For solo and small law firms
The tech department your firm doesn't have.
I help solo and small law firms put AI and technology to work: picking the right tools, setting them up properly and building the workflows that take admin off your plate. You keep the legal judgment. The busywork goes away.
Any practice area. Remote, anywhere in the US. No long-term contract.
After-hours web inquiries go unanswered
11 of 29 inquiries last month · no follow-up sent
Former paralegal still has admin access
Practice management + shared drive · left in March
Paying twice for e-signature
Standalone plan duplicates a feature already in your PMS
Client documents pasted into a consumer AI app
No data agreement · move to a private or business account
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE — NOT REAL CLIENT DATA
The problem
You went to law school to practice law, not to run IT.
At a firm of one to five, the lawyer is also the receptionist, the paralegal and the IT department. You're paying for subscriptions that half overlap, using a fraction of your practice management software, and retyping the same client details into three places.
Every vendor says their AI will change everything, and you don't have time to find out which one is right.
Big firms have people for this. Now you do too.
What I do
Four ways I help.
A check-up on your tech: cost and risk
I look at what you pay for, how you actually use it and where your clients' data could leak, then tell you plainly what to keep, cut, replace or fix.
- Subscriptions that overlap, sit unused or have a cheaper equal
- Security gaps: shared passwords, no two-factor login, ex-staff with access, untested backups, client files in personal email or consumer AI apps
- Where AI tools are worth it for your practice, and where they aren't
The right practice management system, set up properly
Choosing between Clio, MyCase, Smokeball, PracticePanther, Lawmatics and the rest is hard when every demo looks good. I match the system to how your firm works and set it up so you use more than the calendar.
- Selection based on your practice area, size and budget
- Migration from spreadsheets or another system
- Templates, intake forms, billing and automations configured
- Training for you and your staff
Private AI for confidential work
Most AI tools send your documents to someone else's servers. For work you can't risk that with, I set up AI that runs on hardware or accounts your firm controls.
- AI models running on a computer in your office, so documents never leave the building
- Open-source legal AI assistants (document review, drafting, chat with your files) hosted by your firm instead of rented per seat
Custom workflows for the problems that cost you most
When off-the-shelf tools don't fit, I build what does, connected to the software you already use.
- Intake that never misses a lead: a website assistant that asks the right questions, routes the person and hands you a written summary
- First drafts from intake answers, built from your own templates
- Deadlines and reminders that run themselves
- Client status updates, so you get fewer "any news?" calls
- Leads from public records: court, property and other public data turned into a short list
Case studies
What this looks like in practice.
Finding estates before probate is filed.
A pipeline that tells an estate attorney which recently deceased property owners in their area still have no probate case, ranked by urgency, with the evidence for each one.
Read the case study →A contact form that does the first consult call.
A chat assistant on a firm's website, built on the open-source Docassemble platform. A visitor types:
"my dad passed away last week and i dont know what happens to his house"
The assistant answers with care, asks the one question that matters (was there a will?), takes a name and email and routes them to the probate team. The firm gets a consultation summary as a PDF and a Word file, with a reference number, before anyone picks up the phone.
ResultA 15-minute intake call, done in under a minute, with nothing retyped.
FICTIONAL DEMO FIRM · NOT A REAL CLIENT
AI that never leaves the office.
Open models running on the firm's own computer through Ollama, so it can summarize, search and draft from client documents with nothing sent to an outside AI company. No per-seat fees, and it works offline.
Result[hardware, model, what it handles]
A Harvey-style assistant on the firm's own servers.
A deployment of Mike, an open-source legal AI platform: chat with your documents with citations, contract drafting and table-style review across many files. The firm owns the installation and its data, and pays only for the AI it uses.
Result[monthly cost vs. a commercial tool]
Where a small firm's money and risk were leaking.
A review of a firm's software, subscriptions, accounts and data handling, written up as a short ranked list of fixes.
Result[$X/yr cut, N issues fixed]
How I work
Start small. Keep what works.
Free tech review
A 30-minute call about how your firm runs today. You get a one-page list of the three changes worth the most to you, in hours or money saved.
One project at a time
We start with the change that pays back fastest. I set it up, test it with you and train your team.
Ongoing support if you want it
I keep things running, fix what breaks and take on the next piece when you're ready.
The first review costs nothing.If nothing's worth changing, I'll tell you.
Book your review →Ethics & data
Built around your professional obligations.
Your clients' information deserves the same standard of care you bring to their matters.
Your judgment stays in charge
AI produces drafts and summaries. You review anything that reaches a client, in line with ABA Formal Opinion 512 on generative AI and your state bar's guidance.
I sign before I see anything
A confidentiality agreement is in place first, and I work as a nonlawyer assistant under your supervision.
Your data stays yours
Client information lives in accounts you own. It is never used to train AI models, and I delete my copies when you ask.
Not a law firm
I build and run tools. All legal advice comes from you.
Who I am
Hi, I'm Ritvik.
I'm an AI engineer based in Austin. Most recently I was on the AI platform team at 8am, the company behind MyCase and LawPay, where I built the pipeline that reads 40 million legal documents. Before that I spent four years shipping AI assistants and agents for healthcare and enterprise clients, where privacy rules like HIPAA and GDPR came with the job.
I saw how much legal software is built for big firms. Now I work directly with solo and small firms to put AI to work, practically and safely.
FAQ
Questions firms ask first
Do I need to be good with technology?
No. I set it up, show you how it works and stay reachable. If it's harder than what you do now, I've done it wrong.
Do you work with my practice area?
Yes. Most of what I do (tools, practice management, intake, documents, reminders) works the same in any practice. The custom work is where your practice area matters, and that's where we start.
Do I have to switch software?
Usually not. I start with what you already have and only suggest a change when it clearly pays off.
Will AI give my clients legal advice?
No. Anything client-facing is either written by you (intake questions, reminders) or reviewed by you before it goes out.
Is my clients' information safe?
I only use tools that don't train on your data. It stays in accounts you control, and a confidentiality agreement is in place before I start. For the most sensitive work, the AI can run entirely on your own hardware.
Are you tied to any vendor?
No. I used to work at 8am (MyCase, LawPay) and know those tools well, but I don't take referral fees from any vendor. I recommend whatever suits your firm.
How long until I see results?
Most single projects are live within a few weeks.
Find out what your tech should be doing for you.
A free 30-minute review and a one-page plan. If nothing's worth changing, I'll tell you.
Book your free review →