A Litify implementation follows a predictable path: kickoff, discovery, solution design, build, testing, data migration, go-live, and support. How long it takes depends on your firm’s size, the number of practice areas in scope, how much data needs to move, and how many integrations are involved.
This guide explains what happens in each phase, what your firm is responsible for, and what tends to speed projects up or slow them down.
How long does a Litify implementation take?
There’s no single answer, because the timeline is driven by scope. A single-practice firm with a straightforward migration moves much faster than a multi-office firm with several practice areas, custom intake, integrations, and decades of historical data. Your partner should give you a realistic estimate after discovery, when the requirements are clear, and should confirm a go-live date only after the full team has reviewed it.
The biggest factors are:
- The number of practice areas and case types in scope.
- The volume and condition of the data and documents being migrated.
- The number of integrations with other systems.
- How quickly your firm can provide access, answer questions, and complete testing.
- Whether the timeline is tied to a hard deadline, such as an expiring license on your current system.
Phase 1: Onboarding and kickoff
The project starts with introductions and planning. Your partner assigns a project manager and team, sets up the new Litify org with Litify, and builds an initial schedule. Many projects also include a separate data kickoff with your technical contact to plan access to your current systems.
The official kickoff brings both teams together to confirm goals, scope, roles, and how you’ll communicate. If you haven’t already, this is the time to finish the steps in our guide to preparing for a Litify implementation.
Your firm’s role: Confirm your implementation team, provide system access, and start Litify’s online training.
Phase 2: Discovery
Discovery is a series of workshops where your subject matter experts walk the project team through how work happens today. Most projects begin with a high-level session that follows a matter from intake to closing, then move into focused sessions on intake, matter management, documents, calendaring, billing and expenses, reporting, and integrations.
The goal is a complete picture of your workflows, what should stay the same, and what should improve. Discovery also identifies which features are must-haves and which can wait for a later phase.
Your firm’s role: Send the right people to each session and bring real examples: forms, templates, reports, and screenshots.
Phase 3: Solution design and sign-off
After discovery, the team documents how Litify will be configured for your firm in a solution design. It describes the changes to Litify’s standard setup, how data will map from your old system, and the requirements the build will be tested against.
Your firm reviews and approves the design before the build begins. This sign-off matters: it’s the shared reference for what’s in scope, and any later changes go through a change request so their impact on budget and timeline is clear.
Your firm’s role: Review the design carefully, ask questions, and approve it.
Phase 4: Build and configuration
The team configures Litify to match the approved design: intake questionnaires, matter types, page layouts, automation, document templates, reports, user roles, and integrations. Work is usually done in a sandbox, a separate copy of your org used for development and testing, so nothing affects live users. (Our guide to Salesforce sandbox types explains how that works.)
During the build you’ll typically have weekly check-ins with your project manager and a written status report covering progress, upcoming work, risks, and decisions needed.
Your firm’s role: Attend check-ins, answer questions quickly, and keep decision-makers informed.
Phase 5: Testing
Every feature is tested internally first. Then your team performs user acceptance testing (UAT): working through real scenarios in a test environment to confirm the system works the way your firm expects. Testing is often organized into releases, so your team can test one area at a time.
Your firm’s role: Set aside time for your subject matter experts to test, and report issues with enough detail for the team to reproduce them.
Phase 6: Data and document migration
Migration runs alongside the build. The data team maps each field from your old system to Litify, performs test loads into a sandbox, and works with your team to validate the results before the final move. Documents are migrated and linked to the right matters. Our law firm data migration checklist covers this phase in detail.
Your firm’s role: Review test loads and confirm that matters, contacts, and documents look right.
Phase 7: Training and go-live
As go-live approaches, your team is trained on the new system and the go-live plan is confirmed. A readiness check about eight weeks out confirms that milestones are on track, risks are addressed, and both teams are available.
Go-live itself usually happens over a planned window, often a weekend, when the final data is moved, the configuration is deployed, and the system is tested before users log in. The key decision is your data cutoff: the point when work stops in the old system. We cover that in our guide to planning a data cutoff and freeze.
Your firm’s role: Complete training, communicate the plan to all staff, and confirm the cutoff.
Phase 8: Post-go-live support
The first weeks after go-live are about stabilizing. Expect daily check-ins, a shared issue tracker, and quick fixes as users settle in. After that, the project closes out and moves to ongoing support, with a team that already knows your org. Many firms also plan a second phase for features they deferred during the first.
What keeps a Litify project on schedule
- Fast access. Provide system and data access within the first week or two.
- Steady attendance. Keep the same subject matter experts in discovery and testing.
- Quick decisions. Designate who can make calls, so questions don’t wait for meetings.
- Protected testing time. UAT is where most schedules slip. Put it on calendars early.
- Scope discipline. Capture new ideas for a later phase instead of adding them mid-build.
Want to see how this works in practice? Read how a public defender’s office moved every practice into one system, or learn more about our Litify implementations.
Frequently asked questions
What are the phases of a Litify implementation?
Most Litify implementations move through kickoff, discovery, solution design and sign-off, build and configuration, testing, data and document migration, training and go-live, and post-go-live support.
When is the go-live date set?
A realistic go-live date can be set after discovery, when requirements are clear. It should be confirmed with the full project team and your firm, then reconfirmed in a readiness check several weeks before launch.
What is user acceptance testing in a Litify project?
User acceptance testing (UAT) is when your firm’s own staff test the configured system with real scenarios to confirm it works as expected before go-live.
What happens after go-live?
The first weeks focus on stabilizing, with close support, an issue tracker, and quick fixes. After that, most firms move to ongoing support and plan any deferred features for a later phase.
