Contingency Fee Tracking Software: 8 Options for 2027

Settle the category first

Buy a tool that does contingency math on the settlement record before you buy a general case manager. If your bottleneck is the statement at the end of a case, the fee percentage, expenses advanced, liens and client net have to be calculated in one place, and a case manager that only tracks dates and documents leaves that arithmetic to a spreadsheet. If holding client money is the bigger problem, read our retainer management comparison first.

Contingency fee tracking means recording, for each matter, the gross recovery, the fee percentage and method, the expenses advanced, every lien with its negotiated amount, and the net owed to the client, then producing a statement that ties to the trust ledger. Short version: a product earns a place here only if it does that calculation on the settlement record and connects the result to the actual movement of money.

Key Takeaways

• Contingency tracking is a settlement problem. The fee, expenses, liens and net-to-client amount must sit on one matter record, or the closing statement will be wrong.

• LeanLaw documents the most contingency-specific workflow in this group, with six fee-and-expense combinations configurable per matter. It requires QuickBooks Online, and its Contingency plan is custom-priced.

• Law Ruler and SmartAdvocate describe settlement and fee screens, but neither publishes list prices, so budget for a quote and a demo.

• CASEpeer, PracticePanther and MyCase publish per-user prices, yet the pages we reviewed do not describe contingency fee calculation. Verify that in a demo before you sign.

• Disbo is a payout platform for settlement checks and ACH, not a fee calculator. Pair it with a fee tool rather than buying it as one.

• Clio's own pricing page was not reachable during our review, so Clio is not scored below.

How we evaluated these tools

We weighted seven criteria so the contingency-specific ones carry most of the score. Fee logic and trust or disbursement handling together carry 45% of the weight, because a tool that gets either wrong creates a client-trust problem, not just an inconvenience. Each product was scored only on what its own pages or a named independent listing showed. Where a page was silent, the cell says "Not shown," and we did not assume the feature exists.

Two limits apply. Several vendor pricing pages were not reachable during our review, and most independent review sites returned errors, so the independent evidence here is thin. Treat this as a shortlist. Confirm every feature in a demo that uses one of your own settlements.

Side-by-side feature matrix

The matrix normalizes each product to the same six questions. "Documented" means the vendor's own page describes the feature. "Partial" means the page names a related function without the full calculation. "Not shown" means the pages we reviewed were silent.

LeanLaw is the only product here whose own pages describe the full contingency workflow, including a settlement wizard and a lien ledger. Law Ruler's settlement tooling is aimed at personal injury and mass tort firms, as its settlement post describes. SmartAdvocate's official features page says its Settlement Screen "calculates settlement distributions including firm fees and client's net proceeds" according to SmartAdvocate (2026). That is a real fee function, but the page does not describe liens or trust accounting. TimeSolv describes attorney fee calculation and expense deduction, but its page does not explain percentage math.

A worked settlement, step by step

LeanLaw's contingency page walks through a sample in which "Six paths are supported" and a one-third contingency applies to a gross settlement, so the sample fee is Sample fee: $161,667 on a $485,000 settlement according to LeanLaw (2026). The net after fee is $323,333 before expenses, which is $485,000 minus $161,667.

Now add an illustrative lien. Suppose the lien was originally $60,000 and was negotiated down to $38,000. Those two lien figures are our example, not vendor data. Subtract the negotiated $38,000 from $323,333 and the client's net is $285,333, before expenses. If the tool used the original $60,000 instead, the client's net would show $263,333, which is $22,000 less than the negotiated case. That gap is why the negotiated amount has to flow into the calculator. LeanLaw's page says it does: "Negotiated amounts, not the original figures, flow into the calculator."

On the integration side, LeanLaw's contingency page links to its developer portal at platform.leanlaw.io under "APIs & Documentation." An IT lead can check there that matter exports are available before any workflow is designed, instead of assuming they are.

What the price pages say

Pricing checked October 26, 2026. This section prints only prices that appear on each vendor's own pricing page. "Quote-based" means the vendor's page publishes no figure. We did not print a Clio figure, because Clio's own pricing page was not reachable during our review and the third-party figures we saw conflict. Where an aggregator listing differs from the vendor page, the table uses the vendor page.

The table below converts the monthly list prices into a ten-user cost. It is arithmetic on published figures, before any contingency tier, add-on or implementation fee.

Read this table as a floor, not a quote. Ten users at LeanLaw's Core list price cost $6,600 over twelve months, while the same headcount at CASEpeer's Pro list price costs $15,600, a gap of $9,000. That gap only matters if the cheaper plan includes the fee and lien features you need, and LeanLaw's pricing page does not say that Core includes them.

Vendor profiles: best fit, limits and evidence

Each profile separates what the vendor says from our read of it.

LeanLaw

Best fit is a contingency firm that already runs QuickBooks Online and wants fee math, a lien ledger and statement generation on one matter record. The vendor's page says "LeanLaw requires QuickBooks Online — it's the financial source of truth the workflow runs on." Our read: that is a real constraint, and a firm on another accounting system should treat LeanLaw as a poor fit until it checks. The Contingency plan is custom-priced, and the page links trust accounting mechanics to a separate page we did not read. Implementation means connecting QuickBooks Online, loading open matters and running one sample settlement before any live case. Evidence: the LeanLaw contingency page and the LeanLaw pricing page.

Law Ruler

Best fit is a personal injury or mass tort firm with several fee recipients on one settlement. The vendor describes "Automated Attorney Fee Calculations for 1 or More Firms on Each Settlement," real-time fee adjustments when a client's payment is not favorable, lien and hold tracking, and disbursements that wait for stakeholder approval. Our read: the approval gate is the feature to test first. The limits are price and transparency. The pricing page shows "Contact for Personalized Quote" on every plan, and the Enterprise tier carries a 10-user minimum. Implementation is a quote and a demo, followed by a settlement walk-through using your own lien list. Evidence: the Law Ruler settlement post and the Law Ruler pricing page.

TimeSolv

Best fit is a firm that bills hourly or by milestone, settles contingency matters occasionally, and wants settlement statements that deduct reimbursable expenses. The vendor's personal injury page says TimeSolv can "calculate attorney fees, deduct reimbursable expenses, and produce client-ready disbursement statements." Free trial: 10 days according to TimeSolv (2026). Our read: the page does not explain contingency percentages or fee methods, so the trial is the place to test them. Core plans are quote-based, and add-ons carry separate prices. Implementation means a demo, the trial, then one test matter.

SmartAdvocate

Best fit is a plaintiff firm that wants intake through settlement in one case file. The official features page describes "from intake to settlement" workflows and a settlement screen that calculates firm fees and net proceeds. Our read: the fee function is real, but the page does not describe lien tracking or trust accounting, so those need written confirmation. Pricing is quote-based on the vendor's site. A third-party listing shows "Price On Request" and Rating: 4.0 from 4 ratings according to Techjockey. Four ratings is a thin sample, so weigh it lightly. Implementation means requesting a demo, then testing the settlement screen against a closed settlement from your own files.

CASEpeer

Best fit is a firm that wants a published per-user price for case management, with no long-term contract or setup fee stated on the pricing page. Pro tier: $130 per user per month according to CASEpeer (2026). Our read: the pricing page shows monthly list prices only. The pages we could open did not describe contingency fee calculation, lien tracking or trust accounting, so those need confirmation in a demo before you compare it with the settlement-focused tools. Implementation means a demo, then a migration plan for existing matters.

PracticePanther

Best fit is a small firm that wants built-in trust accounting and a published four-tier price list. The pricing page places "Trust Accounting" under its top tier, which it describes as built-in legal trust accounting and operating accounting. Business Pro tier: $124 per user per month according to PracticePanther (2026). Our read: the only contingency reference on the page is a customer testimonial saying there are options for "billing hourly, contingency, and more." Settlement statements and liens are not described. Implementation is the standard self-serve path for the tier you choose, followed by a trust-account setup review with your bank.

MyCase

Best fit is a small firm that wants general case management with published per-user prices and does not need contingency math. The MyCase pricing page lists Basic, Pro and Advanced tiers with monthly and yearly prices. Our read: the page does not mention contingency fees or settlements, so MyCase fails the central test in this guide. If you still consider it, ask for the settlement workflow in a demo before you sign.

Disbo

Best fit is a firm that sends settlement payouts to plaintiffs, providers and lienholders by check or ACH and needs to track checks that were not cashed. The pricing page says the platform is "Built for IOLTA compliance" and that "Delivered-not-cashed is aged by days outstanding, with reminder and reissue from the row." Starter platform fee: $49 per month according to Disbo (2026). Our read: Disbo is not a fee calculator, and its page lists reconciliation as "Beta" without a description. Use it beside a fee tool, not in place of one.

Two products are missing on purpose. Clio's own pricing page was not reachable during our review, so we could not confirm its contingency features or print its prices. Independent listings are inconsistent, and according to CostBench (2026) four Clio tiers are listed, with only one at a public price. Filevine's pricing page publishes no prices and does not mention contingency fees, so we did not profile it on this question.

Where a workflow layer fits, and where it doesn't

Once a firm picks a settlement tool, the gap that usually remains is the hand-off between the settlement record, the trust ledger and the approval step. US Tech Automations would configure a design like the following, which is a proposal and not a live deployment. The trigger is a matter's settlement status changing to approved in the case system, delivered by a webhook or a scheduled export. The prerequisite is API or export access from that system, which you must confirm before design starts. The action pulls the gross amount, fee method, expense ledger and lien list into one worksheet and computes the net-to-client figure. The output is a draft disbursement statement and a task for the responsible attorney.

The human review points stay where the risk is. An attorney approves the fee math before any statement leaves the firm, and a trust accountant reconciles the trust ledger before any payout is released. The workflow would not release money on its own. A second configured step covers lien reductions: when a lien's status changes to negotiated, the workflow recalculates net-to-client against the original figure and flags the difference for the trust accountant, using the negotiated amount.

When NOT to use US Tech Automations: skip a custom workflow if most of your settlements already run through one tool's settlement screen and staff are comfortable with it, because a built-in screen is simpler to maintain. Skip it if your payouts are a single monthly batch that a payout platform like Disbo already handles, because the design work buys little. Skip it, too, if your case system offers no API or export at all, since the workflow would have nothing reliable to read.

Zapier, Make or n8n: the build-it-yourself option

Many firms will compare this with stitching the same flow together in Zapier, Make or n8n. Those tools can keep run histories, retry failed steps, branch on errors and keep audit evidence when they are configured that way. The buyer still has to design idempotency so a retried run does not post the same disbursement twice, define escalation when a step fails, set access controls around trust data, and maintain the flow when an upstream API changes. A proposed US Tech Automations design would configure those pieces as part of the build, but the prerequisites are the same either way: API or export access, a named approver for each approval step, and a written exception path for any settlement that does not match the pattern.

One settlement, worked through

The worked example in this guide uses LeanLaw's sample figures and one illustrative lien, so you can check the arithmetic yourself. Start with the fee on the gross recovery, then subtract the negotiated lien, then subtract expenses. Any tool you shortlist should reproduce those numbers on the same inputs. If it returns a different client net, ask the vendor which fee base and which lien figure it used before you move forward.

Who this is for

• Choose LeanLaw first if your firm already runs QuickBooks Online, most matters are contingency, and you want fee math and the lien ledger documented in one place.

• Choose Law Ruler or SmartAdvocate if your work is personal injury or mass tort, settlements often have more than one fee recipient, and you can accept a quote-based price.

• Choose CASEpeer, PracticePanther or MyCase if you need general case management with published prices and will verify contingency math yourself in a demo.

• Choose Disbo alongside any fee tool if your main pain is moving settlement money to plaintiffs, providers and lienholders.

Red flags: you have no QuickBooks Online and no export or API access from your case system; you expect software to replace attorney approval of the fee math; you plan to buy on list price alone without running one real settlement through the demo.

Common mistakes

• Calculating the fee on the net when the engagement letter says gross, or the reverse. Confirm the fee method per matter before the demo.

• Using original lien amounts instead of negotiated ones. The calculator should use what was agreed.

• Assuming a published price includes contingency features. Pricing pages in this group rarely say which features each tier includes.

• Buying a time-billing tool and expecting contingency statements from it. Read the page for percentage math, not only for expenses.

• Multiplying the per-user price by attorneys alone. Count every staff member who enters expenses, lien data or payouts.

Glossary

• Gross fee method: the contingency percentage applied to the full recovery before expenses are subtracted.

• Net-to-client: the amount left for the client after fees, expenses and liens.

• Expense arrangement: whether the client pays expenses as they go or the firm advances them and recovers them from the settlement.

• Negotiated lien amount: the figure a lienholder agreed to accept, which should drive the calculation.

• Disbursement statement: the closing document that shows every payment out of a settlement.

• IOLTA: an interest-bearing trust account for client funds that are nominal in amount or held only briefly.

• Three-way reconciliation: matching the bank balance, the trust ledger and the client ledger for each trust account.

Frequently asked questions

Can a general case manager calculate contingency fees?

Some can, but none of the general case management pages we reviewed described contingency percentage math, so confirm it on your own settlement in a demo.

Do I still need trust accounting if I buy a contingency tracker?

In most setups, yes, because fee math does not replace the trust ledger. LeanLaw's page says its platform is built on QuickBooks Online "so settlement disbursements and trust transactions post to your books in real time," which is a clearer answer than most vendor pages give.

Which option has the lowest published price?

The lowest per-user monthly list price in the table is LeanLaw's Core plan, but its pricing page does not say which contingency features Core includes.

Why is Clio not in the comparison?

Clio's own pricing page was not reachable during our review, and we could not confirm its contingency features from a vendor source, so we did not score it. Re-check it before you decide.

Is Disbo a fee tracking tool?

No. Disbo handles payouts by check and ACH with IOLTA-linked funding and payee tracking, and its pricing page describes payments, not fee calculation.

How should I test a shortlisted tool?

Run one closed settlement with a gross recovery, one lien and one expense through the demo, then compare the tool's net-to-client figure with your own hand calculation before you buy.

Bottom line

Start with the settlement math, not the price. If fee calculation is the bottleneck, run LeanLaw and one of the quote-based settlement tools through the same closed matter and compare the client net. If payouts are the bottleneck, add a payout platform. Before you put a workflow layer on top of either, check your case system's export options and confirm who approves each step. To see how US Tech Automations configures this kind of approval-gated settlement flow, see how US Tech Automations configures this.