Law Firm Operations
What systems does a modern law firm need?
A practical view of the systems a modern NZ law firm actually needs — and where operations software fits alongside them.
A modern NZ law firm doesn't need every tool on the market — it needs the right ones, well managed.
The essentials
Practice management
Matters, clients, time, billing. Common: OneLaw, Actionstep, LEAP, Smokeball.
Document management
Structured storage for matter and firm documents. NetDocuments, iManage or SharePoint.
Accounting and trust
Xero for general accounting, plus a compliant trust accounting solution.
Communication
Email, phone, video conferencing, secure client messaging.
Cybersecurity
Endpoint protection, MFA, backup, email filtering, incident response.
Cloud platform
Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace as the productivity backbone.
The category most firms are missing
An operations layer — a single place where suppliers, contracts, renewals, ownership and firm knowledge live. Not another silo, but the register that connects them.
That's what AvenorOps provides.
The nine systems every firm should document
If a firm only ever documents nine systems, these are the nine:
- Practice management — OneLaw, Actionstep, LEAP or Smokeball.
- Document management — NetDocuments, iManage, SharePoint or shared drive.
- Trust accounting — the compliant trust solution in use.
- General accounting — usually Xero.
- Email and identity — Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.
- Telephony — cloud or traditional phone platform.
- Cybersecurity — endpoint protection, MFA, email filtering.
- Backup and recovery — provider, scope, restore process.
- Internet and hosting — the connectivity everything else depends on.
For each, record: name, provider, internal owner, supplier contact, contract reference, renewal date, cost and criticality. Use the NZ Law Firm Technology Stack Checklist as your starting template.