iManage / Aderant
Document management and practice management systems for law firms.
What it is
About iManage / Aderant
iManage Work and Aderant Expert are the two dominant platforms in law firm technology infrastructure. iManage Work is the leading legal document management system (DMS) — it stores, organises, and manages every document and email associated with a client matter, replacing shared drives with a searchable, version-controlled, matter-centric repository. Every email sent or received related to a client matter is filed to iManage automatically; every draft document is saved with version history; and access controls ensure that only authorised fee earners can view confidential matters. Aderant Expert is a legal practice management system (PMS) — it handles time recording, billing, matter management, and financial reporting for the firm. Fee earners record time against matter codes; the billing team produces invoices from time records; the finance team reconciles trust account transactions. Together, iManage and Aderant form the operational backbone of most mid-to-large law firms in the UK and US. Both systems have significant switching costs — migrating a firm's document history from one DMS to another is a major IT project — making platform loyalty high once implemented.
What you can do with it
Capabilities
File an incoming client email to the correct matter in iManage with a single click from Outlook.
Search iManage for all documents on a specific matter and filter by document type, date, and author.
Record time against a client matter in Aderant and submit a time sheet for partner review.
Retrieve a precedent document from iManage and adapt it for a new matter, saving the new version to the matter profile.
Generate a draft client bill in Aderant from the time recorded against a matter and send it for partner approval.
How to learn it
Learning Resources
iManage training resources at imanage.com/resources — vendor-provided user and administrator training
Aderant training at aderant.com/support — product-specific training modules
Law firm IT induction: all new fee earners and support staff receive iManage and Aderant training on joining
ILTA (International Legal Technology Association) at iltanet.org — community resources for legal technology users
Pro Tip
File every email as you go, not in batches at the end of the day — unfiled emails in your inbox are a compliance risk (they may not be accessible to colleagues covering your matters), and batch filing at the end of the week becomes exponentially harder as the inbox fills up.
Skills that use this tool
Roles that use this tool