Works in any browser
No app store, no download. Clients follow an invitation link on a phone, tablet, or desktop. Uploads use the phone camera when that is easiest.
Client portal
Give every client one place to look.
Most of the calls a small firm fields are not legal questions. They are “where are we?”, “did you get my documents?”, and “what happens next?” A client portal answers those before the phone rings. BetterDocket gives each Client a private page in any browser with the current phase in plain English, the latest word from your Firm, the documents you have asked for, and the next step, and it never shows them the Firm-only side of the file.
The problem
Where the time goes today.
The same question, five times
A client with no way to check in calls to check in. Each call interrupts billable work, and the answer is usually the same as the last time: nothing has changed, the hearing is still on the calendar.
Email is not a system of record
Status, documents, and questions scattered across inbox threads mean nobody, firm or client, can see the whole picture. A new paralegal reconstructs the matter from forwarded messages.
Portals clients will not use
A portal that needs an app, a password reset, and a training call is a portal nobody opens. Clients, especially older ones, need a link that works on a phone with nothing to install.
How it works
Client portal in BetterDocket.
Step by step. Each one is something the product does today.
The invitation goes out with the Case
Creating a Case emails each Client an invitation. Signing up with that address connects them to the matter. One button resends the invite for the client who lost the email.
The portal opens on the answer
Phase in plain English, the latest Status Update, open Document Requests, and what happens next. The same tracker your team uses, so there is no separate client summary to maintain.
See howClients act from the same page
Upload a document from a phone camera, reply in the Case thread, review a draft you sent, share the afternoons they are free, read an invoice. Every client job is reachable from the portal home.
The Firm chooses what is visible
Status Updates, Key Dates you mark client-visible, requests, shared documents, and drafts you send for review appear. Firm-only folders, tags, notes, time entries, and draft versions in progress never do.
Everyone on the matter, privately
A Case can include several Clients: both spouses, a sponsoring relative, the HR lead and the owner. All see the same client-visible status; each person's messages and read state stay private.
The file stays readable after closing
Close the Case with a closing note the Client sees. It archives automatically and stays readable to both of you, so the client never loses access to their own matter.
What you get
Included from the first Case.
Plain-English status
Phases carry an explanation written for clients, so “Discovery” reads as what it means and what happens next rather than a term they have to call about.
Your Firm's branding
Firm name, logo, and contact details appear on client emails, and your team shows up in the portal with photos, client-facing titles, and how to reach each person.
Access enforced at the database
Each Client sees only the Cases they are on, and only the client-visible side of each. Access is checked at the database layer, not hidden in the interface.
In your practice
Where this matters most.
Family law
Fewer “any news?” calls in every divorce and custody matter.
See the fitPersonal injury
Keep injured clients informed through every quiet stretch.
See the fitImmigration
Evidence in one list. Families informed through the wait.
See the fitEstate planning
From intake questionnaire to signing, without the email chase.
See the fitDeliberately focused
What client portal does not do.
BetterDocket organizes the administrative work around a matter. The legal work, and the tools you already use for it, stay where they are.
- It is not a mobile app. The portal is a web page that works on every phone; there is nothing to install or update.
- It does not translate content. Firms with multilingual clients often add a family member as a second Client on the Case.
- It does not take payments. Clients can read invoices in the portal; money moves elsewhere.
- It does not show Firm-only work. Internal folders, notes, time entries, and drafts in progress never appear.
Keep reading
Related guides
What is a client portal for law firms — and what it isn't
A client portal is a private page where a client sees their case: status, next steps, messages, and requests. What it does, what it isn't, what to look for.
Read the guideEmail vs. portal vs. texting for law firm client communication
Texting is fast but unmanageable; email is universal but untrackable; a portal is where case communication should live. How the three actually divide.
Read the guideHow to keep legal clients updated without spending hours on the phone
Post one visible status update per milestone in a place clients can check themselves — a portal — instead of returning each call. Here is the playbook.
Read the guideQuestions.
Do clients need to install anything?
No. The Client Portal is a private web page. Clients follow the invitation link in any browser, on a phone or a computer, and uploading a document works straight from the phone camera.
What can a client see?
The current phase and status, every Status Update the Firm has posted, open Document Requests, documents your Firm has shared, Key Dates you have marked visible, drafts sent for review, messages, and invoices. Firm-only folders, notes, and work in progress never appear.
Can several people follow the same case?
Yes. Add each of them as a Client on the Case. Everyone you invite sees the same client-visible status and dates, while each person's messages and read state stay private from the others.
How is client data protected?
Access is scoped to the Firm, Client, and Case at the database layer, and case documents live in private storage behind the same checks. Our security page describes exactly what we do today and what we do not yet offer, including that BetterDocket does not yet have SOC 2 or an independent penetration test.
What does this cost?
It is included. BetterDocket is $10 per Firm plus $1 per open Case each month, prorated by day, with unlimited team members and every capability on this site. There is no add-on, module, or per-seat fee for any of it.
Open a portal for your next client today.
Status, requests, and next steps in one private page. Nothing to install.
14 days. No card.