LEGAL LIBRARIES
Catalogue, search, and share your firm’s legal collections in one system, so attorneys find authoritative answers in seconds, not hours.
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It turns scattered print and digital collections into a single, searchable knowledge resource, combining cataloguing, search, portals, serials, circulation, and secure access in one platform.
Precise search across every collection and portal.
Print, digital, and archival items in one place.
See which subscriptions earn their keep.
Role-based access protects sensitive materials.
Irregular serials, precedent materials, multi-office practice groups, and client confidentiality all place demands a general-purpose system rarely meets. Use these as a checklist when comparing vendors.
Catalogue multi-volume sets, journals, precedents, loose-leaf, and digital items.
Full-text and fielded search using metadata, taxonomies, and controlled vocabulary.
Practice-group and office portals with saved searches, history, and alerts.
Poly-hierarchical thesaurus and controlled vocabulary aligned to legal standards.
Track subscriptions, renewals, routing, and usage analytics to control spend.
Loans, returns, self-issue by barcode or RFID, and inventory control.
Access controlled by user role and permission to protect sensitive materials.
Connects with iManage, SharePoint, Legal Search Connect, and EBSCO.
Multiple classification schemes, Unicode, right-to-left languages, multicurrency.
Cloud (SaaS) or on-premise, with a Soutron-led data migration.
A document management system manages working documents and matters. Legal library software manages research and knowledge collections. Most firms need both.
| Criteria | Legal library software (Soutron) | Document management (e.g. iManage) | General ILS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Manage research and knowledge collections | Store and version working documents | Manage a general library collection |
| Content managed | Statutes, case law, treatises, precedents, serials | Matters, emails, drafts, working files | Books, journals, general media |
| Classification | Legal taxonomies and controlled vocabulary | Matter and client folders | Standard schemes (Dewey, LC) |
| Best for | Law firm libraries and knowledge teams | Matter and document workflow | Public and academic libraries |
| Works together | Integrates with iManage and SharePoint | Complements the library system | — |
Statutes, case law, treatises, title deeds, contracts, research papers, legal opinions, videos, and books, whether a bound volume on a shelf or a digital resource shared across every office. Legal teams spend less time searching and more time serving clients.
Portals can be customised to direct users to specific offices, departments, or practice groups. Litigation sees the resources litigation needs; corporate sees theirs. Each supports saved searches, reading history, and alerts, inside a branded experience the firm controls.
A poly-hierarchical thesaurus and controlled vocabulary keep classification consistent across practice areas and offices. Firms can align taxonomies with established legal standards, including frameworks from the SALI Alliance.
Primary law is published in multiple formats on irregular schedules. Soutron’s serials records can be fully customised to handle these irregularities, tracking subscriptions, renewals, and routing. Usage analytics show which subscriptions earn their keep.
Process loans and returns, offer self-issue by barcode or RFID, and maintain an accurate inventory across offices. Firms use Soutron to catalogue and retrieve searchable precedent collections, so documents are findable when needed.
Soutron integrates with iManage, SharePoint, Thomson Reuters Legal Search Connect (Solcara), and EBSCO to connect legal resources across the firm’s technology environment. Teams keep their established workflows, without replacing existing investments.
Soutron protects sensitive materials with role-based access controls and permissions, so the firm decides which user roles can access particular collections. Secure remote access keeps materials available from anywhere, and single sign-on reduces access friction.
Soutron supports multiple classification schemes, Unicode compliance, multilingual environments including right-to-left languages, and multicurrency. Firms maintain consistent standards while accommodating the requirements of individual offices and regions.
Combining library and archive management in one platform creates a total resource information management solution that grows with the firm. Available as cloud (SaaS) or on-premise, with a proven, Soutron-led data migration.
Overall, Soutron gives legal firms the ability to manage data and knowledge more effectively and tap into collective wisdom by creating practice-specific knowledge centres that speed up decision-making and improve productivity.
By maximizing the use of research and other materials, providing customised search portals, in addition to detailed management reports, Soutron helps the entire firm become more productive, efficient and innovative.
Soutron is established as the leader in our field because we see our software as we see our clients: striving to be the best.
US firm of around 1,000 attorneys. Replaced a legacy system with a single, searchable knowledge portal.
A library system built by librarians, improving discovery and everyday access to resources.
Reduced IT constraints and improved usability for the information team.
A tailored legal library for a firm with more than a century of history.
Modernised resource management and reduced manual checkout processes.
You can get some measure of the different approaches taken when deploying our technology by viewing some of our great client portals below. Though we are not permitted to share examples of other legal client sites, we hope these provide an insight into what’s possible with Soutron Legal ILS.
Our software’s customizable templates are easy to learn how to use, making it straightforward for you to showcase your organisations special collection materials.
Single-office and multi-office firms needing centralised discovery.
In-house teams managing legal information and specialist collections.
Organisations managing authoritative legal materials.
Membership bodies providing research and information services.
READY TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO INFORMATION?
We manage your database safely in the cloud, reducing the load on your IT team.
Integrate with your enterprise applications to give teams across the firm access.
Our expertise comes from decades of work with all kinds of collections.
A specialised library system that helps law firms catalogue, search, and circulate physical and digital legal resources, including statutes, case law, treatises, contracts, and precedents, using legal taxonomies, controlled vocabulary, and discovery tools.
A document management system stores and versions working documents and matters, while legal library software manages research collections through metadata, taxonomies, cataloguing, circulation, and serials. They work best together, and Soutron integrates with both iManage and SharePoint.
Legal-specific cataloguing, advanced search, controlled vocabulary, branded portals, serials management, circulation, role-based access, integrations with existing systems, and support for multiple offices, along with deployment flexibility and migration support.
Yes, Soutron manages print materials, digital resources, e-resources, videos, and archival materials within a single platform, so the firm keeps one authoritative catalogue and improves discovery across every format.
Yes, Soutron supports multiple classification schemes, multilingual environments, Unicode compliance, right-to-left languages, and multicurrency functionality, helping global firms stay consistent while meeting local requirements.
Both. Soutron is available as a fully managed cloud (SaaS) solution or an on-premise deployment, each supported by a structured migration process led by Soutron specialists to reduce project risk.
Soutron uses role-based access controls and permissions to manage access to collections. Secure remote access supports distributed teams, and optional copyright acknowledgement settings help reinforce governance and policy requirements.
A legal library system organises and provides access to research collections, while legal knowledge management covers the broader capture, sharing, and reuse of the firm’s expertise. The library often forms the foundation of a wider knowledge management strategy.
Important decisions shouldn’t be taken lightly. Let us introduce you to our world class flexible Integrated Library System and its capabilities. We can offer:
