvocate is that emails can be sent both from SmartAdvocate and from Outlook, so you can use whichever interface you prefer. When attorneys send email using Outlook, all of their emails can automatically attach to the appropriate case files within SmartAdvocate. And when a paralegal gets an email with attachments, they can save them directly to the Documents page through the Outlook plugin. SmartAdvocate makes it easy to keep all of your communications organized in one place!

Yes. SmartAdvocate’s Outlook plugin allows for statutes of limitations, critical deadlines, and appointments to be integrated into any of the staff’s Outlook calendars. Staff calendars can display events for a single case, individual or event, use preformatted calendar reports, and see items like adjourned and canceled appointments. We also have a client birthday report: Many firms requested this feature to allow attorneys to reach out to clients with a personal touch. One particularly powerful feature of SmartAdvocate’s Outlook integration is the “Who Is Where Tomorrow” feature. This tool can look at everyone’s calendars and send an automated email to your inbox every morning outlining where each employee is scheduled to be that day.

One of SmartAdvocate’s best features is the ability to automate a law firm’s processes. Our exclusive WorkPlans and Automated Procedures ensure that each stage of every case can be handled in an appropriate and consistent way. The best way to describe SmartAdvocate’s WorkPlans is that it’s a checklist that can automate routine processes. WorkPlans allow you to have everything in one place so that you can see all of the items needed to complete a project: Teams will no longer need to spend time figuring out what needs to be done, who needs to do it, and what is the next task. The Automated Procedures allow law firms to create repeating tasks, send automatic text messages and emails to clients, create multiple reminders or automatically generate documents. Any of these actions can be triggered automatically when events change within a case. For example, when a law firm sends out a retainer to a client for their signature, automatic emails and text messages can be sent as reminders until their e-signature is received. Then, once the case status is changed within SmartAdvocate, the next tasks are assigned to everyone on the team. This type of automation helps to save time, freeing up top talent for things like essential research and investigation, and it also eliminates opportunities for risks and errors.

WorkPlans and Automated Procedures along with SmartAdvocate’s built-in Dashboards and Reports allow a firm to easily track each step of a case’s progression. Our software can show what has been accomplished and what still needs to be done, and it can also keep track of a lot of important details that might be needed for a case. For instance, it can tell you the last time that a client was contacted and keep tabs on a client’s diagnosis and severity of injuries. Another valuable tool that can help with case tracking is the SmartAdvocate App, which allows you to have access to all of your cases on the go. Whether an attorney is in court or out of the office, if they need to access documents or check the status of a case, they can get the information they need in seconds. SmartAdvocate doesn’t just help law firms keep track of cases: It helps their clients, too. In the Client Portal, you can give your clients access so that they can see information about their case, important documents, calendar entries, and notes. This frees your firm’s staff from needing to answer phone calls from clients who have questions about the status of their case: The clients can go into the portal and see the answers for themselves.

SmartAdvocate is at the forefront of pushing technological advancements in the legal field. Our commitment to innovation has led us to forge strategic partnerships with leading AI providers in Medical Records Analysis & Recaps, Demand Productions, and Document Categorization. The potential benefits are immense! In our latest software release, we welcomed a new integration partner: EvenUp, a state-of-the-art generative AI technology software. EvenUp empowers legal professionals by transforming medical documents and case files into AI-driven demand packages tailored for personal injury lawyers. By harnessing advanced AI technology, our clients can truly transform their practice.

Yes! We currently have an Open API that can be used to create integrations with many different programs. We also offer more than 135 standard integrations, with more being added all the time, based on our clients’ needs. These include accounting, intake, chat, texting, e-signature, phone, court docket and reporting, medical record retrieval, lean negotiations and more. SmartAdvocate can also create custom integrations with third party applications, or assist third parties in creating their integrations with SmartAdvocate.

The cost of SmartAdvocate will vary depending on whether you choose the Cloud or Server version. Contact us at 1-877-GET-SMART and we would be glad to help you figure out which is best for your law firm and give you a quote.

Yes: All of the information within SmartAdvocate is private and confidential and can only be accessed by employees within the firm. Our cloud-based option has bank-caliber data security and is constantly monitored by our IT professionals. We also use the HTTPS protocol so that all data is encrypted in transit. SmartAdvocate can also be used with two-factor authentication for added security.

Yes! We would be glad to give you a demonstration of how our case management system can help your firm to run more efficiently. You’ll soon realize how much SmartAdvocate can help your firm to unlock its full potential. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation, no-risk demo.

At SmartAdvocate, we recognize that in order to utilize the full depth of features available, your staff must understand what the system can do and how best to do it. Used properly, the SmartAdvocate legal case and document management software can reduce workflow, make employees more efficient, and give you better control over your practice. Increased efficiency and improved productivity mean greater profitability. We therefore provide multiple training options, so you can decide the best fit for your firm. Our on-line Learning Management System (LMS) familiarizes your staff with the system and prepares them for detailed training. Weekly condensed training webinars are a great alternative for new employees or as a staff refresher. And, of course, our full user training, customized for your firm, can be conducted at your office, our location on Long Island, NY, or on the web. As always, SmartAdvocate endeavors to provide you with alternatives to let you decide what works best for your firm.

Yes: SmartAdvocate’s document management capabilities are among its most robust features. Users can easily create document templates from their current Word, Excel or PDF forms. Once these templates are created, SmartAdvocate can begin to automatically insert information from cases into those documents using more than 4,000 standard and custom merge codes. Templates can also be copied from case to case as needed. You can also organize documents using custom folders and search for documents using categories and subcategories, senders and recipients, dates, descriptions, and comments. Documents can be sent out for review or approval and even automatically be sent to collect e-signatures. All of the documents can also be exported from a case to build a case package. One of the best document management functions in the SmartAdvocate case management system is barcoding: Create barcodes and add them into your documents before scanning and each document will be automatically placed into the appropriate case file.

Unlike many other case management systems, SmartAdvocate doesn’t just have a document management feature; SmartAdvocate is a full featured document management system. You can create templates from your own Word, Excel, or PDF forms, and over 4,000 SmartAdvocate merge codes allow virtually all information in the case to be inserted into the final documents. Other documents can be easily attached to the case, either from your computer or directly from an email in Outlook. All documents in a case can be viewed on the dedicated Documents page and can be sorted into various folder views. With just a few clicks, you can even search all of the documents in your system. Plus, SmartAdvocate has unlimited storage! Streamline your legal practice with secure and accessible data management.

Absolutely not! SmartAdvocate has unlimited storage. Streamline your legal practice with secure and accessible data management and never worry about limits again.