Industry: Law firms
AI for solo attorneys and small law firms.
We work with solo attorneys and small law firms across the Portland metro area and Southwest Washington. Most of our legal clients are between one and ten attorneys, and most don't have a dedicated IT person. The work we do is concrete and bounded: setting up AI tools that respect client confidentiality, building prompt libraries for the kinds of work you do every week, and training your team to use them without surprising you on a bar complaint.
We are not lawyers and we don't give legal advice. We're the people who configure the tools, document how to use them, and stay on call when something changes. We take no commissions from any AI vendor, so when we recommend Claude over ChatGPT (or the reverse), it's because of the work, not the kickback.
Where the hours go.
These are the recurring time sinks we hear about most from law firms in our service area.
- Document drafting takes a disproportionate amount of senior attorney time.
- Intake and conflict checks are repetitive and prone to drop-off.
- Discovery review on small matters is too expensive to outsource and too time-consuming to do well in-house.
- Client communication piles up between matter milestones.
- Marketing content and SEO sit at the bottom of the priority list permanently.
Where AI actually fits.
The specific implementations we run for law firms. Each is scoped, quoted in writing, and capped at a not-to-exceed price.
First-draft document work
Demand letters, engagement letters, discovery responses, and routine motions drafted from your templates and your matter facts. Reviewed by an attorney before anything goes out. The time savings are real and the workflow is auditable.
Intake and conflict-check automation
AI-assisted intake forms that capture matter details consistently, surface conflicts against your existing client list, and route to the right intake person. Connects to your case management system where one exists.
Confidentiality-safe AI setup
Enterprise-tier accounts (Claude for Work, ChatGPT Enterprise, Microsoft Copilot) configured so client data does not train public models. Written documentation of what's allowed and what isn't, suitable for your bar's competence and confidentiality rules.
Prompt library for recurring work
Tested, documented prompts for the document types and analyses you do every week. Stored where your team can find them and updated as the underlying models improve.
Team training
Live, recorded sessions on your actual tools and your actual matter types. Your staff learns by doing, with us in the room. Recordings stay with the firm for onboarding new attorneys and paralegals.
What this isn't for.
Where AI isn't the right answer in this industry. Knowing this up front saves everyone time.
- Replacing attorney judgment. AI drafts. Attorneys review and sign. Always.
- Legal research as a source of authority. AI can suggest where to look. Attorneys verify in Westlaw, Lexis, or Fastcase before relying on anything.
- Sending confidential client data to consumer-grade AI accounts. Not without the right enterprise controls and a clear written policy.
Where we serve law firms.
We meet clients across the Portland metro area and Southwest Washington. The cities where we have the most active work:
FAQ
Questions from law firms.
- Is using AI for legal work compliant with bar rules?
- It can be, with the right setup and the right human oversight. The Oregon State Bar, Washington State Bar, and ABA have all issued guidance affirming that lawyers may use AI tools provided they meet their duties of competence, confidentiality, and supervision. We configure tools so client data is not used to train public models, document what's allowed in writing, and structure workflows so an attorney reviews any AI-generated output before it goes out. We are not your ethics counsel, but we know the guidance and we won't set up something that obviously conflicts with it.
- Which AI tool is best for small law firms?
- It depends on the work. Claude (from Anthropic) tends to do better on careful drafting and document review and has strong enterprise data controls through Claude for Work. ChatGPT Enterprise is broader and integrates with more third-party tools. Microsoft Copilot makes sense for firms already deep in Microsoft 365. There are also legal-specific tools (Harvey, CoCounsel, Spellbook) that may fit larger firms but are typically overkill and overpriced for solos and small offices.
- How much do small law firms spend on AI consulting?
- Most law firm engagements with AI Handyman fall into one of three brackets: a $375 written audit, a single $500 to $1,000 implementation project, or a series of small projects spread over a few months. Ongoing advisory with a 4-hour monthly minimum is available but most small firms don't need it after the initial setup.
- Can AI help with discovery review on small matters?
- For document review specifically, the practical answer is yes for clearly relevant document classification and initial privilege screening, but only as a first pass with attorney verification. For matters where the document volume is in the hundreds or low thousands, we can set up a workflow using Claude or ChatGPT Enterprise with explicit safeguards. For larger document sets, the right answer is usually a purpose-built eDiscovery tool, and we'll say so.
Other industries we work with.
- AI for real estate offices
- AI for accounting and bookkeeping practices
- AI for gyms and fitness studios
See all industries or browse cities we serve.