lawflow-boop/lawlink

Purpose and runtime

LawLink is a self-hosted legal matter/project management system for small firms. It implements the operational path from intake and conflict checking through matter work, finance, archive, and export. It runs as a Next.js 16 App Router TypeScript application, backed by PostgreSQL 16 through Prisma and deployed locally or with Docker Compose. Core entry points are src/app/layout.tsx, authenticated application routing in src/app/(app)/layout.tsx, and container definitions in Dockerfile and docker-compose.yml.

Application boundary and access control

The UI is split into public authentication and authenticated application route groups. Credentials-based NextAuth sessions protect the app; server-side permissions are a separate authorization boundary. Relevant paths: src/app/(auth)/login/page.tsx, src/app/api/auth/[...nextauth]/route.ts, src/lib/auth/options.ts, src/lib/permissions/index.ts, and src/proxy.ts. Shared app navigation, notifications, search, and responsive shell are centralized in src/components/layout/app-shell.tsx and src/components/layout/nav-config.ts.

Persistence and core domain model

Prisma owns the relational schema and migration history, making PostgreSQL the system of record for users, firms, clients/contacts, intakes, matters, procedures/parties, documents, finance, approvals, reminders, notifications, and archival records. The schema and initial domain data live in prisma/schema.prisma, prisma/seed.ts, and prisma/migrations/. Application code accesses the database via src/lib/prisma.ts; server action modules form the domain-facing write/read layer rather than exposing generic CRUD APIs.

Intake-to-matter workflow

Intakes collect prospective work, support conflict review and cause recommendations, and can convert into formal matters. Matter lifecycle logic then coordinates the working record, team, parties, procedural information, notes, documents, tasks, reminders, and status transitions. Primary paths: src/app/(app)/intakes/[id]/page.tsx, src/server/intakes/actions.ts, src/server/matters/actions.ts, src/server/matters/lifecycle.ts, and src/app/(app)/matters/[id]/page.tsx. Conflict lookup is a dedicated domain algorithm at src/server/conflicts/algorithm.ts, surfaced by src/app/(app)/conflicts/page.tsx.

Matter operations, finance, and archive

The matter-detail screen is the principal workbench, composed as tabbed panels for procedural tracking, documents/folders, finance/invoices, approvals, preservation, and archive state. Financial records and invoice requests are handled separately from matter lifecycle operations. Closing/archival is guarded by checklist and review logic, then rendered/exported as an archive package. Paths: src/app/(app)/matters/[id]/_components/matter-detail-tabs.tsx, src/server/finance/actions.ts, src/server/invoices/actions.ts, src/server/archive/actions.ts, src/server/archive/guard.ts, and src/app/api/archive/[matterId]/export/route.ts.

Documents, storage, and AI/external integrations

Document and firm-file APIs enforce download/preview boundaries, while the storage abstraction supports local and S3-backed providers, validation, and encryption. Paths: src/server/documents/actions.ts, src/app/api/documents/[id]/download/route.ts, src/lib/storage/provider.ts, src/lib/storage/s3.ts, and src/lib/storage/crypto.ts. Optional AI workflows draft/review documents, parse pleadings/summons/express data, and recommend causes via configurable AI clients; YuanDian enterprise/case services are another external integration. Paths: src/server/ai/actions.ts, src/server/ai/review-document.ts, src/lib/ai/client.ts, and src/lib/yuandian/client.ts.

Scheduling, automation, reporting, and interchange

Schedule/tasks, reminders, notifications, dashboard metrics, reporting, imports, and XLSX exports are supporting operational flows over the same database. Scheduled jobs scan reminders, overdue archives, seal follow-ups, and audit cleanup; deployment must arrange execution of the scheduler/job layer. Paths: src/server/cron/scheduler.ts, src/server/cron/jobs/scan-due-reminders.ts, src/server/reports/analytics.ts, src/app/api/reports/export/route.ts, src/server/imports/actions.ts, and src/app/api/matters/export/route.ts.