Legal technology moves daily.
Your firm shouldn't fall behind.
We implement, secure, and train your team on the platforms modern law practice runs on — Clio, MyCase, Lexis+ Protégé, Westlaw, CoCounsel, Midpage, enterprise AI like Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini, and private open-weight models on hardware you control — configured around your firm's confidentiality requirements, with the settings documented and your attorneys in the review loop.
California's new AI law is a reason to review your firm's setup now.
SB 574 was signed on September 30, 2026. Prepare for January 1, 2027 with a practical review of your AI tools, access controls, verification workflows and staff training.
Firm Upgrade can help assess your current setup, implement the agreed technical changes and train your team around its actual work.
- Enacted
- Chapter 858, Statutes of 2026
- Takes effect
- Non-urgency statute · Gov. Code § 9600(a)
- Sources checked
- Rechecked before each update
Two different dates: enacted when signed and chaptered; in effect under Government Code § 9600(a). General information, not legal advice.
Everyone's adopting AI.
Almost no one is ready for it.
The gap between the tools law firms buy and what their people can actually do with them has never been wider. That gap is exactly what we close.
Why law firms call us
"We bought it. Nobody uses it."
Software licenses aren't results. In Wolters Kluwer's 2023 Future Ready Lawyer Survey, 36% of lawyers said they lacked sufficient skills or understanding of legal technology. Every implementation we run includes role-specific training and a handover your team can actually use.
"Is AI safe for client data?"
It depends on the exact product, features, agreement and settings. Personal accounts and properly configured business plans are very different starting points. We map where inputs actually go, configure what the agreement supports, document it, and leave the legal judgment with your attorneys.
"Everything changes every week."
Clio Duo. Protégé. CoCounsel. Midpage. New releases land constantly — in Consilio's 2026 Global Survey, 54% of legal professionals named selecting and deploying legal technology as a primary challenge. We turn a new product into a comparison, a bounded pilot and a clear decision, not another demo.
Seven ways we upgrade your firm
Assessment, selection, setup, integrations, training, handover and ongoing care — from your practice management platform to the network it runs on and the AI hardware in your own equipment room.
AI & LLM Adoption
Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini & Copilot — configured around your confidentiality requirements.
Learn moreTechnology Assessment
Fixed-fee review of systems, workflows and AI use — the place to start.
Learn moreDon't leave client confidentiality to a personal account's default settings
Whether AI use is appropriate for particular client information depends on who can access what goes in — under the agreement, features and settings that actually apply. That's a question to answer tool by tool, not by brand name. We configure AI tools around your firm's confidentiality requirements, with documented access, training and retention settings and workflows for attorney review.
- The applicable agreement reviewed — training use, retention, subprocessors and support access for the exact product and features
- Settings configured and dated — including features like web search and connectors that can change where data goes
- Written AI policies aligned with your state's rules and guidance — including California's SB 574
- Staff training on what's safe to share — which information may go into which tool
Where does your client data go when you ask an AI a question?
Usually, to a provider's cloud — under terms that vary a great deal between personal and business plans. There is now a third option: open-weight models on hardware your firm controls. Toggle the diagram to compare the three, then read the full guide, including what a local setup still needs.
- Single-machine setupsA workstation running a capable open model — roughly $5,000–$18,000 at September 2026 prices.
- Shared private assistantA GPU server with matter-level permissions, sized to how many people use it at once.
- Larger installationsMulti-node inference for firms with data-center space — specified by measured workload, not headcount.
Review the account settingsTraining use, retention, access and account ownership depend on the product and settings.
Verify the plan's controlsConfirm the agreement, training use, retention, access, audit features and offboarding.
Review the complete setupCheck the model license, telemetry, connectors, backups and remote support.
Personal account. In this example, the provider processes prompts under the account's terms. Training and retention choices vary. Check who owns and can administer the account, and which uses the firm's policy permits.
Business plan, configured. The provider processes requests under the applicable agreement. Available controls vary by product, plan and feature; verify their settings. Search, connectors and agents may involve additional services.
Local, open-weight model. With local inference configured, the model processes prompts on firm-managed hardware. Review any other services that receive data. Cloud, local and hybrid setups can each suit different tasks.
Fluent in every tool your firm is considering
Vendor-fluent, vendor-neutral. We help you choose the right platform — then make it work.
Microsoft 365Plus Google Gemini for Workspace, Smokeball, PracticePanther, NetDocuments — and open-weight models (Qwen, Gemma, gpt-oss, Llama, Mistral) for private, on-premises AI.
A clear path from "where do we start?" to "how did we manage without this?"
Assess
A fixed-fee review of your systems and data, real workflows, security and current AI use — a prioritized, costed roadmap in about two weeks.
Select
Existing subscriptions, specialist legal products, cloud, local or hybrid — chosen on workload fit, exact terms and a measured pilot.
Implement
Accounts and permissions, integrations, migration, a rollback plan and acceptance checks — before anyone relies on it.
Train
Tracks for attorneys, staff, administrators and automation builders — synthetic exercises first, then your real work.
Hand over & care
Inventory, operating instructions, a recovery drill and an exit path — plus optional support with written scope.
Where the hours go — and what better setup can recover
Clio's Legal Trends benchmarks put average law-firm utilization at 38% in 2025 — about three billable hours in an eight-hour day, with the rest going to admin, document handling and chasing information. In Thomson Reuters' 2025 Future of Professionals report, professionals expected AI to free up nearly 240 hours a year; that is an expectation, not a measured result.
We don't promise a percentage. We measure a baseline on your own workflows during the assessment, run a bounded pilot, and report what actually changed.
- Automated time capture so billable work stops slipping through the cracks
- Document automation that turns hours of drafting into minutes of review
- AI-assisted research with the attorney's citation verification built into the workflow
What is admin drag costing your firm?
Slide the numbers to match your firm. The estimate updates instantly — and honestly, with the assumptions shown.
Our assumptions (we show our math)
We assume 46 working weeks per year and treat only one third of the admin hours you enter as realistically recoverable through automation, AI, and training. For context: Clio's Legal Trends benchmarks put average utilization at 38% in 2025. The calculator is a scenario model built on the numbers you enter — an estimate, not a promise or a measured result; the fixed-fee technology assessment replaces it with numbers from your actual workflows.
Estimated annual recovery
Frequently asked questions
We're not sure which practice management platform fits us. Can you help us choose?
Is it actually safe to use AI like Claude or ChatGPT with client information?
Our data lives in an old system (PCLaw, Time Matters, spreadsheets). Can you migrate it?
How long does an implementation take?
Do you only work with large firms?
What does "Clio AI Certified" mean?
What is California SB 574, and when does it take effect?
Ready to upgrade your firm?
Start with a fixed-fee technology assessment. In about two weeks you'll have a clear, prioritized roadmap — no obligation, no jargon.