LEAP

Avantages

I adore LEAP and consider it to be a priceless resource for my legal business. The element of LEAP that I value the most is its thorough document management system. I can easily arrange, keep, and access all of my legal paperwork in a one location thanks to LEAP. The time and effort I would have otherwise spent looking for and managing tangible files is significantly reduced thanks to this. Finding specific papers is really simple for me thanks to the user-friendly UI and powerful search features, even on my mobile devices. The document management features of LEAP have significantly increased my productivity and efficiency, allowing me to devote more of my time to helping my clients and less of it to office work.

Inconvénients

While I have had an overall positive experience with LEAP, there is one aspect that I found slightly challenging. The feature that I liked the least about LEAP is its learning curve when it comes to customization and advanced settings. As a user, I appreciate software that offers flexibility and allows me to tailor it to my specific needs.

Avantages

I loved this program when we used it. You could save emails directly to the file, the documents could be easily organized to the file. You could easily create documents using the coding from each field you chose to set up your file.

Inconvénients

Sometimes the program would lag or the coding would be an issue and then you would have to constantly fix problems. Toward the end of our use of the program, the emails sync was a giant issue for us. I also had difficulty finding the fields sometimes as it wasn't customizable. We would have to use the fields that were supplied by Leap which could be confusing at times.

Avantages

Does a good job of stgayhing up to date with changes in the law

Inconvénients

LEAP programmers think they know more about running a law firm than senior lawyers. So they prevent you from doing useful things like easily producing a trust statement that you cam mail to a client. Also attaching files to emails is a pain because they think you should not do that, Over the years the programme has been getting harder and harder to use and less user friendly. They give excuses rather than listen to those who have been around for much longer.

Avantages

It works. It collects dockets. It's reasonably easy to search. It's reasonably easy to bill. I do not comment on the document management side of things.

Inconvénients

The onboarding was very disorganized. The contract is a 3-year but they don't tell you that. If you add users you have to pay for the 3 years which makes no sense because their full price not discounted. Overdue interest is awkward. There is no way to edit entries in the financial side of things. So if you make a mistake you have to unwind the entry and you end up with a very messy Ledger. They take your subscription term and factor it which means a third party will collect your money and they run a credit check on you because you have to personally guarantee the payments. I was not happy about that and I was not happy that I was not told that was going to happen.

Alternatives envisagées 

Pourquoi choisir LEAP 

Pourquoi passer à LEAP

Avantages

Constant development and improvement, adding new features frequently.

Inconvénients

Features feel incomplete and unpolished. For example, there is a bulk import tool to upload documents into LEAP, but bulk export is limited to the first 100 documents. Exporting more than 100 documents requires manually exporting files, subfolder by subfolder, and file by file if more than 100 files in a folder. Be warned that once you move your document to LEAP, they are stuck there. I've had a support ticket out for a week and am waiting for response.

Alternatives envisagées 

Pourquoi choisir LEAP 

Pourquoi passer à LEAP

Avantages

Cloud based, creates efficiencies when working correctly

Inconvénients

Lack of transparency with issues, tech support is lacking and disjointed

Avantages

Software capability is good, the cost is good with the WC integreation.

Inconvénients

No Calendar System.
Must be downloaded on my PC.
Stupid Ribbon that mislables tabs. (e-signature and littigation support are backwards)
TECHNICAL SUPPORT IS HORRIBLE!!! BIGEST WASTE OF TIME. CLIO'S TECH SUPPORT IS 1000% BETTER.

Avantages

Not a bad product, good management system.

Inconvénients

Great before you sign up, but no support should there be a problem...check out Leap Community.

They lured me back with a discounted fee and then raised it by 50% for the new term so we left...they don't have a monopoly anymore!

Avantages

The staff have tried to understand the issues we have and have promised to listen to all our feedback.

Inconvénients

Once upon a time I could do my job far quicker and with great confidence using a system where I could access asset and liability lists - create estate accounts with ease. Download forms etc but with Leap it’s more reliable to go on google or get the books out. I feel as if I have gone back to the 90s or earlier the probate system is appalling. My team have had to manually do a lot of the work we used to do on a brilliant computer system called ALB. Those were the days. Leap is supposed to be good for conveyancers and our property team is happy but sadly it is the opposite for us probate practitioners.

Avantages

Viewing of scanned in scripts. That's it.

Inconvénients

Long delayed response to actions. Unnecessary prompts. Too many password entries. Unclear view hiding important functions and information. Using keyboard and mouse wastes time. Full of bugs exiting program while in use.

Avantages

Leap has a very good document library which is why we initially selected leap. However, this is probably the best feature.

Creating templates is also easy as is some of the accounts features. However, it does not have a general accounting facility - so you'll be paying extra to Xero for that.

Inconvénients

Tasks - it is heavily reliant on MS Outlook. If you do litigation, imagine note being able to access or edit tasks allocated to one of your fee earners and that fee earner is off. What do you?

When it comes to diarising tasks, you will be spending more time accepting assigned tasks than actually earning any fees. As an example, on a litigated matter i could have up to 20 directions that i need to comply with. my assistant will set a 14, 7, 2 and on the day reminder (this is a laborious task in Leap). thats 4x20 (80 tasks). i then receive 80 emails i need to open, accept and save (imagine how long that takes). The task is then saved in my out look tasks. No one else can access or edit or delete. This is stuck in outlook and in the matter!

So if i leave - and i have 100 files, thats 800 tasks that no one can access - they will have to troll through the file and set the tasks again. You see the problem! we learnt the hardway.

There is no adequate reporting - so you want to find out how many files you have with a particular supplier/referrer. You can find that out but you can export that into excel . you want to run that report - a third party app will cost you more.

Avantages

the detailed cards for the plaintiff, defendant, opposing counsel, etc.

Inconvénients

This software is not user friendly and complicated to learn/use.

Avantages

That it centralizes all of the activities regarding a case file into a matter folder ie client information, emails, documents, ect.

Inconvénients

It does not have a centralized telephone log. I receive many phone calls from people for which I do not have a matter set up and there is no place to log these calls in LEAP. Even for those calls that pertain to an established matter, the notification system is poor and you have no way to keep track of these calls separately. Also LEAP has no integrated calendar. Instead it uses Outlook, but it doesn't link back to the matter. For me, these two shortcomings are what caused me to decide to cancel my subscription to LEAP. Also the matter type descriptions are limited and there are several types of cases that I handle for which there is no matter type in LEAP. And you can't create your own.

Avantages

Easy to learn, navigate and obtain the information needed . Simple features such as being able to convert large amounts of documents into a single PDF document within seconds is so helpful.

Inconvénients

Like any other software Leap has its flaws. Often won’t open Word or Excel documents that are saved onto Leap. Can not add any attachments from Outlook straight onto Leap ( it has to be added onto desktop then onto Leap, which can be time consuming). Other than that, I am happy with Leap.

Avantages

Good precedent library, fairly easy to use.

Inconvénients

Lack of support from LEAP. No solutions to issues we had.

Avantages

Nothing leap has got nothing at all to recommend it. They are non-communicative, arrogant, failed to respond to communications, failed to return telephone calls do not respond to emails in short I would rather use a quill pen and use leap. Yes I have tried to contact them know they have not bothered to respond

Inconvénients

I am a sole practitioner and I was using the virtual practice system run by SOS legal. It would appear that SOS legal have now been acquired/taken over by Leap and the manner in which they have treated customers who have been with virtual practice for 12 years is breathtakingly bad. You cannot speak to anybody. They do not respond to emails and then they blackmail you over your data. This company should not be permitted to conduct business in the legal arena, if you are a law firm beware they will hold you to ransom if you let them hold your data

Avantages

The system is easy to use and navigate, and if there are any issues the team is always on hand to assist through various different means.

Inconvénients

The case management system can sometimes be slow to load.

Avantages

The meeting with Kudzai was really informative and the system has many advantages, which were well explained by Kudzai.

Inconvénients

They were just a few things we felt that the system was lacking with law connect: 1. The inability to send emails out of the law connect system and the fact that all documents would be in different places. So, only attachments to client's would be on law connect but the emails would be elsewhere. It would be useful if you could also send all things from one place on the law connect app so that it is easy for us and the clients. 2. Unable to open downloads on the law connect app, would have to be in leap.

Avantages

Customer support is top notch - accessible and knowledgeable.
LEAP does a nice job of organizing clients and allowing us to search for clients.
I appreciate that all documents can be saved right in the matter and that emails sent from within the program are saved in the matter.
We are a smaller firm, so there are several features that we don't need/use.
Balancing the trust account is a breeze!

Inconvénients

I would like a client's phone number to be more readily accessible. Why can't it be displayed on the Details & Correspondence tab when the matter opens?
I prefer to have the billing and accounting in one place. While on the surface, it seems a nice feature to "push" to QuickBooks online, it is confusing as LEAP is pushing transactions while QBO is pulling transactions from the bank account. Balancing the operating account is cumbersome and time consuming.
While I appreciate being able to save emails in the matter, I don't like that it saves EVERY reply or forward thereafter. I should be able to choose whether or not the ensuing emails are saved.

Avantages

Creating matters, attaching documents and emails to the matter, keeping a string of notes is key, as opposed to pulling the file. I want to pull the file less by being more diligent in using the software. Will be nice to communicate and transfer date with the program. I think that will be key with future generations.

Inconvénients

The integration was a pain, but it was on my side with Time Matters and my computer company. That was a me and not you thing.

When you create a matter and even when I chose the areas of law that I practice some of it was not there and we have to force the program by entering a type of law differently. For instance, it took us awhile to figure out how to enter Estate Administration which is the main thing I do. Most lawyers in PA and I suspect elsewhere use the Decedent's Name to identify and find the file. LEAP does not and you have to remember the name of the Executor for a search. If they don't have the same name, I think we had to do something a little different. For criminal matters there are some simple areas that aren't an option.

It seems like some fields we don't need and some would be more helpful, if they were available. The one that comes to mind is the Sale of Real Estate.

Avantages

When using the case management it is so easy to use from start to finish on a file, opening, setting up folders, using precedents, setting up cards for businesses and people. Also when posting funds received or disbursed is so easy and using it in conjunction with Xero for Office Accounts.

Inconvénients

The only negative I would say is that there is no option for a telephone message on a Client's file. I have been directed to use the New Comment tab but this isn't at all helpful for telephone messages, you fill them in and they "eventually" get to the person they are for, also the notifications come up for everyone in everyone's notification lists which is time wasting. In our business Telephone Messages are critical to receive immediately and if there was a proper tab for Telephone Messages on a Client's file which would flash up to the fee earner that would be better as they would immediately know about the call and also it would be recorded on the file

Avantages

The Leap Support team is outstanding. The learning curve is steep for the software, but once you learn it, together with the outstanding support and availability of the support team, it is invaluable.

Inconvénients

the learning curve was rather difficult, although, in fairness, we were learning remotely and at the very beginning of the covid shutdown.

Alternatives envisagées 

Pourquoi choisir LEAP 

Avantages

The Leap platform is easy to use and form templates are customisable as are presidents. Accounting can be linked to most financial platforms, we use Xero which works well. Customer support is what is should be, responsive and easy to access. Online training guide and user forums solve most issues with minimal time and effort. The introduction of Customer Success Managers to provide personal support, who are accessible is excellent. If you use the system as designed, a CRM platform you will obtain true benefits in workflows and costs.

Inconvénients

Mobile access to Leap is good on Apple phones but has limited functionality on Android phones. This is a failing. Perversely Leap does not work well on Apple Macs but is excellent on Pc's?
Other legal system providers do not appear to have this as an issue with their android aps development, android being the predominant and growing platform in the UK.

Avantages

We moved case management systems to Leap as part of an overall review of our IT systems. Using it in conjunction with Office 365 meant that we very easily had the tools at hand to adapt to remove working during the Covid-19 pandemic. The app and online versions are a helpful back up way to access content if away from the office. One of the most useful things we gained by switching to Leap was the opportunity to search in document content - not just in a matter, but throughout the whole database. The option to run reports and for all staff to have access to key reports is also very helpful.

Inconvénients

As with any system, there are some quirks that you have to get used to understanding. It can also sometimes feel a little disjointed when it comes to seeking IT support in that the first port of call is a chat assist box, rather than a telephone number that you can call.

Avantages

Info can be accessed anywhere. All client information is in one place.

Inconvénients

Billing features and reporting features are limited and confusing