Professional services

Clients, documents and know-how in one place the whole office uses

A law office gets a CRM built around its matters, a portal for clients, document intake that reads what arrives, and an assistant that answers from the office’s own documents.

Law office, 14 people

Assistant over internal documents

Have we drafted a lease with a break clause for a commercial tenant?

Yes. Two templates and one signed contract contain a **break clause for commercial leases**. The closest match is listed first, with the clause quoted and the document linked.

Internal documents searched Access rights respected Sources shown

Tools we typically use: A custom CRM, Next.js, PostgreSQL, Claude or GPT models, Microsoft 365, n8n, Your billing software
Services involved: Custom software, AI integrations, CRM implementation

The build at a glance

1record per client and matter

3tools connected to it

1review by a lawyer before anything leaves the office

The sector

A professional office sells knowledge and time.

Its work is made of clients, matters, documents and deadlines, and most of the value sits in what the office has already written and decided. That knowledge is spread across shared folders, inboxes and the memory of senior colleagues. Administrative work around each matter, such as opening it, collecting documents and recording time, takes hours that cannot be billed.

Where the time goes

Client data was kept in a spreadsheet and matters in folders named differently by each lawyer. Clients sent documents by email, and finding the latest version meant searching several inboxes. Junior staff asked seniors whether something similar had been done before, because searching the archive was slow. Time was written down at the end of the week from memory and retyped for invoicing.

Client and matter data is spread across spreadsheets and folders
Documents arrive by email and versions get mixed up
Earlier work is hard to find, so it is done again
Time is recorded late and retyped for billing

One system around how the work is done

Document filed automatically

Lease agreement, signed.pdf

Client portal · uploaded today

Key data is read from the document and the file is attached to the matter after a person confirms it.

Commercial lease Type
Landlord and tenant identified Parties
Five years, break option after three Term
Suggested: lease negotiation Matter

Signature page is missing. Somebody must request it.

01
A CRM built around clients and matters, with contacts, deadlines, documents and correspondence in one record
02
A client portal for uploading documents, following the status of a matter and exchanging files outside email
03
Document intake that reads incoming files, extracts parties, dates and amounts, and files them under the right matter for a person to confirm
04
An assistant over internal documents that answers with sources, sees only what the user may see, and keeps data within agreed boundaries
05
Time recorded against the matter as the work is done, and handed over to billing without retyping
06
Deadline reminders from the matter record to the responsible lawyer

How the project runs

Four steps, one process at a time

01
Map the process
We follow a matter from the first call to the final invoice and agree which data may leave the office’s systems and which may not.
02
Pilot one process
Clients and matters move into the CRM first, with one practice group using it for new matters.
03
Extend
The client portal and document intake follow, then the assistant over a first set of internal documents and the handover of time to billing.
04
Care
We maintain the system, extend the assistant to further document sets and review access rights as people join and leave.

What changes for the team

A new matter is opened once and is visible to everyone who works on it
Clients upload documents to the portal instead of sending attachments
Earlier contracts and opinions can be found by content, not by file name
Recorded time reaches billing without being typed again

Everything about a client and a matter is found in one record, and documents arrive through the portal already filed. Lawyers find earlier work by asking, with the source in front of them. Every answer and every document that leaves the office is still reviewed by a lawyer.

A composite scenario based on typical projects in this sector. It does not describe a named client, and the sample data is illustrative.

The same working day, before and after

What a few ordinary moments look like once the system is in daily use.

BeforeAfter

A new client gets in touchDetails are kept in an inbox and a personal spreadsheet.A client record is opened with the matter, the contact and the documents in one place.

A client sends documentsThey arrive as attachments and are saved to a shared folder by hand.They are uploaded through the client portal, filed under the matter, and key data is extracted for review.

Someone needs an earlier opinion or templateThey ask colleagues or search old folders.The assistant finds it in the office’s own documents and shows the source.

A client asks about progressThe answer depends on who is in the office.The status of the matter is on the record, and the client sees what you choose to share in the portal.

Billing at month endTime is gathered from notes and calendars.Recorded time is handed over for invoicing after a partner reviews it.

Questions from this sector

How is confidentiality handled?

Documents stay in storage that belongs to your office, with access per matter. We agree with you which AI provider is used and under what data terms before any document is processed.

Can the assistant give advice to clients?

No. It works for your staff, over your own documents, and shows where each answer comes from. Anything that leaves the office is reviewed by a professional first.

Why a custom CRM and not a standard one?

A sales pipeline does not describe a matter or a project well. Where a platform such as HubSpot or Pipedrive fits, we set that up instead; where it does not, we build around how your office works.

What happens to our existing documents and client list?

We import the client list and connect the existing folders, so nothing has to be moved by hand. You decide which archives the assistant may read.

How do we start?

With one thing the whole office feels: usually client records and document intake. The assistant and billing handover come after.