“Generalist” MSPs/IT providers often lack the deep legal tech/legal software expertise needed to properly support a law firm. By contrast:

1. We are certified and experts in many of today’s leading legal software, and our technology support care includes support of your legal software, something generalist IT providers can’t do.
2. Practice Next includes legal-centric cloud storage (powered by LexWorkplace), which organizes your data the way a law firm operates, and includes document management tools needed by most law firms.  Compare that to a generalist-approach to file management.
3. At your request, we’ll setup and customize your Microsoft 365 account to align to law firm best practices.  This includes setup of Groups, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive/SharePoint, and more.
4. Because we only serve law firms, everyone in our support team is trained on how a law firm functions, including roles, functions, and processes.

Yes, depending on the Edition of Practice Next your firm selects. Practice Next Basic provides access to a pool of (unassigned) Technical Account Managers. Practice Next Professional and Fortress includes a dedicated IT Manager, who will serve as your big-picture IT administrator. Your IT Manager will oversee all projects, purchases, and help you future-proof your practice.

Yes, Practice Next includes a Microsoft 365 subscription for each user in your firm; you can upgrade to higher M365 editions as needed. We will, in consultation with your firm, also implement our custom law firm framework for Microsoft 365, configuring your MS Groups, Teams, Outlook and SharePoint to work the way a law firm does.

If you’re already using Microsoft 365, we’ll simply take over your existing account so that we can completely support your Microsoft 365 implementation. In this way, Uptime Legal becomes your one point-of-contact for all things technology. Your Practice Next monthly invoice will include Microsoft 365 going forward.

Yes, in most cases. Modern technology enables us to resolve issues and help your employees remotely, which is significantly faster and more cost-effective than onsite alternatives. That said, for those occasions when you do need an IT experts at your location, we can deploy IT engineers to most locations in most cities. Their work will be overseen and directed by your assigned IT Manager.

Generic cloud services like SharePoint, Dropbox, and Google Drive are made for the masses, not for law firms. Practice Next comes with the Starter edition of LexWorkplace, a truly legal-centric cloud file system and the default file system in Practice Next. LexWorkplace is a modern, minimalist cloud storage system that organizes data by Firm Documents, Clients, and Matters. LexWorkplace also provides more advanced document management capabilities, such as full-text search, document versioning, email management, and more. Learn more about LexWorkplace.

If your firm runs server/desktop-based legal software such as PCLaw, Time Matters, Tabs3, ProLaw, QuickBooks Desktop, Timeslips, or others: Take a look at Practice Go. Practice Go, which pairs well with Practice Next, will “cloudify” your legacy or server-based software, hosting it in our cloud and enabling your firm to access your app and work from anywhere. Learn more about Practice Go.

This heavily depends on the level of need of your firm, as no two law firms are alike.

• Practice Next Basic is our most entry-level IT care plan, best for small firms with simple IT needs and limited budgets.
• Practice Next Professional is our “standard” IT care/management plan, best for most law firms including firms that need a full-service, best-in-class legal IT plan.
• Practice Next Fortress is, as the name implies, our highest-security level of Practice Next, best for law firms with high-stakes clients, sensitive data and an elevated need for data security and compliance.

More Information

• See Plans & Pricing, including what’s included in each edition.
• Or Get in Touch with an Uptime Legal expert, and we’ll assess your needs and recommend an overall solution.