Managing Partner Software — Custom Built for Law Firm & Legal Ops

I'm PJ, a solo tech consultant in Encinitas. I build custom software, automations, and legal tech for managing partners who are tired of paying per-seat for tools that almost-but-don't-quite fit the firm.

Quick Answer

What I do: Custom intake, matter management, doc automation, and internal dashboards — built for your firm, not rented from a SaaS.
Who I work with: Managing partners at 5–50 attorney firms who've outgrown Clio/MyCase or need something those don't do.
How fast: Most builds ship in 2–6 weeks. First response: within a few hours via text.
What it costs: Fixed-scope projects, no retainers, no per-seat. First conversation is free.

What Managing Partners Actually Ask Me

Can you integrate with Clio / NetDocuments / iManage? Yes. APIs are the easy part. Most firms have the data — they just can't get it out in a useful shape. I build the bridges and the reports on top.

We want to automate client intake — is that realistic? Very. Intake is the highest-ROI automation in a law firm. Conflict checks, engagement letters, matter creation, trust accounting handoff — all scriptable. Typical ROI is weeks, not months.

How do you handle confidentiality and ethical walls? Role-based access baked in from day one. I've built matter-level permissions and ethical wall enforcement. Everything stays in your infrastructure if you want it to.

Do you build on top of existing PM software or replace it? Whatever's cheaper for you. Usually: keep the PM system, build the missing 20% around it. Rip-and-replace is rarely the right call.

What about AI for contract review or doc drafting? Doable and improving fast. I'll tell you honestly where it's ready (clause extraction, first-draft NDAs, email triage) and where it's still a liability.

Are you local? Can we meet in person? Yes. I'm in Encinitas / Solana Beach. Happy to drive to your office anywhere in San Diego County.

Useful Advice for Your Role

Start with the billable hour leak

Before buying anything, find the 30 minutes per attorney per day that disappear into admin. Automating that one thing pays for most tech projects in a quarter.

Your PM software is not the problem

Clio, MyCase, PracticePanther — they all do 80% of what you need. The pain is in the 20% that's firm-specific. Build that piece, don't replace the whole stack.

Treat intake like a funnel

You measure realization rate on matters. Measure it on leads too. Most firms lose 40%+ of inbound at intake because nobody responds fast enough.

AI = drafts, not decisions

Use LLMs for first drafts, summaries, and triage. Never for final output without attorney review. Write that policy down before associates decide for themselves.

Own your data

Before you sign a 3-year SaaS agreement, ask how you export everything. Matter history, time entries, docs. If the answer is vague, that's your negotiating leverage.

Pilot with one practice group

Firm-wide rollouts fail. Pick the group with the most pain and the most cooperative partner. Win there, then expand. The case study sells itself.

A note from PJ

I've worked with firms where the managing partner was doing their own SQL queries at midnight. You shouldn't have to. Text me what's broken — I'll tell you in one message whether I can fix it or whether it's a vendor conversation.

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Managing Partner Software, Custom Built — North County San Diego