Lower entry price
MyCase publishes Basic at $39 per user/month when billed annually. That price is genuinely attractive for solo lawyers and very small firms that need basic case management more than defense-specific operating structure.
MyCase alternative for criminal defense
Switch from MyCase when defense workflow needs more than a generic case manager.
MyCase is attractive for smaller firms because it is simple, polished, and cheaper at the entry tier than many legal systems. The switching question is narrower: whether a criminal defense practice can keep treating court dates, motion work, sealed matters, defense retainers, and investigator coordination as generic case-management tasks.
Quick answer
Legal Core is the MyCase alternative when defense complexity outgrows simple case management.
MyCase is general legal practice management with a lower entry price, a simple user experience, and a strong client portal for broad small-firm use. Butler Legal Core is built for criminal defense practices that need court-calendar discipline, motion-driven document workflows, sealed matter handling, defense work product context, defense retainer visibility, and investigator coordination organized around the case. A solo or very small defense practice with light complexity may be better served by MyCase because its Basic tier is meaningfully cheaper. A defense-focused firm should consider switching when the team is manually enforcing defense-specific rules inside generic matters, tasks, documents, and billing categories. Butler migration supports a parallel run during Legal Core's 2-month free trial so the firm can review imported MyCase data, validate active matters, and cut over without dropping historical access. Butler Legal Core pricing is published at $99, $149, and $199 per user/month by tier, with custom pricing above 25 users and a founding cohort discount where available. MyCase is often cheaper. The reason to switch is fit for criminal defense operations, not a generic savings claim.
What MyCase handles well
MyCase is a strong small-firm legal system.
This comparison should not pretend MyCase is weak software. It is a simpler, lower-cost legal practice system that can be the right answer for many small firms. The question is whether that simplicity still works when defense workflow is the firm's operating center.
Simple user experience
MyCase is easier for many small teams to understand than broader legal systems. A simpler surface has real value when the firm has limited administrative time and does not want a heavy implementation project.
Client portal and communication
MyCase's client portal, texting, invoicing, and general communication surfaces are mature for broad legal needs. Firms that primarily need general client communication may value that more than defense-specific workflow modeling.
Billing and trust basics
MyCase covers small-firm billing, payments, and trust accounting basics well. If the firm's financial workflow is conventional and not tightly tied to criminal defense case posture, MyCase may be enough.
Defense workflow fit
Where MyCase does not fit criminal defense work natively.
MyCase can be configured around defense work, but configuration is not the same as a defense-shaped operating model. These gaps matter most as a defense practice grows beyond light case management.
Court calendar discipline
Criminal defense dates are not ordinary appointments. Hearings, motion deadlines, discovery deadlines, trial dates, and plea dates trigger consequences across the matter. Legal Core is organized around defense calendar discipline. MyCase can calendar events and reminders, but the defense-specific deadline logic still depends on the firm's manual structure.
Motion-driven document workflows
Defense motion work has drafts, exhibits, response deadlines, hearing outcomes, and ruling follow-up. Legal Core treats that motion flow as part of matter operations. MyCase document management can store and organize files, but the motion practice model is still assembled through generic tasks, templates, and matter notes.
Sealed matter handling
Some defense matters require more than ordinary access control. The existence of a sealed proceeding, sealed plea material, or protected record can itself be sensitive. Legal Core is built around private matter handling and audit-aware access. MyCase is a general legal system, so sealed-defense handling is not the center of its data model.
Defense retainer structures
Criminal defense firms often use flat fees by case type, hybrid retainers, installment plans, court-appointed rates, sliding scale arrangements, and urgent payment decisions. Legal Core keeps payment context near the defense matter. MyCase billing is solid for small-firm legal work, but its categories are broad rather than defense-specific.
Investigator and expert coordination
Defense practices coordinate investigators, mitigation specialists, experts, and forensic consultants under work-product and privilege expectations. Legal Core is shaped to keep those handoffs visible in the defense workflow. MyCase can track contacts and tasks, but it does not model investigator and expert coordination as native defense work.
Defense work product context
Investigator notes, mitigation research, strategy drafts, expert communications, and discovery analysis have privilege and work-product context that should not be treated like ordinary matter documents. Legal Core is structured around those defense categories. MyCase document categorization is flexible, but the defense meaning is imposed by the firm.
Migration from MyCase
Switching should be a managed defense workflow transition.
Moving from MyCase is less about copying records and more about deciding which defense matters, dates, documents, billing context, and communications need to become operational inside Legal Core.
What Butler imports from MyCase
Butler scopes the migration around the export package and the firm's operating needs: matters, contacts, calendar data, documents, billing context, notes, and active case history where the source export supports it.
Parallel run during trial
Legal Core includes a 2-month free trial. The standard migration pattern is to run both systems during that period while the firm reviews imported data, validates active matters, and starts selected new defense work in Butler.
Cutover when ready
At cutover, Butler becomes the operating system for new defense work. Many firms keep the prior system available in reduced or read-only form for historical reference while Legal Core handles current matters.
Data integrity review
Butler verifies counts, relationships, document accessibility, key dates, and obvious mapping discrepancies before the firm relies on the new instance operationally. Ambiguous data is surfaced for review instead of silently imported.
Migration pricing for MyCase switchers
Migration is free for Legal Core founding cohort customers. Standard cloud-to-cloud migration is $499 for typical scope. Complex migrations with large document libraries, multi-year history, custom fields, or multiple source systems are $1,499. All migration fees are credited back as platform credit after 6 months of paid subscription.
Pricing comparison
MyCase is often cheaper; Butler is narrower and more specialized.
The honest MyCase comparison is not a savings claim. MyCase can cost less, especially for solo and small firms. Legal Core has to justify its price through defense-specific operating fit.
| Comparison point | MyCase | Butler |
|---|---|---|
| Published pricing posture | Public per-user plans: Basic $39, Pro $89, and Advanced $109 per user/month when billed annually. | $99, $149, and $199 per user/month by tier; custom above 25 users. |
| Calculator posture | Use the MyCase public rates where they fit, then override with actual invoice spend when plan, add-ons, discounts, or renewal terms differ. | Published Legal Core tiers with the founding cohort discount shown where eligible. |
| 5-user example | MyCase Pro at the current public annual rate is $445/month for 5 users; Advanced is $545/month. | 5 users on Legal Core Small Team are $745/month standard or $558.75/month with founding discount. |
| Switch rationale | Lower-cost general legal case management for firms that can fit their practice into a broad product. | Defense-specific workflow fit, migration support, private operating structure, and audit-aware matter handling. |
Use your actual MyCase plan and add-ons.
The Legal Core pricing calculator is the canonical place for the numeric comparison. Enter your current MyCase monthly spend if accounting, websites, processing, annual discounts, or contract terms change the public-rate math. For many small firms, MyCase will remain cheaper. Fit is the reason to switch.
Review Legal Core pricing detailFit guidance
When you should not switch from MyCase.
Some firms should stay with MyCase. If you are a solo or two-attorney defense practice with light operational complexity, MyCase's lower price may matter more than defense-specific workflow depth. If your practice mixes criminal defense with family law, immigration, estate planning, civil work, or other broad legal services, MyCase's general practice coverage may be a better fit. If your firm depends on MyCase-specific integrations or the client portal is the core of the operating model, switching may not be worth the migration effort yet.
Switching questions
Questions defense firms ask before leaving MyCase.
Is Butler Legal Core meaningfully more expensive than MyCase?
Yes, in many scenarios. MyCase publishes lower per-user prices, especially Basic at $39 per user/month annually. Legal Core starts at $99 per user/month and rises by team tier. Butler should not be sold as the cheaper option. The switch makes sense when defense-specific workflow fit is worth more than staying on a lower-cost general legal system.
What if my practice mixes criminal defense with other legal work?
Mixed-practice firms should be cautious. Legal Core is strongest when criminal defense is the primary or exclusive operating focus. If your firm has substantial immigration, family law, estate planning, civil litigation, or general practice work, MyCase's broader practice management surface may be more useful than Butler's narrower defense fit.
Does MyCase's lower price mean it is missing features I actually need?
Not automatically. MyCase covers real small-firm needs: matters, documents, billing, client communication, and trust basics. The question is whether your defense practice needs court-date discipline, motion workflow, sealed matter handling, defense retainer context, and investigator coordination to be modeled directly rather than maintained through generic tasks and firm habits.
How does MyCase's client portal compare to Butler's?
MyCase has a strong general legal client portal. Butler's client-facing work is narrower and oriented around defense-specific communication, private matter context, and operational handoffs. If broad client portal maturity is your highest priority, MyCase may remain stronger. If defense workflow and sensitive matter handling matter more, Legal Core is the better fit.
What about MyCase billing and trust accounting?
MyCase is solid for small-firm billing, payments, and trust accounting basics. Butler matches the core need for payment context and trust visibility around defense matters, but the reason to switch is not that MyCase billing is weak. The reason is that Legal Core keeps defense payment context closer to case posture, deadlines, and operational risk.
MyCase keeps adding features. Will Butler keep up?
Butler is not trying to match MyCase feature-for-feature across general legal practice. Legal Core prioritizes the narrower surface criminal defense practices actually need: court calendars, motion flow, sealed matter handling, document and evidence context, billing visibility, migration support, and auditability. That narrower roadmap is the point, not a gap to hide.
Can I migrate only criminal defense matters and keep MyCase for other work?
Yes, selective migration is possible. A firm can move active defense matters into Legal Core while leaving non-defense matters or historical records in MyCase. The tradeoff is operating two systems, so Butler should scope which matters move, what remains behind, and how the firm avoids duplicate calendars or fragmented communications.
How long does a MyCase-to-Butler migration take?
Most cloud-to-cloud migrations complete in 2-5 business days when exports are clean and the document library is typical. Complex migrations can take 1-3 weeks when there are large document sets, unusual custom fields, multi-year history, or multiple source systems. Butler sets expectations after reviewing the export and scope.
Can I run Butler and MyCase in parallel?
Yes. Running both systems during Legal Core's 2-month free trial is the standard migration pattern. Existing matters can remain in MyCase while Butler imports records, maps data, and lets the firm validate active defense work. The parallel period reduces cutover risk and gives staff time to adapt.
What happens to historical MyCase data after migration?
Butler imports the records needed for current Legal Core operations. Many firms keep MyCase available in a reduced or read-only posture for historical reference, especially for closed matters, old financial records, or documents that do not need to drive daily defense workflow. The migration plan decides what truly needs to move.
Does Butler replace every MyCase feature?
No. Legal Core is not a broad MyCase clone. Some general legal features may be handled differently, deferred, or intentionally left outside Butler. The product focuses on criminal defense matter workflow, court-calendar discipline, document and motion handling, trust visibility, migration support, and auditability.
What about MyCase's integrations?
Integrations should be reviewed before switching. MyCase connects to tools that may shape your billing, accounting, communication, or document workflow. Butler will identify which workflows move into Legal Core, which remain external, and which require a replacement path. Do not assume every integration has an immediate one-for-one replacement.
Can Butler handle active matters during migration?
Active matters are handled carefully. Butler usually recommends importing the active matter set first, validating court dates and critical documents, and using the trial period to confirm workflow before cutover. The goal is to avoid missed dates, broken document access, or billing confusion while the firm is still serving clients.
What if migration goes wrong?
The parallel-run approach protects the firm from a forced cutover. If a mapping issue, missing document, or date discrepancy appears, the firm can keep operating in MyCase while Butler corrects the import. Butler verifies imported records before the firm relies on them as the operational source of truth.
How should we compare MyCase Advanced against Legal Core?
Use actual workflow value, not a feature checklist. MyCase Advanced adds broader document, automation, search, API, and billing features. Legal Core focuses on defense-specific matter operations. If your firm mainly needs general legal automation, MyCase Advanced may be the stronger fit. If defense workflow is the bottleneck, Legal Core is the stronger fit.
Who should stay with MyCase?
Firms should stay with MyCase when they are price-sensitive, very small, mixed-practice, portal-centered, or comfortable maintaining defense-specific structure manually. Butler is the better choice when criminal defense is the operating center and the firm wants the product itself to model deadlines, motions, sealed matters, defense billing context, and investigator handoffs.
Sources checked
Comparison claims stay tied to public sources.
MyCase changes pricing, plan packaging, and feature availability over time. This page uses current public MyCase pricing and product sources, then keeps the final dollar comparison dependent on the firm's actual MyCase invoice or renewal proposal.
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