Selling firm data
Can I sell my law firm data? The contract questions after counsel's
Updated
Client confidentiality decides whether a firm may license anything at all. The software contract decides what it can still hand over.
Counsel's question comes first
Precedents, and matter or time data with every client identifier removed, are the candidates a firm might license. Whether it may, and after what step, is a question for counsel under the conduct rules on confidentiality, and this site takes no law firm enquiry until it is answered.
What the practice software terms on the board say
- Ownership: 5 of the 6 vendors on the table say the firm's data is the firm's; PracticePanther's terms do not say.
- The vendor's own use: Filevine may use subscriber data in de-identified, aggregated form, and PracticePanther may publish aggregate, anonymized reports on system usage and trends.
- AI training: no document on the table addresses it.
- Getting the data out: Actionstep gives 20 days after termination to request a backup, Smokeball 30 days of access and PracticePanther a file on a written request within 90 days; Hoowla delivers a back-up on request, Karbon warns termination may involve deletion and Filevine's agreement does not say.
The table on the home page gives every practice software vendor's answer with a link to the terms it comes from.
Source: Law firm software data terms