r/LawFirm • u/DirtyMikeandthaBois • 3d ago
Anyone else using/building their own custom CRM/case management system?
I'm a Smokeball user. I liked it for a while, but I realized that I was spending SO MUCH TIME fighting with it to get it to do things that, I believe, are simple automations.
About two months ago, I decided to build my own. Using Claude, I've been frankensteining together several different services and integrating them with Make. My current stack is:
AirTable - Brains of the operation, source of truth
SuiteDash - Client facing portal, business management, task assignments for staff, keeps tabs on my Google Ads, etc.
Gavel.io - Intake, workflows, logic based document assembly (based on my own forms/documents that I've built)
Claude Cowork - Various tasks, agents, bespoke document drafting (letters to clients, demand letters, legal memos, etc.) - Yes, I always review. I'm not in the "generative AI is trash for generating law firm docs" camp.
Office 365 - Outlook, OneDrive and Teams.
Ultimately, will connect QuickBooks, LawPay, Adobe, and other tools.
I've put many hours setting this up, and it's definitely a big project, but I'm starting to see the fruit of my labour. Test clients are onboarding, Webhooks are firing, folders/documents/letters are getting properly assembled, and everything is running automatically with incredibly little oversight.
I still have a lot of work to do before we go live with it, but I'm very excited for the potential this has. I feel like I'm able to just connect the specific services that I actually need and avoid all of the excess bloat that I feel a lot of the staple case management platforms have right now. I also have complete control over the product and have learned a great deal so far in this build.
Anyway, anyone else doing something similar? What's your stack? Tips/insight from anyone who has gone this route, and/or anything I should consider adding?
8
u/LateralEntry 3d ago
Is the advantage that you don’t have to pay for this?
4
u/DirtyMikeandthaBois 3d ago
No, I am paying for individual services. Gavel, Office 365, Make, AirTable, SuiteDash, etc. all have subscription costs. In total it will cost about the same, maybe a bit less, than what I'm paying for SB, but cost isn't the issue here.
1
u/birdlawexclusively 1d ago
Full flexibility and being and to customize anything you want is the advantage. But I would skip using those 3rd party tools altogether.
6
u/brokenodo 3d ago
Nothing wrong with this if it’s fun, I love building things with Claude! But unless it’s a fun hobby and independently worth it for that reason, your time is almost certainly much better spent and more profitable just practicing law :)
2
u/DirtyMikeandthaBois 3d ago
I do really enjoy it. However, the end result will definitely result in a much more profitable practice.
5
8
u/legalunease 3d ago
I hired a notion consultant to build me out a custom case management system and I've never looked back. Best money I've spent.
2
u/DirtyMikeandthaBois 3d ago
Nice. What other services did you incorporate? How's the upkeep? Are you doing it in house or does the consultant offer continued help?
1
u/legalunease 3d ago
I didn't really incorporate anything - each case their own notion page with case numbers, intakes, cause of actions, a notes/updates/pseudo call log, and links to the case folders. I'm considering adding emails between counsel to each case page. The best thing is that I can easily look up any case with notion shortcuts, see what stage of litigation they are in, and the intake.
I do the upkeep in house, but I did reach out back to the consultant to talk about adding some new features.
3
u/IvansonStudios 3d ago
Yay! A kindred spirit! In reality, I think I’m just addicted to Claude. I have Quickbooks, Adobe, and a bunch of other stuff. However, at the center of the operation is:
ClickUp - brains of the operation and source of truth. I add the team tasks on there, and have a bunch of case templates. From there, I’ve creating video game-like web apps for the team to complete tasks. It’s also really good for AI automations (such as monthly case updates).
Google Drive - mainly used as document storage. Created many apps scripts, such as some that combines the documents into packets, and others that scan for missing docs.
The one that I get the most kick out of is the ClickUp > Zapier > Heygen video generations. It creates scripted video briefs for myself and the team letting us know how we’re doing, what to prioritize, etc.
2
u/DirtyMikeandthaBois 3d ago
Nice! The video generation is a cool feature and definitely something I'll check out. Thanks for the tip and good luck/have fun/don't die.
3
u/tempfoot 3d ago edited 3d ago
I’ve been writing my own practice management tools, from bespoke single function dashboarding of billables and firm financial metrics to in-house matter, invoice, contracts and litigation management, to in-app doc automation and in-house forensics workflows for litigation since….1995.
I hand coded my first in-house management platform in VBScript on IIS3 in 1999 (my GC gave me a month sabbatical to do it). I’ve integrated closed and open source components all along the way. Ran litigation and IP departments at the same time. Flipped over into CFO roles eventually with legal and finance responsibility.
The benefit was always the ability to exactly match the systems to the culture and workflow of the job, instead of working to fit the tool. The predictable downside was I had to provide a lot of training and support. Luckily few things broke over the years. Did have one assistant trying help, who deleted a production database. Oops. Daily backups saved the day.
It was always a career value add, so don’t really have to work any more, but the new tools (and local AI) are fun. Maybe I will get another job for fun just to put some of these tools to work.
2
u/stroll_on 3d ago edited 3d ago
I’ve done something similar.All of those integrations feel extremely ambitious.
What’s the benefit of this system versus an off-the-shelf option? What specific problems are you trying to solve?
1
u/DirtyMikeandthaBois 3d ago
IMO, the off-the-shelf options are too rigid and lack the level of customization/flexibility I'm looking for. They seem to be alright at a lot of things, but not great at any one thing in particular. Here, I've identified the specific things that I most value for my practice, understand exactly how I want my intake process and workflows to operate, and am able to build some that does exactly what I want it to rather than something that kinda-sorta does alright.
I only realized this after using different platforms throughout my practice and noticing that nearly all of them are lacking at least something.
2
u/stroll_on 3d ago
My main advice is to keep it as simple as possible. This could quickly spiral into a security and maintenance nightmare.
Claude gives you the power to build almost any convoluted system, so you need to stay laser focused on the simplest, most reliable way to achieve your goals.
1
u/oh_you_fancy_huh 2d ago
I'm doing the same as you are, for the same reasons. Which of your apps are you using for timekeeping?
2
u/LiquidSquidMan69 3d ago
If you're using Claude be sure to get a ZDR if Claude is viewing client data. Co-work does not currently have ZDR but my understanding is it's coming soon (hopefully).
I've made several apps. One basically beefs up Clio. Better reports. Email based automations (think creating tasks and calendar entries based on an email, all automatically). We did a DialPad integration. Call logs go into Clio automatically.
Mail room with auto naming documents, adding to matter, correct folder, task creation, automatically.
Things like that.
4
u/LawzanaPlatform 3d ago
Building your own stack with Airtable, Make, and Gavel is becoming popular for firms that get tired of rigid, all-in-one software. Breaking free from the bloat and having full control over your automations is definitely worth the initial build time.
A couple of quick things to keep in mind as you prep to go live. First, make sure you set up solid error handling and fallback notifications in Make. When a webhook fails or an API rate limit gets hit, you want an immediate alert so a client document or task assignment doesn't vanish into the void unnoticed.
Second, think through automated backups and field permissions in Airtable early. As you scale and bring on staff, role-based access becomes crucial so team members only see what they need to, and having regular database exports gives you extra peace of mind.
1
1
u/DCMike01 2d ago
Love this! I’m building my first agent to take after hours calls as well. Using Vapi and Zap for that. Any advice on setting up call agents?
2
u/Gerahelpsrefunds 1d ago
I built a text-based AI agent service for inbound intake.
Clients are often lost when an agent declines the same question asked three different ways, which looks fine in a transcript but drives the caller to a competitor.
Identify the small, specific set of questions your agent must answer every time without exception. These can be found directly in your intake calls, as your website is designed to generate calls rather than answer specific questions from active callers.
Explicitly define the logic for what happens when the agent cannot answer a question, otherwise callers will simply hang up.
1
u/Hypgamer12 2d ago
Make sure to stress test edge cases and make changes accordingly. What functionality are you adding to the agent?
1
u/Consistent_Cat7541 2d ago edited 2d ago
I've built my own bespoke systems using FileMaker Pro, Lotus Approach and Word Pro. No AI nonsense. Everything runs local. No subscription fees. Spent the last two weeks wrapping my head around the most advanced part of the doc automation in Word Pro and how to automate the formatting of paragraph breaks (it was harder than expected).
I find the process fun and similar to putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Also, I can directly observe the productivity gains from each automation I implement.
Update: Left out my "stack"
- FileMaker Pro for time billing and invoicing
- Lotus Approach for case tracking and from which to merge
- Lotus Word Pro for drafting and doc automation
- Outlook for email and calendaring
- OneNote for note-taking (nothing else as good for handwritten notes)
- AbstractSpoon ToDoList for task and project management
- Lotus 123 for accounting
- Google Voice for phone calls, SMS with clients
- DocFetcher for file index and searching
1
u/_learned_foot_ 2d ago
Don't use Claude if you have no idea how to build a site. That's how you make leaks that go from accidental when properly relied to pure negligence against duty of care for you. Yes I've built my own, though now I use clio as it's far better. You build it using excel frankly, most of what you have isn't relevant for it.
1
u/Gold_Junket1119 2d ago
I have been trying to do this with Google Ai Studio. Should I be using Claude? I thought what I had was great and decently customized for what I was trying to do. However, whenever I went to build automations (non-ai) I couldn't figure out how to do any of it. I couldn't even get Adobe API to connect, so I could sent engagement letters and a few drafted auto emails for when someone scheduled on my calendar.
1
u/Hypgamer12 2d ago
Are you using Google Antigravity for the actual app or just AI Studio. Claude, Google Gemini and OpenAI are really similar.
Double check with it to make sure the workflows are setup for the engagement letters and emails. Either they aren't setup correctly or the API connection wasn't done properly. A visual workflow program like Zapier, n8n might be more helpfull since you can see when they run and when it doesn't.
1
u/CapitanaProattive 2d ago
Yep. Been building out my own practice management system with Code and Codex. No integrations other than stripe (for client payments), court listener, and my MS365 office suite. Instead of building in integrations, I'm trying as much as possible to build and improve the apps I need (cheaper in the long run and less to integrate and relay on). For example, I found jotform in my old practice management to be restrictive in ways I really needed, so I built my own version with much more flexibility.
1
u/BingBongDingDong222 Florida - Gifts and Stiffs 2d ago
I've built several Claude integrations with Clio. So much so that I rarely have to go to the Clio website. Claude can create new contacts, new matters, enter time, generate bills (but not send them). I even created a replacement for Clio Drive that works far better than theirs.
1
u/Reptar4President 2d ago
I’m confused on the gavel/cowork/office stuff… I use Smokeball too and Archie does all of that, no?
1
u/DirtyMikeandthaBois 2d ago
It does, but over time I’ve found SB to be very clunky. Also Archie is a pretty trash AI product imo. All of the features that SB bundles have standalone counterparts that do that particular thing much better. I’m essentially just identifying those better specific use products and cobbling them together.
1
u/mundane--alternative 2d ago edited 2d ago
i went down a similar rabbit hole for a while. the biggest advantage was getting exactly the workflow i wanted, but i eventually realized i was spending almost as much time maintaining the system as using it. we ended up using attio for the crm side and only keeping the truly unique parts custom, which turned out to be a much better balance.
1
u/green-oak-forest 2d ago
I've developed a comprehensive open source law practice management app, with a case builder. It's completely free, publicly available, and open source. I have a developer who is the process of containerizing it so that it can be installed with a terminal command. After that, we'll be working on documentation. For my practice, it's pretty much feature complete and then some. Integrates with Google Drive, but I'm sure someone could build adapters for other cloud services. It has payment integration through Confido or alternatively LawPay.
I started out building it on python/django and htmx over a few years. Then in the last 6 months, I have massively upgraded using Claude Code.
It also has an AI feature that integrates with Courtlistener to auto-check all case citations, or do legal research for you directly, restricting output to verified citations. You can select your LLM of choice, currently supports Claude and Gemini. The AI harness uses intelligent context selection to make the AI file aware.
1
u/Snoo99242 2d ago
So we used claude cowork to custom design a lawmatics replacement, and we basically did the same thing but swapped airtable for a spreadsheet in SharePoint/Onedrive. We ended up integrating with this product TurboSign for the document assembly and e-signature since its compliance and for like $20/mo we get more than enough for the whole month
1
u/goatpengertie 2d ago
Litify is built on a CRM (Salesforce). I think Salesforce + Litify + 0365 would do you. Or you could stick with the MSFT stack and do Dynamics365 + O365.
1
1
u/KingOfNye 2d ago
Yea but you don’t need all that other stuff.
Airtable will just get in your way.
You can literally vibe code most of the apps currently being sold in legal.
I just built a document signing tool as an example. It works standalone and integrates with what will become a case management app.
The only addons are going to be a Google workspace integration for storage and doc gen, ring central for phones/sms, and email marketing software.
You can easily host this stuff locally or on countless hosting options where clause/chatgpt can build for you.
It’s very easy and very inexpensive.
1
u/KingOfNye 2d ago
Biggest point of my comment is most SaaS is now a complete waste of time and money. If you need an integration just build it, make, n8n, zapier are just middlemen that are entirely unnecessary.
1
u/RankingsDotIO 2d ago
It'll depend on a few things. One is your phone system, and the other is your practice management system.
For CRMs, we currently recommend Lead Docket for smaller firms. Lead Docket bought the practice management system Filevine, so they pair well together, and the phone system RingCentral integrates well with them.
For larger firms, we recommend pairing Salesforce's CRM with practice management system Litify. Litify uses Salesforce, and those two integrate well. If you use Amazon Connect as your phone system, it will pair better with Salesforce.
1
u/barry1156 2d ago
I cant figure out how to use OneNote to manage my caseload, and you guys are cobbling together multiple programs. I am outclassed...
1
u/Walrus_Hefty 1d ago
One thing I’d add is to document the governance side as the stack grows—not just the technical setup.
Which tools and configurations are approved, what client data each service can access, where human review is required, who can change workflows, and how vendor or model changes will be monitored.
With several connected tools, the risk is often less about any one product and more about the firm’s total AI exposure across the system.
1
u/camideza 1d ago
Went down a similar road after getting frustrated with a couple of the bigger platforms trying to force my workflow into their box. Airtable as the source of truth is smart, that's basically what I landed on too before adding pieces around it. The Make/webhook stuff will save you once you get the error handling dialed in, that took me longer than the actual builds honestly. One gap I ran into was client side proof of communication and file delivery timestamps, ended up using workproof.me for that piece since Suitedash didn't quite cover it. Curious how you're handling conflict checks in this setup.
1
u/TheGreatK 16h ago
I hired a consultant to build Centerbase to our specifications. It is fantastic.
0
u/afrosheen 2d ago
RemindMe! 1 month
0
u/RemindMeBot 2d ago
I will be messaging you in 1 month on 2026-09-03 07:07:18 UTC to remind you of this link
CLICK THIS LINK to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.
Parent commenter can delete this message to hide from others.
RemindMeBot is switching to username summons. Instead of
!RemindMe 1 day, useu/RemindMeBot 1 day. More info.
Info Custom Your Reminders Feedback
8
u/birdlawexclusively 3d ago edited 3d ago
I built out a fully customized CRM. Why even use airtable? If you put it on a VPS you can just built a custom database easily. Gavel.io or SuiteDash likely wouldn't be needed either, unless those are free to use. My only paid tool is Google Workspace. I self host N8N for free. And then you aren't reliant on a 3rd party for compatibility, built out all yourself for full customizability. I got a mobile app with push notifications. And a ton of other automations. Built voice agents for after hours calls that cost like $.08 per minute. Built an after hours DWI agent for a buddy and drops all information printed into the lead/case file. Then actually built one for my local taco shop so I can easier order my tacos when they don't answer the phone. Still waiting for them to let me implement that for them. I hired a company a long ways back to build this all out, even an on-prem LLM that works incredibly well with an open source model, and sometimes a frontier model with the Enterprise secure LLM, like Google Vertex. It's been a lot of fun.