Crain’s Chicago Business names Smokeball a best place to work for second consecutive year

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Smokeball, the industry-leading AI legal practice management software, has been named one of Crain’s Chicago Business’ 2026 Best Places to Work.

The annual recognition celebrates Chicago-area employers that foster exceptional workplace cultures, based in part on employee feedback. At Smokeball, that honor begins with its people and supporting a global team that cares strongly about powering lawyers doing deeply human work for their clients.

"This recognition is a reflection of the people behind Smokeball and the community we've built together," said Ruchie Chadha, President of Smokeball US. "Our culture is defined by people who care deeply about one another, collaborate generously, and show up every day for the law firms we serve. That kind of culture doesn't happen by accident. It's intentional, and it's what I'm most proud of."

Smokeball’s Chicago team is part of a global organization with offices in Chicago, Sydney, and London. The company’s culture is rooted in collaboration, curiosity, and a shared commitment to powering people-law, helping law firms spend less time on administrative work and more time supporting the people who rely on them. The team works as a community, shares openly, and approaches challenges with the care and ambition required to support legal professionals through the work that matters most.

The 2026 recognition builds on Smokeball’s inclusion in Crain’s Chicago Business’ Best Places to Work list in 2025 and underscores the company’s continued investment in its people as it grows its presence in the U.S., Australia and the U.K.

For more information about careers at Smokeball, visit smokeball.com/careers.

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About Smokeball  

Smokeball is powering people-law. Operating globally from our headquarters in Sydney, with offices in Chicago and London, Smokeball is the leader in legal AI and practice management software, serving more than 7,000 law firms and 34,000 users worldwide.  

Our technology, such as Archie, our AI matter assistant and our library of 20,000+ automated legal forms that help you cut legal drafting time by up to 87%—is built around you. By automating time tracking, document creation, billing, case management and other administrative work, our platform gives legal professionals more time and headspace to focus on what matters most: their clients and communities.  

Founded in 2012 by legal technology experts Hunter Steele, Jane Oxley and Bart Vadala, Smokeball is the industry standard in people-law. 

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