Gavel automates document creation through guided client questionnaires. Atticus manages your entire Ontario practice — matters, billing, trust accounting, and Canadian AI for your client files. Both tools serve different needs; Atticus handles the full practice operational layer at $149 CAD per lawyer per month.
Gavel automates document generation. Atticus manages your practice — from intake and conflict checking through matter management, trust accounting, and Canadian AI for your files.
Gavel automates document creation through guided questionnaires and templates. After documents are generated, you still need separate software for matters, billing, trust accounting, and ongoing client management. Atticus manages your entire practice from intake through trust accounting in one platform.
Gavel is a US-focused document automation platform. Atticus is built specifically for Canadian and Ontario legal context — Ontario Limitations Act, LSO By-Law 9 trust accounting rules, Canadian case law references, and LSO AI guidance on using AI in practice.
Gavel has no trust accounting module. Ontario lawyers using Gavel for document automation still need separate software for LSO By-Law 9 trust accounting. Atticus includes mixed trust accounts, monthly reconciliation, and trust ledger reporting as part of the core product.
Gavel generates outgoing documents from questionnaire inputs. Atticus AI reads the documents clients give you — contracts, medical records, correspondence — extracting limitation period triggers, key dates, and parties specific to each matter across all practice areas.
Gavel is a US-based platform. Atticus stores all Ontario client files and trust records on Canadian servers by default — aligned with Law Society of Ontario guidance on cloud storage of client confidential information.
Gavel charges a per-seat subscription for document automation, and Ontario lawyers still need separate practice management, billing, and trust accounting software on top. Atticus is $149 CAD per lawyer per month for the complete Ontario practice platform.
See how Atticus compares to Gavel for Ontario solo and small law firms — complete Ontario practice management with Canadian AI vs US-focused document automation with questionnaire-driven generation.
| Feature | Atticus | Gavel |
|---|---|---|
| Practice management | ✓Full integrated practice management for Ontario solo and small law firms | Document automation and client intake questionnaires; limited full practice management |
| Ontario trust accounting | ✓Built-in, LSO By-Law 9 compliant; mixed trust, monthly reconciliation | No trust accounting |
| HST billing | ✓Native HST with CRA-compliant invoices built in | No billing |
| Time tracking | ✓Integrated time and billing; AI-assisted time capture | No time tracking |
| AI legal work | ✓Canadian legal AI: document analysis, entity extraction, limitation period flagging, practice assistant, semantic search across your files | Questionnaire-driven document automation; limited AI analysis of incoming documents |
| Matter management | ✓Full matter lifecycle from intake to close for all practice areas | Document generation workflows; limited matter management beyond document creation |
| Document management | ✓AI document analysis, summarization, and entity extraction; semantic search across all files | Document automation and generation; strong for producing standardized legal documents |
| Canadian legal context | ✓Built for Ontario law: Limitations Act 2002, LSO By-Law 9 trust accounting, Ontario court procedures | US-focused document automation platform; Ontario legal templates require custom configuration |
| Limitation period alerts | ✓Ontario Limitations Act 2002 built in; AI extracts dates from documents | No limitation period tracking |
| Conflict checking | ✓Automated AI-assisted conflict search | No conflict checking |
| LSO compliance | ✓Built for Ontario LSO requirements; Canadian data residency; LSO AI guidance considered | US-based platform; Ontario LSO compliance requires separate practice management |
| Pricing (CAD) | ✓$149/lawyer/month (all-in, including AI) | Per-seat subscription for document automation; separate practice management cost additional |
| Data residency | ✓Canadian servers by default | US-based infrastructure |
| Scope | ✓Full practice — intake, matters, billing, trust accounting, AI for all documents | Document automation and client intake questionnaires; does not manage full practice operations |
Keep your document automation tools. Add Atticus for practice management — LSO-compliant trust accounting, HST billing, AI document analysis, limitation period tracking, and conflict checking. $149 CAD per lawyer per month.
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