I have spent 15 years working inside Australian law firms as a FilePro technician, eastern states agent, and state manager. I have seen every platform on this list up close — what they do well, where they fall short, and what firms tell me they wish they had known before they signed. This is not a marketing page. It is what I actually think.
— Kelly Mills, Law Support Australia
Click any platform to jump to the full detail below.
LEAP is the largest practice management platform in Australia by market share — which means it is also the platform most Australian law firms are currently trying to leave. The number one reason firms contact Law Support Australia is a LEAP renewal notice or a price hike letter.
LEAP is a per-user, per-month platform. For a firm of ten lawyers, that bill compounds quickly — and at renewal, firms have reported price increases of up to 73%. LEAP locks firms into three-year contracts, which means that renewal notice is not an invitation to negotiate. It is a take-it-or-leave-it moment — usually with significant exit costs if you leave.
LEAP does not include general accounting. If you want your office accounting done, you pay for Xero on top. You are running two systems, two subscriptions, and two sets of bank reconciliations every month. Law App includes full general accounting — no Xero, no MYOB, nothing extra.
In 2024, a Melbourne lawyer using LEAP's AI tool was referred to a complaints body after the software generated fabricated case citations in family court proceedings. This is not a knock on AI — it is a caution about rushing AI features into legal practice without appropriate safeguards.
“We got the renewal notice and the number had gone up significantly. We had been on LEAP for three years and never felt like we got what we paid for. That was the moment we started looking.”
ActionStep was not originally built for law firms. It started life as project management software and was adapted for the legal industry. That heritage shows — the platform is highly configurable, which sounds like a benefit until you realise that configurable means your firm pays significant implementation costs before you can even start using it properly.
ActionStep is New Zealand-based and backed by US private equity firm Serent Capital. In 2022 it acquired FilePro. In subsequent years it acquired LawMaster. The strategy is visible: consolidate legacy platforms, wind them down, and funnel those firms toward ActionStep. Firms currently on FilePro and LawMaster are receiving migration pressure emails with tight timelines. Many feel like a number, not a client.
ActionStep requires firms to commit to three-year contracts. FilePro firms being pushed toward ActionStep are being asked to make a long-term commitment under deadline pressure — not ideal conditions for choosing software you will live with for years. Account managers at ActionStep have been changing frequently, which adds to the sense of instability.
ActionStep does offer Australian data hosting as an option — but it is a choice you make at setup, not a default. The platform itself is built and owned overseas and is not specifically tailored to Australian law firms.
“We were FilePro clients being pushed toward ActionStep. The timeline felt rushed and the account manager kept changing. We decided to look at everything on the market before committing to another three years anywhere.”
Smokeball is a well-regarded platform — particularly for smaller Australian law firms that work heavily in conveyancing, family law, and estate planning. It has a good template library, automatic time tracking, and an Australian support team. We will give credit where it is due.
The limitations become apparent as firms grow. Smokeball does not include general accounting — you will need Xero alongside it, which means two systems, two subscriptions, and duplicated bank reconciliation work every month. For smaller firms this is manageable. For larger practices it starts to feel inefficient.
Smokeball is US-owned and operates on a per-user, per-month pricing model. Its servers span Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom — your data may not stay in Australia depending on how the platform handles your account. It is primarily designed for small to mid-size firms and has limited scalability for larger or more complex practices.
Smokeball requires a Windows desktop installation for full functionality. It is not a purely browser-based platform, which limits flexibility for firms that want genuine cloud access from any device.
“Smokeball was fine when we were smaller. When we grew to eight fee earners the per-user cost started to sting and managing Xero alongside it added real admin overhead.”
FilePro was acquired by ActionStep and will reach end of life on 31 December 2026. From that date, all compliance updates cease and the Electronic File Purchase portal closes permanently. Every FilePro firm in Australia must migrate to a new system before that date. There are no extensions and no exceptions.
If you are on FilePro, you already know this. What you may not know is that you have more options than ActionStep wants you to think. ActionStep has been contacting FilePro firms since late 2025, pushing migration to ActionStep with tight timelines. Their available migration windows fill from September to October 2026 — which is closer than it sounds when you factor in planning, data migration, and staff training.
FilePro was per file pricing — one of the things firms loved most about it. Of all the platforms available to FilePro firms right now, Law App is the only one that matches that model. Every other alternative charges per user per month.
I spent 15 years as a FilePro technician, eastern states agent and state manager. I know FilePro data structures, trust accounting setup, and document templates at a level most migration teams simply do not. If you are on FilePro and looking at your options, talking to me costs nothing and takes 20 minutes.
Law App is the only FilePro alternative in Australia with per file pricing. If that matters to your firm — and for most FilePro firms it does — that makes this decision simpler than it might first appear.
“We did not want to just follow the path ActionStep laid out for us. We wanted to make the right choice for our firm — not the most convenient one for them.”
LawMaster was a well-regarded platform for mid-to-large Australian law firms. It is now owned by ActionStep, which acquired it as part of the same consolidation strategy that saw them purchase FilePro. LawMaster is being wound down — firms on it face a forced migration with an uncertain timeline.
LawMaster was built on on-premise architecture. It was a solid platform for its era — but that era has passed. Firms on LawMaster know they need to move. The question is where. ActionStep is the obvious push, but it is not the only option — and given that LawMaster firms are typically larger and more complex, the choice of migration destination deserves careful consideration.
If you are on LawMaster, the key questions to ask any alternative platform are: Can you handle our file volumes? Do you have Australian general accounting built in? What does data migration actually look like for a firm of our size? And who specifically will be doing it?
“We knew we had to move eventually. We just wanted to move somewhere we chose, not somewhere we were pushed.”
Practice Evolve is an ageing platform. It is not being visibly updated in ways that matter to users. Firms that have been on it for several years tell us consistently that the support they receive today is noticeably worse than it was when they first signed up. That is not a coincidence — it is a pattern.
The single biggest complaint we hear about Practice Evolve is support. Not the software itself — but the experience of trying to get help when something goes wrong. Firms describe long waits, ticket systems that go quiet, and a sense that they are no longer a priority. For a practice management platform, where downtime or errors have direct financial consequences, that is a serious problem.
Practice Evolve is expensive for what it currently offers. Firms that were locked into multi-year contracts have found themselves paying premium prices for a platform that has not kept pace with what modern legal software looks like in 2026.
“The software itself is fine. It is the support that has become the problem. We log a ticket and wait. Sometimes days. That was not what we signed up for.”
Affinity is a legacy platform built on older architecture. It is not cloud native — it runs on a traditional workstation installation, which means server maintenance, IT overhead, and limited ability to work remotely without additional configuration.
Affinity has built-in billing and accounting features, which is better than many alternatives. But the broader platform has not kept pace with what Australian law firms expect from software in 2026. Bank feeds are described by users as clunky. End-of-month processes need to be completed before beginning the new month — a constraint that modern cloud platforms eliminated years ago.
Affinity has limited modern integrations and an older interface that reflects its origins. Firms that have grown accustomed to cloud-based workflows find it restrictive. The architecture itself limits how quickly it can adopt new features — including AI tools and compliance integrations that are becoming standard elsewhere.
“We have been on Affinity for a long time. It does the job. But every time we look at what other platforms can do now, we wonder what we are missing.”
Law App is a 100% Australian-built legal practice management platform — the most modern platform available to Australian law firms today.
Law App includes full general accounting built in. Not an integration with Xero or MYOB — built in, part of the platform, included in the price. Trust accounting, office accounting, bank reconciliation, BAS assistance, and reporting are all there. One system, one subscription, one place to be.
Law App charges per file opened — not per user per month. There are no per-user charges at all. Ten lawyers or two, the cost structure is the same. Better still, that per file charge can be added directly to the client’s file as a disbursement — effectively funding the software from client matters.
Law App runs on Microsoft Azure Australia East. Your data stays in Australia — not because you selected a region at setup, but because that is the only option. Australian built, Australian servers, Australian support team. Real people answer the phone. Same people every time.
Schedule a demonstrationThe key facts. No spin.
| Feature | LEAP | ActionStep | Smokeball | FilePro | Practice Evolve | Affinity | RecommendedLaw App ✓ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General accounting | ✗ Requires Xero | Xero or built-in (extra cost) | ✗ Requires Xero | ✓ Yes (sunset Dec 2026) | Limited | ✓ Yes (legacy) | ✓ Fully built in |
| Pricing model | Per user/month | Per user/month | Per user/month | Per file (sunset Dec 2026) | Per user/month | Per user/month | ✓ Per file — no per user charges |
| Contract length | 3 year lock-in | 3 year lock-in | Annual | N/A — end of life | Multi-year | Multi-year | ✓ Single year only |
| Australian built | ✗ VC backed | ✗ NZ / US VC | ✗ US owned | ✗ Now ActionStep (NZ/US) | Yes | ✗ LexisNexis (US) | ✓ 100% Australian |
| Data location | AWS — region varies | AWS — region selected at setup | AWS — AU, US, UK | N/A | Australian servers | On-premise / local | ✓ Azure Australia East — always |
| Australian support | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✓ Yes | ✗ Winding down | ✓ Yes (declining quality) | ✓ Yes | ✓ Same people every time |
| Cloud native | Hybrid (desktop + cloud) | ✓ Yes | Hybrid (requires Windows install) | ✗ No — legacy desktop | Partial | ✗ No — on premise | ✓ Fully cloud, any browser |
| Venture capital backed | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes — Serent Capital | ✓ Yes | ✓ Now ActionStep | Unknown | ✓ LexisNexis (public) | ✓ No — owner operated |
| Future certainty | Stable | Stable — growing via acquisition | Stable | ✗ End of life Dec 2026 | Uncertain | Uncertain | ✓ Active development |
Information based on publicly available data and firm feedback. Last updated March 2026. Law Support Australia recommends firms research all platforms before making a decision — including talking to current users.
I have worked inside every platform on this page. I know what the sales pitch leaves out and what firms end up wishing they had asked. A conversation with me is free, takes about 20 minutes, and I will tell you honestly whether Law App is the right fit for your firm — or not.
Kelly Mills — Law Support Australia / 07 3040 3036 / kelly@lawsupport.com.au
FilePro is sunsetting. LawMaster is being wound down. LEAP renewal notices are arriving. If you are evaluating your options — now is the right time to have the conversation.