--- title: "Legal Software Development Company | Cyan Orbit" description: "We build matter management, document automation and conflict check software for law firms, integrating with Clio, iManage and trust accounting rules." url: https://cyanorbit.com/industries/legal --- 1. [Home](https://cyanorbit.com/) 2. [Industries](https://cyanorbit.com/industries) 3. Legal Industry # Legal Software Development Matter management, document automation and conflict checking with privilege, retention rules and trust accounting designed in from the start. [Get a project estimate](https://cyanorbit.com/get-a-quote) [Talk to a developer](https://cyanorbit.com/contact) NDA on request · Free, no-obligation estimate · Reply within one business day NDA before discovery You own the code and IP on payment Code in your repository from day one A working demo every two weeks Senior engineers do the work [How we work](https://cyanorbit.com/process) Law firms and legal departments run on a handful of processes that generic business software does not model correctly: a conflict check has to run against related parties and prior representations before a matter can even open, document assembly has to preserve privilege markings through every revision, and trust accounting has to separate client funds with a level of rigor an ordinary invoicing system was never built for. We build matter management systems, document assembly tools with clause libraries, and client portals that integrate with Clio, iManage or NetDocuments rather than existing as a disconnected extra system. Where AI assists with contract review or summarization, we scope it to stay inside the line between tool-assisted drafting and the unauthorized practice of law. Trust accounting and IOLTA-compliant billing get built to the segregation and reporting rules your state bar actually enforces, and retention schedules are built as configuration since they vary by jurisdiction and matter type, not as a single hardcoded rule. The problem ## Where legal software gets hard - ### Conflict checks have to catch related-party conflicts A real conflict check has to search across related entities, prior representations and adverse parties, not just an exact name match, or a genuine conflict slips through undetected until it becomes a malpractice exposure. - ### Document assembly has to preserve privilege markings Templates and clause libraries speed up drafting, but every version generated has to carry the correct privilege and confidentiality markings through redlines and revisions, not just on the final signed copy. - ### Trust accounting demands strict segregation IOLTA and equivalent trust accounting rules require client funds to be tracked separately from firm operating funds with an audit trail a bar examiner can follow, which most general accounting software does not model correctly out of the box. - ### Retention schedules vary by jurisdiction and matter type How long a file has to be kept, and when it can be destroyed, depends on jurisdiction, practice area and sometimes the specific matter, so a single retention rule hardcoded into a system will eventually be wrong for some subset of files. - ### AI tools have to stay on the right side of unauthorized practice of law A tool that summarizes or drafts is useful; a tool that appears to give legal advice to a non-lawyer client crosses into unauthorized practice of law territory in most jurisdictions, and that line has to be designed in deliberately. - ### E-discovery volumes require defensible process, not just search Litigation holds and document review at scale need a documented, defensible process, since a court can challenge not just what was found but how the search was conducted. What we build ## Legal systems we build - ### Matter management systems Matter opening, staffing, deadlines and status tracking built to integrate with or extend Clio or a similar practice management platform, rather than duplicate it. - ### Conflict check automation Automated search across related entities, prior matters and adverse parties at intake, flagging potential conflicts for review before a matter opens rather than after. - ### Document assembly and automation Clause libraries and template-driven drafting that carry privilege and confidentiality markings through every generated version and redline. - ### Trust accounting and IOLTA-compliant billing Client fund segregation, three-way reconciliation and billing built to the specific trust accounting rules your bar association enforces. - ### Client portals Secure document sharing and case status access for clients, integrated with your document management system so nothing has to be manually copied into a separate portal. - ### Legal AI tools for review and summarization Contract review and document summarization tools scoped to assist an attorney's judgment, with the unauthorized practice of law boundary built into how results are presented to non-lawyer users. - ### E-discovery and litigation hold workflows Litigation hold notices, custodian tracking and defensible search documented at each step, so the process itself can withstand a challenge, not only the result. ## Regulations and standards we design for - ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct on confidentiality and conflicts of interest, and their state bar equivalents. - Attorney-client privilege preservation requirements across document versions and communications. - IOLTA and state-specific trust accounting rules requiring segregation of client funds. - State bar technology competence requirements around data security and confidentiality of client information. - Records retention and destruction rules, which vary by jurisdiction and practice area. - GDPR and UK GDPR for firms handling matters involving EU or UK-based clients. ## Platforms we integrate with - Clio for practice and matter management - iManage and NetDocuments for document management - DocuSign for e-signature - LexisNexis and Westlaw APIs for legal research - LawPay and Stripe for trust-compliant payment processing ## Conflict checks that catch related-party conflicts A name-match conflict check misses the conflicts that actually create liability: a parent company, a former client under a different entity name, or a witness represented in an unrelated matter years earlier. We build conflict checking to search across related entities and historical matter data, surfacing possible matches for an attorney's review at intake rather than relying on staff to remember every prior representation. ## Document automation that keeps privilege markings intact We build clause libraries and template assembly so privilege and confidentiality markings propagate automatically through every generated draft, redline and exported version, since a marking that only appears on the final signed copy does nothing to protect the drafts that circulated before it. ## Where AI assists and where unauthorized practice of law draws the line We design AI-assisted contract review and summarization to present output as a drafting aid reviewed by a licensed attorney, not as advice delivered directly to a client. That distinction shapes interface decisions as much as backend logic, since how a result is framed to a non-lawyer user is part of what keeps a tool on the right side of unauthorized practice of law rules. Services ## Services for legal companies - [Legal AI Software DevelopmentAI systems for contract review and legal research, built around privilege controls and citation verification so no hallucinated case law reaches a filing.](https://cyanorbit.com/services/ai-development/legal) - [Custom Legal Software DevelopmentPractice management software built around conflict checks, trust accounting, and the deadlines a missed e-filing field can blow.](https://cyanorbit.com/services/custom-software-development/legal) - [Law Firm Website DevelopmentPractice-area and attorney bio pages built inside the advertising rules a state bar actually enforces.](https://cyanorbit.com/services/web-development/legal) - [SaaS DevelopmentWe build multi-tenant SaaS products around tenant isolation, subscription billing and self-serve onboarding, architected to scale past your first cohort of customers.](https://cyanorbit.com/services/saas-development) - [CRM DevelopmentWe build the system that tracks a customer from first contact through renewal, whether that means a custom CRM or extending Salesforce, HubSpot or Dynamics.](https://cyanorbit.com/services/crm-development) Solutions ## Solutions for legal companies - [Law Firm Client Portal DevelopmentPrivileged messaging, trust account visibility, and matter status in one place, so case updates stop living in an email thread.](https://cyanorbit.com/industries/legal/customer-portal) - [Legal Document Automation SoftwareDocument assembly built around clause libraries, matter data, and the retention rules a firm's client files actually have to follow.](https://cyanorbit.com/industries/legal/document-automation) - [BI & Reporting DashboardsReporting built on one data model instead of five spreadsheets, with dashboards fast enough to stay useful against years of history.](https://cyanorbit.com/solutions/bi-dashboards) - [AI Chatbot DevelopmentA chatbot that answers from your own documentation, takes real actions inside your systems, and knows when to hand a conversation to a person.](https://cyanorbit.com/solutions/ai-chatbot) - [Internal Tools & Admin DashboardsBack-office software that lets your team look up, edit, and act on production data safely, replacing the spreadsheet or the direct database query.](https://cyanorbit.com/solutions/internal-tools) Technology ## Technologies we typically use - [React](https://cyanorbit.com/technologies/react) - [Next.js](https://cyanorbit.com/technologies/nextjs) - [Node.js](https://cyanorbit.com/technologies/nodejs) - [PostgreSQL](https://cyanorbit.com/technologies/postgresql) - [AWS](https://cyanorbit.com/technologies/aws) FAQ ## Legal software FAQs Can you integrate a custom matter management tool with Clio? Yes. We build against Clio's API to keep matter, client and billing data in sync, so a custom tool extends what Clio already handles rather than duplicating matter records in a second system. How does an automated conflict check search for related-party conflicts? We build the search to check related entities, prior matter history and known adverse parties, not just an exact name match, and we surface possible matches for attorney review rather than auto-clearing or auto-blocking a matter. Can trust accounting software handle multi-state IOLTA rules? Yes, though the specific segregation and reporting rules are built per jurisdiction since IOLTA requirements differ by state bar. We scope which jurisdictions' rules the system needs to support before implementation. Does an AI contract review tool count as giving legal advice? Not as we build it. The tool surfaces flagged clauses and summaries for a licensed attorney to review and approve, rather than presenting conclusions directly to a client, which keeps it on the assistive side of unauthorized practice of law rules. How long does a document automation system with privilege tracking take to build? A clause library and template assembly system with privilege marking propagation typically takes eight to twelve weeks, depending on how many document types and practice areas the templates need to cover. Insights ## Planning guides - [6 min readHow Much Does Custom CRM Development Cost?Custom CRM development cost typically ranges from $40,000 for a focused pipeline tool to $250,000+ for a multi-team platform with automation and reporting.](https://cyanorbit.com/blog/crm-development-cost) - [8 min readHow to Build an MVP Without Wasting Budget on the Wrong FeaturesA practical guide to how to build an MVP: scoping the smallest viable version, validating demand, choosing an engagement model, and avoiding common mistakes.](https://cyanorbit.com/blog/how-to-build-an-mvp) - [7 min readHow Much Does MVP Development Cost?MVP development cost typically runs $15,000 to $60,000 for a single-workflow product, and $60,000-$150,000+ once billing or integrations are involved.](https://cyanorbit.com/blog/mvp-development-cost) ## Talk to us about your legal project Share a few details about your project. A senior engineer reviews every request and replies with next steps, questions, and a rough budget range. [Get a project estimate](https://cyanorbit.com/get-a-quote) [Talk to a developer](https://cyanorbit.com/contact)