Hourglass vs LeanLaw

Hourglass is web software for litigation and insurance-defense firms that captures attorneys’ work and drafts time entries with matter details, billing codes, and AI-written narratives. It checks entries against each client’s outside counsel guidelines before billing. Firms can upload guidelines as PDF, Word, or email files; the system extracts requirements into rules linked to source paragraphs. Every entry needs timekeeper approval, and Hourglass says it never submits entries on anyone’s behalf. If a deduction occurs, Hourglass links it to the relevant entry, attaches work evidence, and drafts an appeal for review. Capture integrations include Outlook, Word, Teams, Zoom, browsers, and legal research tools; billing destinations include Elite 3E, Aderant, ProLaw, Litify, and Clio, with custom integrations offered in two weeks if needed. Each firm receives a separate deployment and database. Data uses TLS in transit and AES-256 at rest, with a readable audit record. Pricing is available on request.

LeanLaw provides law firms with timekeeping, billing, trust accounting, payments and financial reporting built around QuickBooks Online. It supports hourly, flat-fee and contingency billing. Trust tools include three-way reconciliation, automated transfers from trust to operating accounts, sub-ledger management and IOLTA reporting. The Core plan costs $55 a month per user and includes time and expense tracking, e-payments, reporting, trust accounting, professional invoices and two-way QuickBooks Online sync. Pro costs $75 a month per user and adds custom invoice templates, LEDES files, user permissions and matter-based accounting. Contingency and Elite pricing is custom. An active QuickBooks Online subscription is required; QuickBooks Desktop is not supported. LeanLaw offers a 14-day trial without requiring a credit card, though migration and QuickStart onboarding begin with a paid subscription. The mobile app shows matter details but cannot create or edit matters. The public REST API supports programmatic access to clients, matters, time entries, expenses, invoices, users and codes.