Chief Operating Officer Software for Law Firms — North County San Diego
I'm PJ, based in Encinitas. I build custom tech for law firm COOs who are tired of bolting together 9 SaaS tools that still don't talk to each other.
Quick answer for law firm COOs:
- Yes, I build custom — matter intake, conflict checks, billing workflows, reporting dashboards
- Works with Clio, MyCase, Filevine, NetDocuments, Smokeball — or replaces the ones that don't fit
- Solo consultant, no agency markup, no 6-month discovery phase
- First conversation is free — text me and I'll tell you if it's even worth building
Questions law firm COOs actually ask
Can you integrate our practice management system with our accounting and intake forms?
Yes. Clio/MyCase/Filevine → QuickBooks or Xero, plus intake form sync. Usually 2–4 weeks depending on how clean your current data is.
We have 40+ attorneys and no real reporting. Can you build a dashboard?
Yes. Realization rates, utilization, matter aging, origination credit, WIP — pulled from your PMS and billing system into one view. I've done this for firms your size.
How do I reduce non-billable admin time for my attorneys?
Automate the intake-to-matter workflow, auto-generate engagement letters, pre-fill conflict checks, and push time entries from calendar/email. Usually saves 3–6 hours per attorney per week.
Do I need to replace my practice management software or can you extend it?
99% of the time — extend it. Replacement is expensive, disruptive, and rarely fixes the actual problem. I'll tell you honestly which it is.
What about client portals and secure document sharing?
Built several. Client uploads, e-sign, matter status, invoices, secure messaging. Integrates with NetDocuments, iManage, or SharePoint.
How much does this cost?
Depends entirely on scope. Small automation: a few thousand. Full dashboard or portal build: more. Text me what you need — I'll quote a number in the same conversation.
Useful stuff for law firm COOs
Kill the duplicate data entry
If your staff is typing client info into 3 systems, that's the first thing to fix. Cheapest win, biggest morale boost.
Conflict checks should take 30 seconds
Automated full-text search across all past matters + related parties. If it takes longer, you're losing work to faster firms.
Measure realization before you hire
Most firms under-bill 8–15%. Fix collections before adding headcount — it's the same revenue, much cheaper.
Don't buy the "all-in-one" platform
They're good at 2 things and mediocre at 8. Best-of-breed + integrations outperforms almost every time.
Intake is your real bottleneck
A web form that auto-creates the matter, runs conflicts, emails the engagement letter, and triggers the retainer — that's the unlock.
Dashboards beat monthly reports
If your partners only see numbers at month-end, they can't course-correct. Live data changes behavior.
— PJ, SideGuy Solutions
I've built this stuff for firms from 8 attorneys to 200. No sales team, no junior devs. You text me, I build it, it works. That's the whole model.
Connect on LinkedIn →Tell me what's broken. I'll tell you if I can fix it.
One text. No discovery call. No pitch deck.
📱 Text 858-461-8054