You track billable time on each matter, monitor fees and expenses and issue invoices — so every hour worked and every fee is correctly reflected and collected.
In short: in a law firm, time is the resource that gets billed — and untracked hours are lost revenue. 4lawyers gives you billable time tracking linked directly to the matter: you record the time spent on each case, choose the fee model (fixed, hourly, contingency or retainer), track recoverable expenses and issue invoices based on these records. At any moment you see what was worked, what was billed and what is left to collect, per client and matter — with no manual calculations and no forgotten hours.
Hours worked for a client are easily lost when you note them on paper or reconstruct them from memory at month-end. 4lawyers lets you track time directly on the matter — with a start/stop timer or manual entry — by activity: drafting, research, hearing, consultation. At period-end, you have exactly how many billable hours accrued on each case, ready to bill, without reconstructing anything.
Firms work with different fee models, sometimes within the same matter. 4lawyers covers fixed fees per task, hourly fees based on time tracking, contingency fees tied to the outcome and monthly retainers for recurring clients. You configure the model at matter or client level, and billing applies it automatically — without recalculating manually each time.
Beyond fees, a matter generates recoverable expenses: court fees, expert fees, travel. You record them on the matter, and at billing they appear separately and transparently. The invoice faithfully reflects the tracked time, the agreed fee and the advanced expenses, so the client understands exactly what they are paying for — supporting a fair relationship with no disputes over amounts.
Invoicing is only half the journey; collection is the other half. 4lawyers shows you the financial picture at any moment: what was billed, what was collected and what is outstanding, per client and matter. Reports by attorney and matter show where billable revenue is generated — useful information for firm decisions.
You start a timer directly on the matter or enter the time manually, by activity (drafting, research, hearing, consultation). At period-end, you have exactly the billable hours accrued on each case, ready to bill.
Fixed fee per task, hourly fee based on time tracking, contingency fee tied to the outcome and monthly retainer for recurring clients. You configure the model at matter or client level, and billing applies it automatically.
Yes. You record court fees, expert fees, travel and other advanced expenses on the matter, and at billing they appear separately and transparently from the fee.
The collections view shows you at any moment what was billed, what was collected and what is outstanding, per client and matter.
Yes. You have reports by client, matter and attorney — billable hours, fees and revenue generated — useful for firm decisions, with no manual calculations.
Yes. Financial data is covered by attorney-client privilege and GDPR requirements: stored securely, with role-controlled access and access logging.
We set up time tracking per matter, fee models and invoicing together, so every hour worked is correctly billed and collected.
4lawyers lets you track billable time per matter, monitor fees and collections and issue invoices, with fixed, hourly, contingency or retainer fee models.
We are transparent — here is where 4lawyers is not (yet) the best fit:
A fit for law firms wanting billable time tracking, fees and invoicing linked to the matter. For full financial accounting, integrate with a dedicated accounting platform.
| Feature | Limit / scope | Indicative cost |
|---|---|---|
| Law firm management | Attorneys, associates, clients, roles, access | from €1/mo |
| Cases & matters (electronic file) | Documents, parties, courts, history | included |
| Court deadlines & calendar | Deadlines, hearings, procedural reminders | included |
| Fees & invoicing | Billable time tracking, fees, collections | from €5/mo |
| Multi-attorney firm | Roles, controlled access, overview | custom quote |
An honest comparison on the criteria that matter for a law firm.
| Criterion | 4lawyers | Clio | MyCase | PracticePanther | Smokeball |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firm and client management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Electronic case file | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Court-deadline calendar | Yes | Yes | Limited | Limited | Yes |
| Billable time tracking + fees | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Role access + privilege + EU GDPR | Yes | Limited | Limited | Limited | Limited |
| Romanian interface and support | Yes | No | No | No | No |
4lawyers brings into a single platform firm management, cases and matters, the court-deadline calendar, billable time tracking and fees — without combining several separate systems.
The deadline calendar links every deadline to its matter and sends automatic reminders days before a court date or the expiry of an appeal window, so no procedural deadline is missed.
Access is through personal accounts of the firm's members and the connection is encrypted over HTTPS. 4lawyers processes the data as a GDPR data processor; professional secrecy remains the firm's duty.
You start a timer directly on the matter or enter the time manually by activity. At period-end, you have exactly the billable hours accrued on each case, ready to bill under the chosen fee model.
Yes. You manage multiple attorneys and offices from the same account, each with their own matters and deadlines, with an overview for the lead attorney.
