Law practice management company Smokeball has expanded its partnership network to include 28 state bar associations, offering its trust accounting and billing software to more than 900,000 lawyers in the United States at no cost. This significant milestone means that roughly two-thirds of the 1.4 million lawyers nationwide now have access to this software.
The recent inclusion of The Florida Bar and the North Carolina State Bar, two of the nation’s largest bar associations, has further widened the program’s reach. Florida’s recent participation pushes the program beyond the halfway mark of U.S. jurisdictions.
According to Terry Hill, Programs Division director at The Florida Bar, the partnership aims to equip members with tools that enhance both client service and professional responsibility. The addition of Smokeball Bill, the company’s standalone trust accounting and billing tool, gives attorneys more flexibility in their technology choices.
For an analysis of this development, it’s interesting to note that in February 2025, this free software program covered around 500,000 lawyers across 10 bar partnerships, as reported in a previous article.
The uptake of this software by law firms has shown that approximately 60 to 70 percent of those signing up were not previously using any technology for trust accounting. This suggests that there is still a substantial gap in technology adoption among smaller firms, a point highlighted by Emma Raimi-Zlatic, who leads strategic partnerships at Smokeball.
The expansion of this program also includes mandatory membership bars like Virginia, Oregon, and North Carolina. These bars typically focus on discipline and compliance rather than benefits, yet find value in offering access to this software due to its alignment with their regulatory function. Smokeball expects further growth as they aim to partner with additional state bar associations.
For those running full practice management platforms that include trust accounting, this offer might not appeal. However, it serves as a crucial resource for small firms and solo practitioners managing trust accounting manually. Smokeball’s initiative reflects its commitment to making modern legal technology accessible, regardless of firm size or budget.
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