Apply HN: Casepad – Better Databases for Public Defenders and Others
I've spent a couple of years in the legal tech industry and this looks like a cool solution, in a lucrative market that are willing to spend A LOT of money on IT solutions but I'd keep in mind- Your customers will be running a centralised practice management platform (basically a specialised CRM), you'll need to integrate with it; this isn't easy. In fact it's really hard.- Most of the time, the fee-earner/practitioner won't do any of their own data input, they'll have their PA do it for them, consider this when you're building a backend.- They live and die by their Outlook calendars and contacts. You'll need to integrate with that; this is easier.- You'll have questions about how you're storing and transmitting data and what jurisdiction its being hosted in. Some of these questions will seem naive and obvious, but legal tech is a _paranoid_ market.- This is also a CONSERVATIVE market, they fear change, they don't like change. This is a constant uphill battle.- The flip side is that 90% of the software in this market is 5-10 years old and "cloud" solutions are novel and strange to them (cf fear about data storage)- Focus on mobile. Ignore desktop. Seriously.- Don't discount this only being applicable for lawyers, any professional service industry (financial planners etc) will benefit from this.- You're right compliance, audit trails, history is EVERYTHING. Pitch it as a record keeping solution for the firm, not a productivity tool for the practitioner.- Bake in export. Make the data as easy to get out and easy to get in.