SmartAdvocate

This means that firm members can typically access SmartAdvocate from anywhere with an internet connection. When they need to use SmartAdvocate, they enter SmartAdvocate credentials into a SmartAdvocate website and are able to access all their data from there.

Personal injury practice management systems are highly optimized for the needs and workflows of personal injury law firms.

Universal Migrator retrieves data from SmartAdvocate through direct database connections. You will enter database connection credentials into Universal Migrator to ingest the data.

​

The Migration Specialist will need an Administrator username and password into SmartAdvocate in order to extract your data.

Because data is extracted from the SmartAdvocate database, the migration can be run from anywhere with access to a backup of the database.

A member of the firm will need to complete a small spreadsheet mapping users from SmartAdvocate to users in the new system.

When SmartAdvocate stores emails, it keeps key information like to/from/subject/body. This isn't an original email but it is very useful when looking at case timelines and maintaining records of correspondence.

When SmartAdvocate stores text messages, it keeps key information like to/from/message. This information can be backed up and transferred to compatible systems.

The Migration Specialist is the person who will be performing this migration. They may be a member of Universal Migrator's own Internal Migration Team or any IT professional who has completed the Universal Consultant training program.

The Firm Administrator is a member of the law firm who can serve as a dedicated point of contact, make decisions, and answer any questions the Migration Consultant may have. This person should be readily available and is typically the managing partner or office manager of the firm.

​

​

​

With certain vendors, submitting a Notice of Termination/Non-Renewal can prompt a shift in cooperation: some will restrict or revoke export and backup capabilities, or limit the volume of data you're able to download, making migration more difficult.
To guard against this, best practice with any vendor, including SmartAdvocate, is to withhold notice until you've been fully live on your new system for at least 30 days. In practice, this means your migration should be complete approximately 45 days before your notice deadline.