Law firm software, built around IOLTA / client trust accounting

Arkathos gives a law firm a workspace tailored to how the work actually runs — This workspace is built around running legal matters from intake through trust-funded billing with deadline (docket) discipline. Arkathos tailors a law firm workspace around 6 agents: Sentinel, Quartermaster, Treasury, Scribe, Watchtower, Herald.

Compliance a law firm can't afford to miss

Watchtower tracks every license, bond, insurance policy, and continuing-education requirement for a law firm, with renewal cadences and staged reminders so nothing lapses.

• A law firm must maintain a Attorney Bar License / Annual Registration, through the State high court attorney registration unit / State Bar (e.g., NY Office of Court Administration; State Bar of TX, CA, NJ; Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of PA). NOTE: NY is biennial (24 months); most other large states register annually., which renews every year.
• A law firm must maintain a Attorney Continuing Legal Education (CLE / MCLE), through the State CLE/MCLE Board or State Bar (e.g., NY CLE Board, NJ Supreme Court Board on Continuing Legal Education, PA CLE Board, State Bar of California, State Bar of Texas MCLE). Cycle length and totals are state-specific; see perStateNotes., which renews every year.
• The Attorney Continuing Legal Education (CLE / MCLE) carries a continuing-education requirement of 12 hours per year (2h Ethics & Professionalism, 10h General Legal Education).
• A law firm must maintain a IOLTA Client Trust Account Registration, through the State Bar / State IOLTA program (e.g., CA State Bar Client Trust Account Protection Program (CTAPP); IOLTA Fund of the Bar of New Jersey), which renews every year.
• A law firm must maintain a Local Business License, through the Municipal or county business licensing authority, which renews every year.
• A law firm must maintain a Lawyers Professional Liability (Malpractice) Insurance, through the Private legal malpractice insurer (Oregon: mandatory via OSB Professional Liability Fund, $300,000/claim; Idaho: minimum required; most other states: disclosure-only on bar registration), which renews every year.
• A law firm must maintain a General Liability Insurance, through the Private commercial insurer, which renews every year.
• A law firm must maintain a Cyber Liability Insurance, through the Private cyber insurer, which renews every year.
• A law firm must maintain a Workers' Compensation Insurance, through the State workers' compensation system / private insurer (required when the firm has employees), which renews every year.

Everything Arkathos runs for a law firm

These are the agents set up first for a law firm — and because it's one platform, every plan includes all 16 Arkathos agents. Also included whenever you need them: Guardhouse, Courier, War Room, Armory, Marshall, Mint Warden, Vault Keeper, Bulletin Board, Client Portal.

• Sentinel — Contact & lead management, Deal / estimate pipeline, Task & follow-up tracking, SMS & email outreach, Pipeline reporting.
• Quartermaster — Online booking & appointments, Calendar & availability, Events & waitlists, Automated reminders, Job dispatch & scheduling.
• Treasury — Invoicing & payment collection, Expense tracking, Accounting & bookkeeping, Business tax prep & filing, Recurring billing & subscriptions, Financial dashboards & reports.
• Scribe — Document & contract templates, E-signature, Proposal & form builder, PDF / Word export.
• Watchtower — License & permit tracking, Certification & continuing-education (CE) tracking, Renewal reminders & alerts, Compliance document vault.
• Herald — SEO & get-found content, Social media scheduling, Email & newsletter campaigns, Brand voice & content studio, Review & reputation growth, AI-overview & directory visibility.

Your tailored law firm workspace

These are net-new, law firm-specific capabilities — not a generic CRM bolted onto your industry.

• IOLTA / client trust accounting (Treasury): Per-client/per-matter trust sub-ledgers with strict no-commingling, retainer replenishment, trust-to-operating transfer only on earned fees, and three-way reconciliation (bank vs book vs client balances). No trust balance may go negative.
• Matter management object (Sentinel): Matters as first-class records (matter number, practice area, responsible attorney, linked client + adverse parties, open/closed status) distinct from sales deals — the spine every doc, deadline, and bill attaches to.
• Conflict-of-interest checker (Sentinel): Pre-intake search across all matters' parties and adverse parties (including former clients) that flags potential conflicts before an engagement is opened, with a logged waiver path.
• Court docketing / deadline rules engine (Quartermaster): Jurisdiction-aware deadline calculation (e.g. answer due X days after service), statute-of-limitations clocks, and rule-based reminder cascades that auto-populate the calendar from a trigger event.
• Billable-hours time capture + LEDES billing (Treasury): Timekeeper hourly/contingency capture by matter, application against trust retainer, and LEDES/UTBMS e-billing export for insurance-defense and corporate clients.
• CLE / bar admission tracker (Watchtower): Per-attorney CLE credit hours by reporting period, bar admission states, and malpractice policy with renewal alerts.

The agents and tabs you get

Sentinel for a law firm surfaces Overview, Contacts, Tasks, Chat. Quartermaster for a law firm surfaces Calendar, Bookings, Availability, Chat. Treasury for a law firm surfaces Financial sheet, Invoices, Transactions, Chat. Scribe for a law firm surfaces Documents, Templates, Chat. Watchtower for a law firm surfaces Compliance items, Calendar, Chat. Herald for a law firm surfaces Brief, Compose, Get found, Directories, ✦Studio, Schedule, Chat, Brand voice.

Frequently asked questions

best all-in-one software for a solo law firm

Platforms like Clio, MyCase, and PracticePanther bundle case management, billing, and a client portal. Arkathos goes further with 16 AI agents spanning CRM, scheduling, invoicing, payroll, marketing, and compliance under one flat price.

how much does law firm case management software cost per user

Typically $40-$150 per user/month; entry plans run about $29-$49 and advanced systems $690-$1,490+/month. Per-seat pricing scales with headcount, while Arkathos uses flat pricing with no per-seat fees.

what software do i need for iolta trust accounting

You need three-way reconciliation matching your bank statement, trust ledger, and individual client ledgers monthly. CosmoLex and MyCase are IOLTA-compliant; trust accounting is the compliance decision that can cost your license.

how do i track billable hours automatically

Use timers plus calendar and email capture inside tools like Clio, TimeSolv, or Bill4Time; some passively log approved work apps. Arkathos captures time and turns it into client invoices automatically.

how to run a conflict check before taking a new client

Cross-reference the prospect's name and related parties against your client and matter database before intake. Conflict-check tools flag opposing parties and prior clients automatically; roughly 63% of firms use them.

how do i get more clients for my law firm

Around 96% of clients start their search online, so invest in local SEO, practice-area pages, Google and Avvo reviews, and referrals. Arkathos's marketing agent handles content, listings, reviews, and lead follow-up.

do i need a crm for my law practice

Yes, a legal CRM manages intake, leads, follow-ups, and conflict checks so prospects don't slip. Arkathos includes CRM plus scheduling, billing, and payroll, keeping intake-to-invoice in one platform.

law firm billing software with online payments and trust accounting

Tools like LawPay, Clio, and MyCase combine legal invoicing, card/ACH payments, and IOLTA-compliant trust handling. Arkathos bundles invoicing, payments, and accounting so client funds and operating funds stay separate.

how do i keep track of court deadlines and matters

Practice-management software centralizes matters with automated deadline, statute-of-limitations, and calendaring reminders, since a missed deadline risks malpractice. Arkathos's scheduling agent tracks matters, deadlines, and reminders in one calendar.

What licenses and insurance does a law firm need?

Arkathos tracks 8 items for a law firm, including Attorney Bar License / Annual Registration, Attorney Continuing Legal Education (CLE / MCLE), IOLTA Client Trust Account Registration, Local Business License. Each renewal and expiration is monitored in Watchtower with staged reminders.

What continuing education is required for a law firm?

The Attorney Continuing Legal Education (CLE / MCLE) carries a continuing-education requirement of 12 hours per year (2h Ethics & Professionalism, 10h General Legal Education). Watchtower logs hours by category and flags shortfalls before the deadline.

Which Arkathos agents does a law firm get?

Arkathos tailors a law firm workspace around 6 agents: Sentinel, Quartermaster, Treasury, Scribe, Watchtower, Herald.

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