Hey folks,
I’m working on a browser-based legal case management software tailored for a small-sized law firm with distributed teams—one based in the US and the other in an Asia region. The platform will support real-time collaboration across time zones and include features like:
- Case file/document management (with versioning)
- Internal team messaging/chat
- Calendar and deadline tracking (integrated with Google/Microsoft Calendar)
- Role-based access control (Admin, Lawyer, Paralegal, etc.)
- Analytics dashboards for billing, productivity, and case progress
- eSignature workflows
- Multi-tenancy support for future scaling
- Compliance with HIPAA, GDPR, and CCPA
I’m still at the architectural planning stage and want to build something scalable and fast-loading, with great UX for legal professionals.
My current thinking on the stack and design:
- Frontend: Next.js + Tailwind + Zustand/Liveblocks/Yjs
- Backend: Node.js or Go with PostgreSQL, Redis for real-time stuff, and S3 for file storage
- Realtime: WebSockets, CRDTs for collaborative editing, operational transforms
- Auth: Using Auth0/Clerk with MFA and SSO support
- Infra: Initially modular monolith, maybe microservices later; CI/CD via GitHub Actions; containerized using Docker
- Analytics: Recharts/Chart.js + backend aggregation logic
- Storage: Document upload with pre-signed S3 URLs, audit logging, encryption at rest & transit
- Compliance: Planning audit logs, RLS in PostgreSQL, data encryption, right to access/delete, etc.
Key challenges I’m tackling:
- Best way to handle real-time data sync & conflict resolution across regions
- How to design RBAC and multi-tenant architecture that can evolve later
- What tools to use for eSignature and document diffing/versioning
- How to implement proper audit logging and access logs to satisfy legal compliance
- Ensuring mobile/tablet responsiveness without bloating the UI
- Tools for collaborative doc editing—leaning towards Yjs or Automerge
Questions for the community:
- Have you built or worked on something similar in legal tech, SaaS, or collaborative platforms?
- Any horror stories or advice regarding HIPAA/GDPR compliance and real-time collaboration?
- Would you recommend starting with a microservices approach from day one, or keep it monolithic and modular early on?
- What’s your go-to stack or toolset for audit logs, secure access, and international privacy laws?
- Any tips, architecture examples, or even „what not to do“ stories would be greatly appreciated. Happy to share updates as we build this out!
- I am thinking of starting a MVP at first and then scalling it, what is the roadmap that I should take?
Thanks 🙏