In the beginning, there was HotDocs. That software has come, been sold, and is seemingly soon to go. They tried to release a cloud version, but it never caught on. The new owners do not seem to be actively developing it and the cost of developing templates on the platform is astonishingly high.
In the past few years, there has been an explosion in the number of cloud-based platforms that allow you to automatically generate legal documents, as lawyers are increasingly looking to streamline their law firm operations. The beauty of these platforms is that they either require light coding, or no coding at all — any lawyer with a few hours to spare can build an “app” that will save countless hours of drafting documents manually over the course of that lawyer’s career.
With such an influx of options, how do you know which one to pick? We’re going to review two of the industry leading options, Lawyaw and Rally. We'll also touch on the original automation tool, Doc Assemble, as a free alternative.
Without further ado, let’s get started!
Who this is for: Lawyers who like it simple.
The first impression I had which stuck with me while reviewing this tool was that this doc automation platform has one of the smoothest user interfaces I have seen in a legaltech product. It’s pretty. It’s smooth. It’s easy to use. Like all of these tools, the setup is as follows: Build out templates in Word. Answer a series of questions to provide the software the data it needs to generate docs based on those templates.
Unfortunately, Lawyaw is lighter on the feature side compared to other platforms. A lot of functionality you would find in other tools doesn’t yet exist here such as client-facing questionnaires, which are “coming soon.” (As of now, you or your staff will do all the data entry.) Lawyaw is a very smooth, one-trick pony that does a good job at generating documents.
Who’s it for: Business firms that want to provide a best-in-class client experience
Something that separates Rally from the pack is that it focuses on the entire client experience. It has a full-fledged client portal. It has a menu of services that you can drop on your website to sell your legal services online, enabling clients to kick-start work without calling or emailing.on. It has intake forms and questionnaires. It basically makes it possible for you to turn your law firm into your own online document automating machine. Every client-facing feature is thoughtfully designed and intuitive to work with.
And, if there is something that the platform cannot do, it integrates with Zapier, a shocking rarity on this list. The integration lets you pull data from Rally to where you need it most, like practice management tools, CRM platforms (think Hubspot or Pipedrive), or mailing lists (like Mailchimp)
Rally works for many practice areas, but it is especially well-tuned for business lawyers. It has built-in contract management and entity management functionality that helps you and your client manage minute book data and documents. You can even set up templates that clients can use completely on their own. Making Rally very sticky for business clients.
Really, the only challenging part about Rally is the template building. You will have to type brackets and pseudocode in your Word templates, though Rally does build one template for you when you begin your subscription and will build others with their document concierge service at a low cost. If you consider that the act of building a template is a one-time event per document (aside from minor updates), the fact that every other aspect of this platform is so easy makes it a very compelling choice.
Who’s it for: Open-source aficionados, legal aids, coders.
Give respect to the OG. Before Documate and Afterpattern, and before this recent wave of “no-code” document automation platforms that promise to turn any lawyer into a legal tech software entrepreneur, came a brilliant, strong, open-source platform built by a legal aid attorney, Jonathan Pyle.
DocAssemble is free and open-source, meaning anyone can use it or branch off to create their own software (as some of these platforms actually did – they built on DocAssemble’s code). It has electronic signatures. It has payment processing. It has an API that can connect to other applications so that you can recycle data. It has OCR, meaning optical character recognition, the act of turning printed or written text into machine-encoded text, so they can recognize data extracted from old documents. You can even send emails, faxes, or live chat with your users while they go through the questionnaire/interview.
So, why is the free and open-source incumbent tool not the reigning champ? It requires coding. You have to know simplified Python expressions (YAML) and be able to set up things like a “Docker instance” and other nerd wizardry to host your own DocAssemble server. While the other platforms are turn-key and mostly code-free, this one is truly a foundation for building your own platform if you are feeling adventurous and want to learn code. Not many lawyers feel that way, keeping this elegant tool on the ground while new competitors join the space race.
Do you want a simple way to generate documents and have no desire to send a questionnaire to your clients? Lawyaw.
Maybe you are an open-source fan and some light coding does not scare you. In that case, build your own server and build your own platform on top of it with DocAssemble.
Are you a solo or small firm that wants a deep automation engine with a robust client portal? Look to Rally. It helps you increase profitability with automated workflows and client engagement features that go beyond just document generation. With Rally’s client portal, clients can easily create, share, and organize their documents. This helps with client stickiness as well, making your firm their hub for their legal information. Clients can also use the portal to book a meeting or purchase new services.
Or perhaps you want to integrate a menu of services into your website to sell your services online. Maybe you’re interested in other time-saving features like intake questionnaires and LawPay integration. Again, look to Rally.
Something to consider when making your choice, now more than ever, is whether the tool you pick (and invest time into) will be around in the long run. We’ve witnessed a big year for legaltech acquisitions.
And, with Clio’s recent acquisition of Lawyaw, their future is now uncertain. Will it stay as a stand-alone tool, with the same services its customers expect? Or will it merge into Clio’s ecosystem as a bolt-on to their tool?
We hope that the notes above help you to narrow your list but the only way to really know which one is the right fit is to demo a few to see the differences for yourself. No matter which one you pick, this advice is the best advice of all: just build. Build something simple to start, then build something more advanced. Stop day-dreaming about all of your possible features and just build the darn thing. We will be here to cheer you on no matter which platform you pick. If you would like a demo of Rally or want some help as you start your journey for the perfect tool, contact us today.
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