Smokeball with Archie AI review: case management for small firms

What it does: Smokeball is case management software for small firms, with document automation, email management, automatic time capture (AutoTime), intake, and billing. Archie AI is its AI assistant, sold as an add on, and works inside one matter at a time (Smokeball pricing, Smokeball security, checked Oct 19, 2026).

Who it fits: Small firms that live in Microsoft Word and Outlook and want practice area templates and automatic time tracking (Smokeball pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026).

Price

Not published. Smokeball says price depends on number of users, plan, contract term, and add ons (Smokeball pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026). The plans are (Smokeball pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026):

• Bill: invoicing and trust accounting.
• Boost: browser based case management, Outlook and Word integration, client portal, eSignature, eFiling. Intake and Archie AI are add ons.
• Grow: adds practice area templates, document automation, and email management. Archie AI, AutoTime, Intake, and Workflows are add ons.
• Prosper+: adds lead management and AI intake, with AutoTime, Intake, and Workflows included. Archie AI is still an add on.

Smokeball says there is no limit on the number of users or clients who can be in the system at once (Smokeball pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026). The pricing page also lists Westlaw Deep Research inside Archie AI (Smokeball pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026).

Where your client data goes

Data Trail card

Question	What Smokeball says	Source
Where is data stored?	On Amazon Web Services, across multiple availability zones. Country not stated on the security page.	Smokeball security, checked Oct 19, 2026
Is it used to train AI?	"Smokeball does not provide customer data to third parties for AI model training." The page does not say whether Smokeball itself trains on customer data.	Smokeball security, checked Oct 19, 2026
How Archie handles data	Archie is kept separate for each firm, works within a single matter, and follows user permissions.	Smokeball security, checked Oct 19, 2026
SOC 2 or other audit	Smokeball says it is ISO 27001 certified. The SOC reports mentioned on the page belong to AWS, its host, not to Smokeball. A Smokeball SOC 2 report is not published.	Smokeball security, checked Oct 19, 2026
Encryption	AES 256 at rest, TLS 1.2 or higher in transit.	Smokeball security, checked Oct 19, 2026
Retention, export, BAA	Not published on the pages we read. Ask vendor.	Checked Oct 19, 2026

Integrations

Smokeball works with Microsoft Outlook and Word, and its Westlaw Deep Research feature sits inside Archie AI (Smokeball pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026). Smith.ai lists Smokeball as an integration (Smith.ai home page, checked Oct 19, 2026).

Setup effort and hidden costs

• No public prices, and price changes with contract length (Smokeball pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026).
• Archie AI costs extra on every plan (Smokeball pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026).

Contract traps

• Contract length affects price, so expect a term commitment. Exact terms are not published. Ask for them in writing (Smokeball pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026).

Questions to ask Smokeball

1. Does Smokeball itself train any AI model on my firm's data?
2. Which AI providers power Archie, and do they keep my data?
3. Do you have your own SOC 2 report, separate from AWS?
4. What does Archie AI cost, and what is the shortest contract term?
5. How do I export all matters and documents if I leave?

Strengths

• ISO 27001 certification and clear encryption details (Smokeball security, checked Oct 19, 2026).
• Archie works inside a single matter and follows user permissions (Smokeball security, checked Oct 19, 2026).
• Westlaw Deep Research built into Archie (Smokeball pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026).

Limits

• No public pricing (Smokeball pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026).
• The AI training statement covers third parties only (Smokeball security, checked Oct 19, 2026).
• AI is an add on even on the top plan (Smokeball pricing, checked Oct 19, 2026).

Our take

This is our opinion, based on the sourced facts above. Smokeball's security page is solid on encryption and ISO 27001, and keeping Archie inside one matter is a sensible design. Read the AI training line closely, though: it says Smokeball does not give your data to third parties for training, which is not the same as saying no one trains on it. Ask directly, and get pricing for your exact term length before you compare it to tools with public prices.

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Last checked: Oct 19, 2026. Published by the team behind The Small Firm Stack, who also build phone and intake systems for law firms. See our About page for the full disclosure. We never list, rank, or review ourselves. No vendor paid for this page and it has no affiliate links. Not legal advice. Vendors can send corrections through our About page.