Migrate your Legal Files data
On-premise legal matter and case management software built around Microsoft SQL Server, typically used by government agencies and corporate legal departments that prioritize full data ownership over cloud-native features.
In its favor
Why people choose Legal Files
The signal that keeps Legal Files on the shortlist. Sourced from G2, Capterra, and customer scoping calls.
Targeted at non-firm legal users — corporate legal departments, universities, public sector agencies, insurance companies, and legal aid organizations rather than private-practice law firms.
Wide matter-type coverage in one product: contracts, litigation, compliance, and advice all live under the same matter model, eliminating separate tools per matter type.
E-billing and electronic invoicing with vendor management built in — corporate legal teams can manage outside-counsel spend without bolting on a separate spend-management product.
Customisable graphical and standard reports out of the box, useful for in-house legal teams that need to report to non-legal stakeholders without bespoke BI work.
Long-tenured vendor with corporate legal department reputation — customers cite Legal Files as 'a one-stop shop for all legal files that can be customised to suit daily operations.'
Reviewer feedback consistently flags the UI as 'outdated' and notes the platform 'may work better with Windows than Mac' — modern Mac-first in-house teams find this friction-heavy.
Initial learning curve is described as tricky; onboarding new users takes more time than reviewers expect from a 2020s SaaS product.
Enterprise pricing model ($100/user/month + $49/month base fee, billed annually) becomes expensive at scale and lacks transparent lower tiers for smaller teams.
Modern integration ecosystem is narrower than newer competitors — packaged connectors to popular SaaS tools are limited compared to native cloud-first platforms.
Primary value proposition skews to centralized matter management rather than collaborative or AI-driven workflows, so teams chasing AI demand drafting or generative review features migrate away.
Reasons to switch
Why people leave Legal Files
The recurring reasons buyers give for replacing Legal Files. Presented as facts, not knocks.
Platform scorecard
Strengths, weaknesses, and where Legal Files fits
Grades across six dimensions, plus a SWOT-style view of where the platform shines and where it falls short.
SWOT — strengths, weaknesses, and use-case fit
Strengths
Weaknesses
Where it works
Where it struggles
Pricing tiers
Legal Files pricing overview
Legal Files does not publish pricing on its website. The vendor requires direct contact to generate a quote, indicating a per-seat or enterprise contract model. Review data on Capterra shows value-for-money ratings of 4.4/5 based on 20 reviews, suggesting competitive pricing for mid-size to enterprise law firms and government agencies.
Enterprise Plan
Tier 1 of 2
$100/user/month + $49/month base fee (annual)
What's included
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What gets migrated
Legal Files object support
Object-by-object support for Legal Files migrations. Per-pair details surface during scoping.
Matters
Fully supportedMatters is the core object in Legal Files. We extract all standard matter fields (case number, status, type, assigned attorney, open/close dates) via SQL join across the core matter table and related lookup tables. The destination matter ID is cross-referenced to all child objects.
Contacts
Fully supportedContact records include name, company, role, address, phone, and email. We pull from the contacts table and resolve any duplicate entries by comparing name + company pairs before inserting into the destination.
Documents
Mapping requiredLegal Files stores documents as file paths and metadata in the database; the actual files live on the file system. We map document associations to the destination and handle file transfer separately as part of a document migration scope.
Activities
Mapping requiredActivity entries (notes, calls, meetings, task completions) are linked to Matters. We export all activity records with timestamps and user attribution. Activity type labels often differ between platforms and require mapping.
Custom Fields
Mapping requiredLegal Files supports user-defined custom fields on Matters and Contacts. We inspect the SQL schema to discover all active custom fields, export their definitions, and map values field-by-field to the destination.
Email Routing Rules
Mapping requiredEmail-to-matter routing rules map inbound Outlook messages to specific Matters based on sender, subject, or folder. These rules are stored as configuration data and must be manually rebuilt in most destination platforms.
Calendar and Deadlines
Mapping requiredLegal Files maintains a deadline calendar tied to Matter timelines. We export deadline records with associated Matter IDs and import them as calendar events or custom date fields in the destination.
Trust Accounts
Mapping requiredFinancial tracking on Matters includes trust account balances and transaction history stored in dedicated tables. We export the ledger entries and map them to the destination's financial or billing module.
Users and Billing Records
Mapping requiredUser accounts, timekeeper records, and billing rates are stored in Legal Files. We export user profiles and billing history separately and map time entries to the destination's billing or time-tracking module.
Attachments
Mapping requiredAttachments stored against Activities or Documents are linked via the SQL database. We map attachment references to the destination's object model and coordinate file-system transfer for the actual binary content.
| Object | Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Matters | Fully supported | Matters is the core object in Legal Files. We extract all standard matter fields (case number, status, type, assigned attorney, open/close dates) via SQL join across the core matter table and related lookup tables. The destination matter ID is cross-referenced to all child objects. |
| Contacts | Fully supported | Contact records include name, company, role, address, phone, and email. We pull from the contacts table and resolve any duplicate entries by comparing name + company pairs before inserting into the destination. |
| Documents | Mapping required | Legal Files stores documents as file paths and metadata in the database; the actual files live on the file system. We map document associations to the destination and handle file transfer separately as part of a document migration scope. |
| Activities | Mapping required | Activity entries (notes, calls, meetings, task completions) are linked to Matters. We export all activity records with timestamps and user attribution. Activity type labels often differ between platforms and require mapping. |
| Custom Fields | Mapping required | Legal Files supports user-defined custom fields on Matters and Contacts. We inspect the SQL schema to discover all active custom fields, export their definitions, and map values field-by-field to the destination. |
| Email Routing Rules | Mapping required | Email-to-matter routing rules map inbound Outlook messages to specific Matters based on sender, subject, or folder. These rules are stored as configuration data and must be manually rebuilt in most destination platforms. |
| Calendar and Deadlines | Mapping required | Legal Files maintains a deadline calendar tied to Matter timelines. We export deadline records with associated Matter IDs and import them as calendar events or custom date fields in the destination. |
| Trust Accounts | Mapping required | Financial tracking on Matters includes trust account balances and transaction history stored in dedicated tables. We export the ledger entries and map them to the destination's financial or billing module. |
| Users and Billing Records | Mapping required | User accounts, timekeeper records, and billing rates are stored in Legal Files. We export user profiles and billing history separately and map time entries to the destination's billing or time-tracking module. |
| Attachments | Mapping required | Attachments stored against Activities or Documents are linked via the SQL database. We map attachment references to the destination's object model and coordinate file-system transfer for the actual binary content. |
Gotchas
What to watch for in Legal Files migrations
Issues we've hit on past Legal Files migrations, tagged by severity. FlitStack AI handles every one — surfacing them up front because buyer engineering teams want to know.
No API — migration requires direct SQL Server database access
Document file transfer is separate from database migration
Email routing rules do not auto-migrate
Custom field discovery requires schema inspection
| Severity | Issue |
|---|---|
| High | No API — migration requires direct SQL Server database access |
| High | Document file transfer is separate from database migration |
| Medium | Email routing rules do not auto-migrate |
| Medium | Custom field discovery requires schema inspection |
Leaving Legal Files?
Where Legal Files customers move next
12 destinations Legal Files can migrate to.
How a Legal Files migration works
Four steps, Legal Files-specific
Connect
Direct SQL Server connection only — no OAuth or API key authentication into Legal Files. Scopes limited to read-only on the data we move.
Map
We translate Legal Files-specific structures (custom fields, objects, value lists) to the destination's model.
Sample
Test with a 50–200 record subset to validate Legal Files quirks before production.
Migrate
Full migration with Legal Files rate-limit handling. Rollback available throughout.
FAQ
Legal Files migration FAQ
Answers to the questions buyers ask most during Legal Files migration scoping. Not seeing yours? Book a call.
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