How to Download or Update BkAssist

Click here to download BkAssist in order to try it out for up to 30 days.

You can also use this link to update an existing copy of BkAssist.

BkAssist will prompt you to register for a 30-day free trial or to purchase a license.

At the end of 30 days, a trial copy of BkAssist will stop working. You may not subsequently ask for another trial license.

The setup program is digitally signed (see the sidebar).

We recommend that whoever installs BkAssist on your computers first read the Tutorial on Installing BkAssist, which contains important advice about networking and other fine points.

Firm name and master password

Early in the setup process, you will be asked to enter the name of your firm and a master password.

BkAssist will use the master password to encrypt all client data and other sensitive data stored in its database, so you will want to choose this password with some care and to write it down somewhere!. You can't change this password later. We can't recover your master password or your client data files if you forget this password.

For the best overall experience, you should use your real firm name. You won't ever have to type it again within BkAssist.

Daily access passwords

You can specify two additional passwords—one for attorney users and one for non-attorney staff users—during setup, or later on from the General Settings sheet. We recommend that you establish these other passwords for daily use. You'll then be able to easily disable access by departing employees by simply changing these two passwords.

Attorney setup

We recommend that you take the time at the end of the setup process to enter information about each attorney who will be using BkAssist in your office. You will need to know their PACER ids and passwords as well as their CM/ECF usernames and passwords in each district where they will be filing cases.

Having the wrong PACER or CM/ECF credentials is a very frequent cause of support calls. Please take the time to find the piece of paper where you wrote this stuff down to save grief later on.

If you have already received an API key from the National Data Center (see the National Data Center page for more information), you will be able to cut-and-paste it into the attorney dialog too. You can always do this step later, though.