Lawyers who are members of the Maryland State Bar Association can now get free access to trust accounting and billing software, through a partnership between the bar and the law practice management company Smokeball.

Under the partnership, all 18,000 members of the MSBA, which is a voluntary state bar, can sign up for free access to Smokeball Bill, Smokeball’s trust accounting and billing software for law firms.

The partnership is similar to one I reported on in June between Smokeball and the State Bar of Texas. Since then, Smokeball has also entered into free product partnerships for its accounting software with the Alabama State Bar, the California Lawyers Association, the Colorado Bar Association, and the Nebraska State Bar Association, and the Virginia State Bar.

Last year, The Florida Bar became the first state bar to provide all its members with free access to trust accounting software, after it announced an agreement with Nota, a legal financial management company, to provide free trust accounting software to all 110,000 of its members.

Trust accounting remains a vexing task for many solo and small firm lawyers, who still often rely on manual systems such as spreadsheets. Poor accounting practices are a common cause of disciplinary complaints and malpractice claims.

“By offering Smokeball Bill free to our members, we’re confident this partnership will help them stay compliant while supporting their practice and elevating their client experience,” said Anna Sholl, MSBA executive director, in a statement announcing the partnership.

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.