How Cedent works alongside your practice management system
Cedent is not a replacement for your practice management system. If you run your firm on Clio, MyCase, PracticePanther, or Smokeball, you keep doing that. Cedent sits alongside it and does a different job: it reads the email, documents, and case activity you already work with and turns them into organized matters, tracked deadlines, and review-ready drafts.
The short version
Section titled “The short version”- Your practice management system stays the system of record. Billing, trust accounting, and your official client and matter records live there.
- Cedent is the assistant on top of your day-to-day work. It watches your connected mailbox, organizes what comes in by matter, surfaces what needs attention, and drafts the routine replies and forms for your review.
You are not migrating off anything, and you are not entering data twice.
What Cedent takes off your plate
Section titled “What Cedent takes off your plate”- Filing email. Incoming mail is read and filed to the right matter automatically. When Cedent is unsure, it asks instead of guessing.
- Keeping a running picture of each case. Every matter gets a synopsis and a timeline that stay current as new email and documents arrive.
- Watching deadlines. Cedent surfaces upcoming dates and reminders so they do not slip.
- Drafting. Routine replies and court forms are drafted for you to review, edit, and approve. Nothing is sent or filed without you.
What stays in your practice management system
Section titled “What stays in your practice management system”- Your official ledger — billing, invoices, and trust accounting.
- Your firm’s authoritative client and matter list.
- Anything your bar or your workflow requires to live in your system of record.
Cedent can help you prepare time entries and drafts, but the final record belongs in the tools you already use to run the firm.
How they fit together day to day
Section titled “How they fit together day to day”A typical division of labor: email comes in, and Cedent files it, updates the matter, and drafts a reply for you. You review and send. When it is time to bill or to keep the official file, that goes into your practice management system as it always has. Cedent does the reading, sorting, and drafting; your system holds the record of account.
Why this matters
Section titled “Why this matters”Because Cedent reads from your real email and documents rather than asking you to re-enter everything, it can be source-grounded: when it tells you something or drafts something, it can show you the email or document it came from. That only works because it is reading your actual work, not a separate copy of it.
Common questions
Section titled “Common questions”Will Cedent change anything in my practice management system? No. Cedent reads from your mailbox and documents and keeps its own organized view. It does not write into Clio, MyCase, or the others.
Do I have to enter time or matters in both places? You do not re-enter matters — Cedent builds them from your email. For billing, your practice management system stays the system of record; Cedent can help you prepare entries, but the official ledger lives there.
Do I need to import my existing cases to get started? No. Once your mailbox is connected, Cedent builds matters from your email, including reaching back through earlier mail. See Your first week with Cedent.