Project Overview
A UK top-30 family law firm with 240 family lawyers, 8,400 active matters per year (divorce, financial remedy,...
Technology Stack
Compliance & Standards
The Challenge
A UK top-30 family law firm with 240 family lawyers, 8,400 active matters per year (divorce, financial remedy, children proceedings, injunctions), and an estimated £2.8M annual cost of administrative case management needed a digital family law platform. SRA Code of Conduct, Legal Aid Agency (LAA) billing (35% of matters are Legal Aid), UK GDPR for client and child data, ICO AADC (child data — some clients are children in care proceedings), Legal Professional Privilege, Children Act 1989 (confidentiality of children proceedings), and WCAG 2.1 AA were mandatory. Budget: £120,000.
Our Approach
Family Law Matter Management and CAFCASS Integration
CAFCASS (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service): court-appointed children's guardian in family proceedings.
CAFCASS Digital
CAFCASS shares its assessment and recommendations via CAFCASS e-filing system.
Family law platform integration
CAFCASS e-filing API (import CAFCASS section 7 reports, section 37 reports, PLO — public law outline — documents).
Court bundles
- Practice Direction 27A (family court bundles) — family platform generates PD 27A-compliant bundles automatically (paginated, hyperlinked index, PDF/A).
- HMCTS e-
Filing
family court documents submitted via HMCTS Online (MyHMCTS portal integration).
Legal Aid Agency Billing Automation
Legal Aid Agency (LAA) billing: 35% of family matters are legally aided.
LAA billing system
CCMS (Client and Cost Management System — LAA).
CCMS integration
matter details (client, case type, stage), time entries (attendance notes, correspondence, disbursements), LAA billing submissions (CLA1 — Civil Legal Aid claim).
Automated LAA billing
platform generates LAA billing schedule from time entries → CCMS API submission → LAA payment notification.
LAA audit
Legal Aid billing is subject to LAA audit — immutable time entry records with fee earner, date, activity, and description required.
Children Act 1989 Section 12
family proceedings are confidential — restricted publication.
Case management
children proceedings matters flagged as confidential (no external sharing without court order).
Legal Professional Privilege
all communications in family matters are LPP — access controls enforce confidentiality.
Client portal
family law client portal (for consenting adult parties only — children never have direct platform access).
Child data
ICO AADC compliance for any digital service where child data is processed (children who are subject of proceedings).
Data minimisation
minimum child data collected and processed — only what is necessary for case management.
Family court orders
Consent Orders (financial remedy), Child Arrangements Orders, Non-Molestation Orders (injunctions — Domestic Violence), and Prohibited Steps Orders.
Order compliance tracking
- each order has compliance obligations (financial: disclosure deadlines, property valuations
- children: contact arrangements, welfare reports).
Deadline management
court directions (orders issued at each hearing setting directions for next hearing) — each direction is a deadline in the matter.
Breach alert
direction deadline approaching without completion → solicitor notification (4 weeks, 2 weeks, 3 days).
Injunction emergency
Non-Molestation Order application — 24-hour emergency workflow (urgent court application submission via HMCTS).
The Results
Platform live at 20 weeks, £112,000 — under budget.
LAA billing time: 3.8 hours/week → 45 minutes/week.
LAA claim rejection rate: 8.4% → 2.1% (automated billing validation).
Court bundle generation: 4.2 hours → 28 minutes (PD 27A automated).
Deadline compliance: 96.8% (directions met on time — previously estimated 82%).
CAFCASS e-filing integration: 100% digital (previously 100% paper).
ICO AADC: compliance confirmed.
WCAG 2.1 AA: zero non-compliances.
Lawyer satisfaction: 4.5/5 (legacy: 1.9/5).
“LAA billing from 3.8 hours to 45 minutes per week. Claim rejection from 8.4% to 2.1%. Court bundle from 4.2 hours to 28 minutes. Direction compliance from 82% to 96.8%. Lawyer satisfaction from 1.9 to 4.5. The LAA CCMS integration was the commercial priority — Legal Aid billing accuracy and speed directly affects cash flow. The CAFCASS e-filing was the clinical quality priority — digital CAFCASS reports, not paper, makes better family law." — Managing Partner, UK Family Law Firm (name withheld)”
Project Details
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