Finding the right legal technology solution for a law practice can be a daunting task. With many options to choose from, it's tough to identify which system offers the best fit.
This comparative review promises to cut through the confusion by directly contrasting two major players in legal tech: PracticePanther and Lexis+. You'll get a clear picture of their respective features, capabilities, and value propositions.
By the end, you'll have the insights needed to determine if PracticePanther or Lexis+ aligns better with your firm's needs across case management, document automation, legal research, and more. You'll also understand where each excels in facilitating efficient workstreams through AI enhancements.
Introduction to Legal Technology Solutions
Legal technology solutions like PracticePanther and Lexis+ AI aim to enhance efficiency for legal professionals through features like AI-powered tools, workflow automation, legal CRM, and more. This article provides an overview of core capabilities of these solutions to compare key strengths.
Exploring PracticePanther Legal Software
PracticePanther offers an end-to-end case and practice management solution for law firms. Key features include:
- Legal CRM to manage clients, contacts, cases, and workflows
- Robust calendaring to schedule events, hearings, and deadlines
- Document generation, storage, searching, and eSignature
- Time tracking, legal billing, and accounting integrations
- Customizable dashboards, reports, and analytics
With an intuitive interface and robust feature set optimized for legal workflows, PracticePanther aims to help firms gain operational efficiency.
Delving into Lexis+ AI and Legal AI Tools
Lexis+ AI provides lawyers with AI-enhanced legal research, drafting, and analytics tools including:
- Lexis Answers AI research assistant for finding on-point cases
- Legal analytics for data-driven insights and predictions
- Automated document review and drafting tools
- Litigation outcome predictions based on case facts
By leveraging natural language processing and machine learning, Lexis+ AI tools help augment human capabilities when conducting legal work.
What is the difference between Lexis and Lexis+?
Lexis+ is the newer, more advanced legal research platform from LexisNexis, while Lexis refers to their previous generation of products. Here are some of the key differences:
Features
- Lexis+ incorporates AI and machine learning to deliver more relevant search results and recommendations. Lexis does not leverage these technologies.
- Lexis+ offers more secondary sources like treatises, encyclopedias, and practice guides that provide analysis and commentary. The secondary sources in Lexis are more limited.
- Lexis+ provides tools like Lexis Answers and Litigation Analytics that quickly surface relevant information to answer legal questions. Lexis lacks comparable quality-of-life features.
Content
- Lexis+ consolidates Lexis content and Nexis News database content into a single platform. Lexis does not include the Nexis News content.
- Lexis+ offers more jurisdictional content from all 50 states. Lexis has more limited state law coverage.
Accessibility and Integration
- Lexis+ allows access via web browser and mobile apps. Lexis is web-browser only.
- Lexis+ integrates directly with other legal software tools to enable smoother workflows. Lexis has fewer integration capabilities.
In summary, Lexis+ represents the next generation of LexisNexis' legal research offerings with better search, more content, and helpful productivity features not found in the classic Lexis system. Upgrading delivers noticeable improvements for researching case law, statutes, regulations and secondary sources.
Do law firms use LexisNexis?
LexisNexis is widely used by law firms of all sizes to enhance legal research and analysis. Here are some key ways LexisNexis integrates into law firms:
Productivity Gains
- LexisNexis helps lawyers quickly find relevant case law, statutes, analytical content, and more to build strong legal arguments. This saves considerable time compared to manual legal research.
- Features like Lexis Ask and Lexis+ AI further accelerate research by using natural language queries to surface highly relevant results.
- According to LexisNexis, 77% of large law firms reported increased productivity from using their legal research tools.
Client Service Improvements
- The vast LexisNexis database helps lawyers stay updated on the latest case law developments relevant to their practice areas and clients.
- Lawyers can monitor judges, experts, counsel, and other parties involved in active cases to uncover insights.
- LexisNexis Litigation Profile provides data-driven assessments of factors like duration, outcomes, and costs for specific judges and case types.
In summary, LexisNexis is deeply integrated into law firms of all sizes to enhance productivity, analysis, and client services leveraging its extensive legal database and advanced AI capabilities.
Why is Westlaw better than Lexis?
Westlaw offers some key advantages over Lexis that make it a better choice for legal professionals in certain situations:
More California-specific content
As noted by Schulke, Westlaw provides more California-specific legal materials compared to Lexis. This makes Westlaw a better fit for California-based law firms and legal professionals focusing on California law. The platform offers a deep collection of California statutes, regulations, case law, and analytical content.
Specialized practice areas
While both Westlaw and Lexis offer robust content, Westlaw tends to have an edge in certain practice areas like litigation, IP law, and health law. The platform provides leading analytical content and practical guidance for these areas of law.
Superior search algorithm and relevancy ranking
Many legal researchers find Westlaw's search algorithm and relevancy ranking to be superior to Lexis. Searches on Westlaw often yield more precise and relevant results on the first page compared to Lexis. This saves legal professionals time and effort in finding pertinent legal information.
User-friendly interface
Westlaw offers a more intuitive and user-friendly interface according to some researchers. The platform has invested heavily in UX design to simplify legal research for professionals. This makes Westlaw easier to use for non-lawyers as well.
In summary, Westlaw outperforms Lexis in certain aspects like California-specific content, practice area-focused analytical tools, search relevancy, and usability. However, both platforms have unique strengths and the choice depends on specific research needs. Lexis offers strengths in case law and market-leading citation analysis tools.
Is LexisNexis a reliable source?
LexisNexis is generally considered a very reliable source for legal research. Here are some key reasons why:
- Extensive content: LexisNexis provides access to an extensive collection of primary and secondary legal sources, including state and federal case law, statutes, regulations, law reviews, treatises, and more. This breadth and depth of content makes it a go-to research tool for legal professionals.
- Authoritative sources: The content on LexisNexis is licensed from official publishers and trusted legal sources, ensuring accuracy and credibility. This includes content from top legal publishers like Matthew Bender, Michie, and Shepard's.
- Advanced search capabilities: LexisNexis offers robust search functionalities like natural language search, filtering by jurisdiction and practice area, and Shepardizing citations. This allows researchers to efficiently find the most relevant legal information.
- Established reputation: LexisNexis has been a leader in legal research technology for over 50 years. Generations of attorneys, paralegals, law librarians, and law students have relied on LexisNexis for their research needs. This long track record supports its reliability.
In summary, with its vast collection of authoritative legal content and powerful search tools, LexisNexis is widely regarded as a trustworthy and indispensable resource for legal research. Its reputation for accuracy and comprehensiveness makes it a reliable source for any law practice.
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Comparing Law Practice Management Features
Legal CRM Capabilities: PracticePanther vs Lexis+
PracticePanther provides a robust legal CRM enabling law firms to manage contacts, track interactions, create pipelines, and segment clients. Key features include:
- Contact profiles with custom fields
- Activity tracking (calls, emails, meetings)
- Pipelines for visualizing deal stages
- Tags and segments for organization
- Task management
- Contact history and notes
In comparison, Lexis+ offers limited CRM functionality focused mostly on tracking research rather than relationships. PracticePanther has more advanced options for managing clients and pipelines.
Legal Document Management and Automation
PracticePanther enables creating, editing, storing and sharing legal documents with built-in templates, version history, e-signature integrations, secure cloud storage, and more. Lexis+ focuses more on legal research rather than document management.
For document automation, PracticePanther partners with other apps like HotDocs whereas Lexis+ has no native document assembly features. Overall, PracticePanther specializes in streamlining document-driven legal workflows.
Legal Analytics and Litigation Analytics Tools
PracticePanther provides real-time legal analytics on time tracking, productivity, billing rates, profitability and more to inform law firm business decisions. Lexis+ instead focuses its analytics on legal research and litigation outcomes.
For litigation-specific analytics, Lexis+ leverages its vast content library to deliver insights on judges, juries, and case law patterns. PracticePanther offers integrations with other litigation programs to fill this gap.
Integrations and API Access for Legal Software
PracticePanther enables connecting 1000+ legal apps via Zapier plus open API access. Lexis+ has more limited integrations focused on its proprietary legal research tools.
So PracticePanther provides greater flexibility to integrate other legal programs like case management, billing, etc. based on individual law firm tech stacks.
Security and Compliance in Legal Tech
PracticePanther is SOC 2 Type 2 certified for data security and GDPR, ISO27001 compliant. Lexis+ meets industry security standards given its extensive legal content licensing.
Both solutions invest appropriately in security for a legal environment. PracticePanther offers more transparency with published third-party audits.
Assessing Legal Research and Jurisdictional Content
Depth of Legal Research Tools
PracticePanther and Lexis+ both offer comprehensive legal research capabilities, with access to case law, statutes, regulations, analytical content, and practical guidance.
Lexis+ provides exceptionally deep research content, with over 40,000 databases of legal and news information. Users praise the depth and accuracy of the Lexis+ research tools. PracticePanther research, while not as extensive, still provides robust access to primary law and analytical materials needed by most firms.
Overall, Lexis+ has a clear advantage in terms of the breadth and depth of available legal research content. However, PracticePanther offers solid research capabilities more than sufficient for many firms' needs.
Jurisdictional Content and Practical Guidance
In terms of jurisdiction-specific legal content and practical guidance, Lexis+ shines. With content spanning all 50 states, federal laws, and international materials, Lexis+ ensures attorneys have the information they need for a given jurisdiction.
PracticePanther provides content for all 50 states as well but has more limited international offerings. The practical guidance tools in Lexis+ also outpace those available in PracticePanther.
So for firms handling cross-border matters or complex multi-jurisdictional issues, Lexis+ is the superior choice. Firms working solely with domestic US law will find PracticePanther meets their jurisdictional content needs.
Lexis Answers and AI-powered Research Efficiency
A standout capability of Lexis+ is Lexis Answers, an AI-powered legal research tool that quickly surfaces the most relevant information for an attorney's query. This makes the research process markedly more efficient.
PracticePanther does not currently offer any comparable AI-enhanced legal research features. So Lexis+ is the clear leader when it comes to AI tools for streamlining legal research. For attorneys who value saving time in their research process, Lexis Answers provides compelling value.
In summary, Lexis+ has superior legal research capabilities, with greater depth of content, jurisdictional coverage, and AI-powered enhancements. PracticePanther still offers robust research features sufficient for many firm's needs but cannot match the power of Lexis+ research.
Evaluating Pricing, Support, and Law Firm Solutions
Comparative Analysis of Legal Billing Solutions
PracticePanther and Lexis+ take different approaches to legal billing. PracticePanther offers fixed monthly pricing starting at $159 per user per month, with volume discounts available. This covers core features like time tracking, invoicing, payments, accounting integrations, and more. There are no long-term contracts and pricing is transparent.
Lexis+ does not publish pricing openly. Costs are customized based on firm size, number of users, and specific modules enabled. Contracts tend to be 1-3 years in length. Overall costs for the full Lexis+ suite likely exceed PracticePanther's published rates significantly.
In summary, PracticePanther offers more flexibility and predictable costs suitable for solos and small firms. Lexis+ provides robust tools but opaque pricing aimed at mid-size and large law firms.
Implementation Services and Law Practice Onboarding
PracticePanther emphasizes ease of use and self-service onboarding. Their site has extensive setup guides, video tutorials, and knowledge base articles. Users can easily configure the system themselves and access 24/7 live chat and email support if needed.
Lexis+ provides dedicated implementation specialists and project managers to assist firms in migrating data and customizing the platform. This white-glove onboarding service ensures smooth adoption but likely comes with additional professional services fees.
For solos and small firms that value simplicity, PracticePanther requires less hand-holding to get started. Larger firms may benefit more from Lexis+'s onboarding services despite the higher costs.
Customer Support and Legal Technology Training
Both platforms provide multiple customer support channels including knowledge bases, community forums, live chat, email, and phone support. PracticePanther offers 24/7 live chat and email with quicker response times overall. As part of the LexisNexis ecosystem, Lexis+ can leverage a wide array of training resources, certification programs, and a broader user community.
In summary, PracticePanther emphasizes fast and convenient self-service support for common issues. Lexis+ offers more learning resources for power users but slightly slower response times.
Legal Calendar and Case Management Tools
Efficiency in Legal Calendar Coordination
PracticePanther and Lexis+ both provide robust legal calendar and scheduling features to help law firms coordinate appointments, hearings, deadlines, and other key dates more efficiently.
PracticePanther's calendar management tools allow users to create color-coded calendars for each attorney, paralegal, client and case matter. Users can schedule events, set reminders, create recurring appointments, and customize calendar views. PracticePanther also facilitates easy calendar sharing between staff members.
Similarly, Lexis+ enables creating shared calendars across the legal team. Users can schedule court hearings, depositions, and other legal events while setting alerts for upcoming deadlines. Lexis+ integrates its legal calendar with Microsoft Outlook for added convenience.
Overall, both platforms aim to streamline legal calendar coordination, though PracticePanther provides more flexibility for customizing calendar views and settings.
Advanced Legal Case Management Features
PracticePanther and Lexis+ provide robust features to track case details, documents, tasks, expenses, and other case-related data points.
Specifically, PracticePanther associates all case documents, emails, notes, and tasks with appropriate client matters. Users can create custom document categories and workflows to streamline case management. The platform also generates reports on case metrics like billable hours, expenses, tasks, and documents.
Comparatively, Lexis+ links relevant case documents and research content with associated matters. Users can track case details, deadlines, tasks, and events in a centralized case dashboard. However, Lexis+ lacks the ability to generate case management reports.
In summary, both Lexis+ and PracticePanther aim to simplify legal case management but PracticePanther provides more advanced tracking and reporting capabilities out-of-the-box.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered Enhancements
Impact of Legal Artificial Intelligence on Efficiency
Legal artificial intelligence tools like Lexis+ AI are transforming how legal professionals conduct research and manage cases. By leveraging machine learning algorithms, Lexis+ can analyze millions of legal documents and case law to uncover insights and patterns faster than any human researcher.
Specifically, Lexis+ AI features like Lexis Answers and Litigation Analytics allow lawyers to get to the information they need more efficiently. Lexis Answers lets users ask legal questions in plain English and receive a direct response summarizing the most relevant case law and statutes. This saves the significant time lawyers would otherwise spend sifting through databases to find applicable precedent.
Similarly, Litigation Analytics gives lawyers data-driven assessments of the strengths and weaknesses of their case by analyzing verdicts, settlements, judges, lawyers and more. Rather than reading through countless filings, lawyers can leverage Litigation Analytics to focus their litigation strategy based on hard data and trends.
By handling the time-intensive aspects of legal research, Lexis+ AI enables lawyers to be more productive. The American Bar Association estimates that AI tools lead to a 10-15% boost in lawyer productivity by taking over manual tasks. This allows legal teams to take on more clients or focus their efforts on higher-value work.
Generative AI in Legal Drafting and Documentation
Lexis+ also offers generative AI capabilities that can assist lawyers in drafting and refining legal documents. The tool can generate first drafts of documents like briefs, memos, and contracts based on a few prompts from the user.
Rather than starting from a blank page, lawyers can use Lexis+ generative AI to instantly produce an initial draft reflecting their input. This can include the desired sections/formatting, tone, legal standards to cite, and basic
Summary and Final Thoughts on Law Firm Solutions
Optimal Law Firm Solution for Solo Practitioners
Legal technology platforms like PracticePanther and Lexis+ AI both offer valuable capabilities for solo legal practitioners. PracticePanther may have an edge for smaller firms due to its all-in-one law practice management features like billing, calendaring, and document automation. Lexis+ provides robust legal research and analytics, but can involve high subscription costs for solos. Evaluating specific practice needs and areas of focus is key.
Preferred Law Firm Solution for Larger Legal Entities
For larger law firms juggling complex matters across multiple practice areas, Lexis+ AI likely provides more advanced AI capabilities, litigation analytics, and jurisdictional content tailored to their needs. PracticePanther excels at core law practice management but may lack the advanced insights enabled by Lexis+ AI's data-driven legal intelligence platform. Larger firms should assess their budget, growth plans, and need for niche legal technology integrations.
Specialized Solutions for Distinct Legal Practice Areas
Both platforms offer customized solutions for niche practice areas. PracticePanther provides templates and workflows optimized for key focuses like personal injury, estate planning, and family law. Lexis+ leverages its vast legal content and data to deliver specialized litigation analytics and Practical Guidance across practices like intellectual property, labor and employment, and commercial litigation. Firms should evaluate industry-specific tools against their dominant practice areas.
