Matters, clients, and workflows
Open a matter once — key dates, parties, tasks, and documents stay linked. Principals see WIP and approvals; solicitors work from one matter timeline instead of scattered folders.
What you get
Law firm practice management features — one connected platform.
CounselOS helps Australian law firms manage matters, clients, documents, billing, workflows, and team collaboration from one place. Trust accounting, compliance dates, time recording, and a client portal share the same matter record — so your team is not re-keying between systems. Governed AI assists with drafting, research, and billing narratives; every output stays in review until a fee earner approves it.
What firms use every day
Trust accounting and compliance
State-aware trust rules, three-way reconciliation support, and a compliance calendar designed to improve visibility of limitation and disclosure deadlines. Migration validation is part of onboarding when you switch platforms.
Time, billing, and the client portal
Record time in the web app with activity hints; generate billing narratives with human review. Clients sign costs disclosures and pay office invoices through the portal when your firm enables those connections.
Documents and team collaboration
Store precedents and matter documents with privilege defaults. Share work across fee earners and paralegals with clear roles — without exporting sensitive files to personal drives.
Compare with your current platform on our software comparison hub, read our governed AI guide, or see the migration checklist if you are switching platforms.
One system, every module
No add-ons. No juggling three logins.
Most firms run practice management, trust accounting, and document work as separate products — three bills, three reconciliations, three places for something to slip.
CounselOS brings the daily work of an Australian firm into one place, with AI that follows your rules instead of living in a browser tab.
Matters & clients
Open matters, run guided client intake, assisted conflict checks, workflow steps, and business-development insights — with everything tied to the same file.
Trust accounting
Receipts, payments, transfers, authorisation queue, and reconciliation built for Australian trust rules — with bank feed matching when enabled and a clear migration validation report when you switch.
Compliance calendar
Practising certificates, limitation dates, CPD, and costs disclosure — list and month views so nothing hides in a spreadsheet.
Documents & drafting
Draft with AI inside the matter, edit in the browser, send for signature when your firm has e-sign enabled, and keep versions on file.
Time & billing
Log and approve time, batch-approve entries, and use AI-suggested billing descriptions from one approval inbox.
Client portal
Clients sign in securely, see matter updates, documents, and invoices — with online payment when your firm has billing enabled. Branded for your firm.
Firm knowledge & precedents
Search your precedents and matter history in one place. Upload templates or bring files from cloud storage — with help to categorise during import.
Guided firm setup
Step-by-step onboarding for profile, branding, subscription, migration, and AI policy. Progress is saved — resume anytime if setup is interrupted.
Approval inbox
Principals and seniors see what needs a human decision: AI drafts, time, trust movements, portal uploads — in one queue.
Governance & audit
Firm AI policy, full audit log, and usage visibility — so you can answer “who used AI on what?” without guesswork.
Immigration & OMARA (when enabled)
Visa pipeline, lead intake, OMARA Consumer Guide and service agreement tracking, client-money ledger, blueprints, family groups, portal pre-engagement, and governed immigration AI — for registered migration agencies.
Immigration & OMARA
Registered migration agencies on the same platform as your law firm colleagues.
When the immigration module is enabled for your firm, you get a visa pipeline, OMARA compliance tools, client-money ledger, and portal pre-engagement — with governed AI that registered agents review before anything reaches a client.
Immigration and visa workflow tools are enabled per registered migration agency or immigration law firm after onboarding — not every CounselOS account includes them on day one. We will confirm what is live for you before go-live.
Registered migration agents use a dedicated client-money ledger for OMARA compliance. This is separate from legal trust accounting used by law firms. CounselOS does not claim OMARA endorsement or audit certification — your registered agent remains responsible for compliance.
Immigration AI assists with drafts such as fee proposals, RFI checklists, and research memos — always reviewed by a registered migration agent or lawyer before use. CounselOS does not provide visa eligibility chatbots or grant-probability estimates.
Lead & visa pipeline
Capture enquiries, run consults, convert to matters, and track visa cases on a stage board — from intake through lodgement and decision.
OMARA compliance backbone
Consumer Guide delivery log, service agreements, lodgement gates, refund SLA tracking, and export packs — built for registered migration agents.
Client-money ledger
Separate from legal trust accounting — track client funds, disbursements, and variations with an audit-friendly ledger designed for OMARA obligations.
Visa blueprints & checklists
Matter-scoped checklists and blueprint templates so your team knows what is done and what is still outstanding before lodgement.
Family groups & Form 956
Link dependants, manage authorised recipient appointments, and keep family-unit context on one matter file.
Immigration deadlines
Visa-specific deadlines alongside your firm calendar — so statutory and OMARA dates do not hide in email threads.
Portal pre-engagement
Send clients a secure magic-link checklist to upload documents before engagement — less chasing, clearer audit trail.
Governed immigration AI
Draft fee proposals, RFI cover letters, research memos, and policy digests — labelled AI-generated and held for agent review. No eligibility chatbots.
Work queue & integrations
Staff work queue for portal uploads, partner settings, VEVO check logging, and e-lodge attempt tracking when your firm enables integrations.
CounselOS Intelligence
Intelligence built into every matter.
Not a separate chat window. AI helps with drafting, research, billing descriptions, contract review, and client updates — always logged, always reviewed by your team before anything reaches a client.
Ask anything
Ask about limitation dates, compliance, and matter status — answers stay inside your firm’s data.
Research memo
Ask
Draft in minutes
First drafts from your precedent library — labelled AI-generated until a fee earner approves.
AI generated
“
Review contracts faster
Unusual clauses flagged before your line-by-line review — structured risk memo per document.
3 clauses need attention
Capture time, narrate bills
Log time in the app with activity hints in the browser, then approve AI-suggested billing wording in one inbox.
Captured activity
Conference with counsel · 0.8 h
Plain-English client updates
Companion summaries alongside formal advice — fewer “what does this mean?” calls.
Client update draft
Client update — commercial lease
Matter briefings
New fee earner up to speed in minutes — generated from the matter file, never sent without review.
M-2026-0117 · Commercial lease
Governed by default — not optional
Client-identifying details are protected before any external AI service is used. Every assist is recorded in your audit log. Research flags citations you should double-check. Privileged and confidential content stays inside your firm.
Legal research uses governed AI with citation checking. Connections to paid publishers (such as Lexis or Jade) are only available when your firm has a signed arrangement — website demos may use sample cases, not a live publisher feed.
Interactive demos on this site use sample data. They do not access your firm’s matters or live publisher feeds.
All AI features
Document drafting
Describe what you need on a matter. CounselOS drafts from your firm precedents and matter context. You review in the editor before filing or sending.
First draft in minutes, not hours
Time & billing descriptions
Log time in the app, with activity hints while you work in the browser. AI suggests professional billing wording; you approve in batch from one inbox.
Recover hours lost to manual entry
Legal research
Ask research questions inside a matter. Memos include citations; anything we cannot verify is flagged. Publisher integrations are enabled per firm when contracted.
Research attached to the matter file
Contract review
Upload a contract. AI highlights unusual or risky clauses so your line-by-line review starts with a map, not a blank page.
Structured risk summary per document
Billing narratives
Turn rough activity notes into clear billing descriptions your clients understand. Approve alongside time entries in the approval inbox.
Fewer write-downs and invoice queries
Client intake
Guided intake: new client details, assisted conflict checking, costs disclosure, and opening a matter — without jumping between systems.
Intake in under 10 minutes
Matter briefings
Bring a new fee earner up to speed with a concise briefing from the matter file — generated for review, not sent raw to clients.
Handover in minutes
Plain-English client updates
Draft client-friendly summaries alongside formal advice. High-risk citations can block copy until a principal clears them.
Fewer “what does this mean?” calls
Firm AI policy
A firm-specific AI usage policy generated during onboarding, stored in your records, and refreshed annually.
Governance from day one
Immigration drafts (when enabled)
For registered migration agencies: AI-assisted fee proposals, RFI checklists, research memos, and policy digests — always reviewed by your registered agent before client use.
No eligibility chatbots
Trust by design
Built for the data that cannot leave the country.
Client data stays in Australia. Sensitive matter content is encrypted. Before any outside AI service is used, client-identifying details are protected — and every AI use is logged so you can show your work to a regulator or insurer.
Hosted in SydneyEncrypted at rest
Australian hosting
Client data in Sydney
Encrypted at rest
Sensitive matter content protected
Privacy Act aligned
Built for Australian privacy law
Full audit trail
AI, trust, and admin actions logged
Protected AI calls
Client details shielded before outside AI
Lawyer review required
AI outputs approved before client use
Important notes on availability and integrations
- CounselOS is rolling out with Australian firms. Trust accounting, e-sign, bank feeds, and office accounting (Xero/MYOB) are enabled per firm after onboarding — we will confirm what is live on your account before you rely on it.
- Record time in the CounselOS web app, including activity hints while you work in the browser. Microsoft Word and Outlook add-ins are available on Professional and Enterprise plans.
- Conflict checking helps your team spot potential issues across clients and matters. It supports your professional judgment — principals can hold matters and approve releases when needed.
- Trust accounting is built for Australian state and territory rules. Migration validation and external accountant review are part of standard onboarding for firms moving from another platform.
- New firms use a guided setup wizard. Your progress is saved if you pause — including subscription checkout — and you can resume from the link we email you. Pilot billing may use a test checkout until live card processing is enabled for your firm.
- You can upload precedents or connect cloud file storage (such as OneDrive or SharePoint) during pilot. Full cloud connections are enabled per firm after onboarding — we will confirm what is available for you.
- Clients can pay office invoices through the portal when your firm has live card billing enabled. Until then, invoices may show a secure payment link in pilot mode only.
Questions about practice management features
What is legal practice management software?
Legal practice management software helps law firms run matters, clients, documents, time recording, billing, trust accounting, and compliance from one system. CounselOS is built for Australian firms with governed AI, trust rules by state, and migration tooling for FilePro and LawMaster.
How does matter management help law firms?
Matter management keeps parties, documents, dates, tasks, and billing on one record so your team is not re-keying between spreadsheets, email, and separate trust tools. Principals see WIP and approvals; fee earners work from a single timeline per file.
How does legal billing software help law firms?
Billing software connects time entries, disbursements, and narratives to matters and invoices. CounselOS supports batch approval of time and AI-suggested billing descriptions before invoices go out — reducing write-downs from missed time.
What is trust accounting software?
Trust accounting software records client money separately from office revenue, supports authorisations and reconciliation, and applies state or territory rules. In CounselOS, trust lives in the same product as matters and billing.
Does CounselOS replace legal advice?
No. CounselOS is practice management and assistive AI only. Lawyers and migration agents remain responsible for advice, filings, and client communication. AI outputs require human review before client use.
Want a feature walkthrough on your firm's actual data?
Bring an anonymised export — we load it live and walk through trust, billing, and AI review in one session.