CRM for law firms: case files and conflicts of interest

A law firm doesn't manage opportunities, it manages case files. That is why a generic sales CRM falls short: what you need is a record per matter that brings together the client, the opposing party, the documents, the deadlines and the hours, with permissions per file.

Reviewed on 2026-10-10. BAI Business offers a CRM and publishes this article; that is why we also say when it is not what a law firm needs.

Why a generic CRM falls short

The unit of work changes: in a commercial CRM it is the opportunity or the customer; in a law firm it is the case file. A case file has features that a sales CRM does not model by default:

• Several parties with different roles. Client, opposing party, experts, other counsel. It is not a contact, it is a network of relationships.
• Type of matter and deadlines. The same client can have a commercial matter and an employment matter at once, with different deadlines and hearings. Without deadlines in the system, the lawyer keeps a separate calendar.
• Documents with a trail. What matters is who opened them, when they were signed and which file they belong to.
• Hours per lawyer. If you bill by the hour, each time entry carries a date, a description, a lawyer and a rate.

When a firm forces all this into a generic CRM, it ends up with contacts plus folders plus spreadsheets.

Conflicts of interest

The Code of Professional Conduct of the Spanish legal profession (Código Deontológico de la Abogacía Española), approved on 6 March 2019, provides in its Article 12.C that a lawyer may not defend or advise interests that conflict with those of others the lawyer is or has been defending or advising, or with the lawyer's own (source: Spanish General Council of the Legal Profession, accessed on 2026-10-10).

Complying with it requires being able to check it. With hundreds of case files in a spreadsheet, searching by hand to see whether the new client or the opposing party appears in an earlier matter is easy to forget. What to ask of the tool: search by name among the clients and opposing parties of all case files, open and closed, before accepting the instruction, and record that it was done.

Professional secrecy and permissions

Article 5 of the same Code regulates professional secrecy: the obligation to keep secret the facts and information learned through professional activity (accessed on 2026-10-10). In practice, a CRM for a law firm needs permissions per case file and per role, so that each person sees only the matters they handle.

Hours and billing

If you bill by the hour, the time record must be made as the work is done, not reconstructed at the end of the month, when something is always forgotten. Ask the tool for each time entry to carry a date, a description, a lawyer and a rate, and for the hours of a case file to be grouped in the draft invoice.

Documents and signing

The signed document must stay attached to the case file, with the information of when and by whom it was signed, and not only as an email attachment. If a disagreement arises about what was signed, the evidence is where you look for it.

Mistakes when introducing a CRM in a law firm

• Importing all the historical case files without cleaning them. Start with the open and recent ones.
• Not setting up permissions. If everyone sees everything, professional secrecy depends on good faith.
• Using the system for everything except recording hours. Without recorded hours there is no reliable billing.
• Not setting up deadline alerts. The system must remind you of what expires this week.

Where BAI fits and where it doesn't

BAI Business is a management platform for the self-employed and small businesses. According to the sheet for its CRM solution, it offers a record per customer with their history, their tags and who handles them, and saves in it what arrives through forms or bookings. You can see it on the CRM for your business page and, for this sector, on the law and accountancy firms page.

That record does not describe case files with opposing parties, procedural deadlines or conflict checks. If that is the core of your firm, a program specific to law firms covers that part better; BAI fits if what you want is to organise the business's clients, appointments, documents and invoices in one place.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a generic CRM and one for law firms?

A generic CRM organises contacts and sales opportunities. In a law firm the unit of work is the case file, which groups the client, the opposing party, the documents, the deadlines and the hours, and that is what a CRM for law firms must model.

Why does checking conflicts of interest matter?

Because the Code of Professional Conduct of the Spanish legal profession provides, in Article 12.C, that a lawyer may not defend or advise interests that conflict with those of others the lawyer is or has been defending or advising (accessed on 2026-10-10). Being able to search for the new client and the opposing party among earlier case files before accepting the instruction makes it verifiable.

Who should see each case file?

Only the people who handle the matter. Article 5 of the Code imposes the obligation to keep secret the facts learned through professional activity, so permissions per case file are part of complying with it.

Does BAI Business work as a case-file management program?

Its CRM is designed as a customer record with history, tags and a person in charge. If your core is the case file with opposing parties, procedural deadlines and conflict control, a program specific to law firms covers that part better.

You may also be interested in

• How to choose a CRM for your small business: the selection criteria.
• E-signatures for small businesses in Spain: which signature to use for which document.

Sources

• Code of Professional Conduct of the Spanish legal profession (Código Deontológico), approved on 6 March 2019, accessed on 10 October 2026.