By capability
SimpleLegal, capability by capability.
What Onit lists for SimpleLegal, and where each capability stands.
| Capability | What SimpleLegal offers | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|
| eBilling and invoice review | Automated invoice review that flags non-compliance, rules-based approvals and timekeeper management. | Core strength |
| Budgets and accruals | Budget control, spend forecasting and accruals. | Core strength |
| Matter management | A record for internal and external matters, with tasks, practice areas, documents and people. | Included |
| Intake | Configurable intake templates, workflows and status tracking. | Included |
| Vendor management | Vendor evaluations and visibility into each firm’s work. | Included |
| Reporting | Standard and custom dashboards, firm benchmarking, forecasting. | Included |
| Law firm portal | Firms now submit through Counsel Exchange, which replaced CounselGO in 2026. Onit supports them. | Included |
| Integrations | AP and ERP, finance, time tracking, IP and document management, by flat file, connector or API. | Through integration |
| AI | None named for SimpleLegal. Onit’s AI invoice review (Spend Agent) and analytics (Ask Unity) come with Unity. | On Unity |
From the SimpleLegal and Counsel Exchange pages, October 2026. Where it stands is our assessment.
Out of scope
What SimpleLegal does not cover.
Evaluations sometimes score SimpleLegal on enterprise risk, third-party risk, ACA compliance, background screening, ethics hotlines or AI for HR. Those belong to governance, risk and HR systems. SimpleLegal is an eBilling system with matter management, and it should be judged on that.
Fit
Who SimpleLegal fits, and when departments outgrow it.
These are tendencies. Your requirements, volumes and systems decide the answer.
It fits when
Your main need is control of outside counsel spend: invoices checked against your guidelines, approvals routed, budgets and accruals tracked, and matters recorded alongside the spend. Onit says 550+ corporate legal departments use it.
Departments outgrow it when
Intake and workflow need more depth, reporting moves into other tools, contracts and legal requests need to live on the same platform, or the department wants AI in invoice review and analytics. On Onit, that is Unity.
Buying today
Can you still buy SimpleLegal?
SimpleLegal no longer takes new implementations. New customers implement Onit Unity, either from scratch or by migrating from their current system, and existing SimpleLegal customers are being moved to Unity through what Onit calls Activation.
If you are evaluating SimpleLegal today, evaluate Unity, and compare it with the SimpleLegal alternatives. Our guide to SimpleLegal covers the product in more depth.
One team
One team for the whole move.
01
Process and change
We handle the process changes, the change management, and the chance to improve how your department works while the platform changes.
02
Testing, documentation, training
We test the configuration, document it, and adapt the training to your team and your law firms.
03
Configuration done by us
We do the configuration ourselves, so there is no need to hire two different teams for the work.
04
Certified and backed by Onit
Our work is fully certified and backed by Onit.
How we help
How we help.
01
Evaluate
Requirements, scripted demos and a side-by-side cost of Unity and the alternatives.
02
Prepare for Activation
Review your SimpleLegal setup, test the Unity sandbox and plan what to switch on.
03
Implement Unity
From scratch or migrated, configured by our own certified team.
Who you work with
The practitioners who run the evaluation.
Roger Jarman
EMEA Leader
Onit Level 4 certified. Leads Swiftwater’s EMEA practice with 35+ years across IP management, ELM and ERP, and is one of the most sought-after ELM and IP consultants in EMEA.
Jonathan Gilman
Senior ELM / CLM / LSR Expert
Onit Level 4 certified, and joined Onit as employee number eleven. Specializes in ELM, CLM and legal spend reporting, with depth in complex data migrations and multi-system integrations.
Frequently asked questions
Is SimpleLegal a good legal operations platform for in-house teams, or are there stronger options?
SimpleLegal is a strong eBilling system with matter management: invoice review, approvals, budgets and accruals are its core. Teams that need deeper intake, workflow, contracts or AI on one platform look at Onit Unity or other ELM platforms. SimpleLegal no longer takes new implementations, so new buyers evaluate Unity.
Is SimpleLegal the right choice for a growing corporate legal department?
It suits a department whose main need is outside counsel spend control. As a department grows, it usually needs more intake and workflow depth, reporting and AI, and Onit is moving SimpleLegal customers to Unity for that reason. A growing department buying today would implement Unity.
How do in-house legal teams use SimpleLegal to control law firm costs?
They check every invoice against their billing guidelines with automated review, route approvals by rules, track budgets and accruals per matter, and evaluate firms on their work. Law firms submit invoices through Onit’s Counsel Exchange portal.
Does SimpleLegal have AI capabilities?
Onit does not name AI features for SimpleLegal. Its AI invoice review (Spend Agent) and conversational analytics (Ask Unity) are part of Onit Unity, which SimpleLegal customers move to through Activation.
Can new customers still buy SimpleLegal?
No. SimpleLegal no longer takes new implementations. New customers implement Onit Unity, either from scratch or by migrating from their current system.
Evaluating SimpleLegal or Unity? Talk to a practitioner.
Book a Discovery CallEnterprise legal management pages
Part of our enterprise legal management practice.
Also relevant: What Is SimpleLegal?, What Is Onit Unity?, CounselGO and Counsel Exchange, Legal Spend Management