INDUSTRY

AI Agents for Law Firms

Automate case management, document drafting, and client communication. Handle more matters without hiring more associates.

December 21, 2025•INDUSTRY

Legal work is deadline-driven, document-heavy, and detail-obsessed. Every missed deadline is malpractice risk. Every overlooked detail is a potential problem. What if AI agents helped manage the complexity?

From deadline tracking to document assembly, AI agents can handle the administrative burden so lawyers can focus on strategy and client advocacy.

The Legal Software Tax

Every legal practice management tool adds up. Here's what a typical 10-attorney firm pays annually for case management software:

Tool	Price/User	Annual (10 users)
Clio	$75/user/mo	$9,000
PracticePanther	$59/user/mo	$7,080
MyCase	$49/user/mo	$5,880
Rocket Matter	$69/user/mo	$8,280

Prices for professional tiers as of December 2025. Most require annual contracts.

You're spending $500-750/month on software that still requires manual time entry, document creation, and deadline tracking.

Common Law Firm Challenges

Running a law firm means balancing client advocacy with administrative complexity. These challenges drain billable hours:

Deadline management

Statute of limitations, court deadlines, filing dates, discovery cutoffs—one missed deadline can mean malpractice. Tracking them across dozens of active matters is a constant cognitive burden.

Document assembly

Contracts, pleadings, motions, and correspondence that follow patterns but still take hours to prepare. Each document requires customization, proofreading, and formatting.

Client communication

Status updates, document requests, and case progress reports consuming associate time. Clients want to know what's happening, but writing updates takes time away from billable work.

Knowledge management

Prior matters, precedents, case strategies, and institutional knowledge scattered across file systems, email, and people's heads. When associates leave, their knowledge walks out the door.

AI Agents Built for Law Firms

These agents work together to handle the operational work that slows your practice down:

AI Legal Assistant

Track deadlines across all matters automatically. Get alerts before due dates, coordinate calendars, and never miss a filing deadline or court appearance.

Replaces: Clio, PracticePanther, MyCase

AI Memory Agent

Capture case history, client preferences, and research for instant retrieval. Ask about prior matters, find relevant precedents, and maintain institutional knowledge.

Replaces: Notion, Confluence, scattered documents

AI Bookkeeper

Handle time entry, expense tracking, and client billing automatically. Generate invoices based on logged hours and never miss a billable minute.

Replaces: QuickBooks, Xero, manual time tracking

AI Collections Agent

Follow up on outstanding invoices professionally and persistently. Track aging receivables and escalate when needed without awkward client conversations.

Replaces: Manual follow-ups, Chaser, YayPay

A Day in the Life

See how AI agents handle real law firm workflows:

Morning Deadline Check

#legal-ops — Slack

What deadlines do we have coming up this week?

Upcoming Deadlines

Matter	Deadline	Type	Status
Smith v. Acme Corp	Dec 18	Discovery Response	Draft ready for review
Johnson Estate	Dec 20	Probate Filing	Documents complete
TechStart Contract	Dec 22	Contract Review	Client comments pending

The Smith v. Acme discovery response is the most time-sensitive. I've prepared a draft based on the document requests—ready for your review in the matter folder.

Document Preparation

Email — Legal Assistant

I need an engagement letter for the new Johnson corporate matter. Standard terms, $350/hour for partners, $225/hour for associates.

I've drafted the engagement letter using our standard corporate template with the specified rates. I've included our standard conflict waiver and retainer provisions. The letter references our fee agreement and includes the scope limitations you typically use for corporate advisory work.

Saved to /matters/johnson-corporate/engagement-letter-draft.docx

Add a provision about document retention. They specifically asked about that.

Done. I've added our standard document retention clause and a specific note about their request. The revised draft is ready for your signature.

Client Status Notification

#legal-ops — Slack

Client Inquiry Received

Mrs. Johnson from the Johnson Estate matter called asking for a status update. Based on the matter file, I can confirm: the will has been admitted to probate, we're waiting on the appraiser's report, and the next hearing is January 15th. Would you like me to draft a status email for your review?

Yes, draft the email. Also mention the tax filing deadline in February.

Done. Draft sent to your inbox for review. I've included the January 15th hearing, the pending appraisal, and the February 15th tax filing deadline with a note that we'll send a reminder as it approaches.

Your Data, Your Files, Your Control

Unlike traditional legal practice management tools that lock your data in proprietary databases, Lazarus uses a file-first approach:

/workspace
  /matters
    /smith-v-acme-corp
      complaint.docx
      discovery-requests.md
      deadlines.csv
      client-communications.md
    /johnson-estate
      will.pdf
      trust-documents.md
      timeline.csv
  /templates
    engagement-letter.md
    motion-template.md
  /billing
    timesheets.csv
    invoices/

Every matter, every document, every communication is organized in folders you control. Export anytime. No vendor lock-in. The AI reads these files and takes action based on context—update a deadline, and the agent immediately knows.

Matter folders that grow

Each matter gets a folder with pleadings, correspondence, research, and billing. The agent uses this context for every interaction.

Templates that scale

Engagement letters, motions, and contracts use your templates. The agent fills in matter-specific details and maintains your firm's voice.

Instant retrieval

Ask the agent for any document. It knows where everything is and can surface prior matters, research, and communications instantly.

Institutional memory preserved

When associates leave, their knowledge stays. Every case strategy, client preference, and lesson learned is captured in files.

Your firm's knowledge compounds over time instead of walking out the door.

Your AI Legal Team

Set up a team of specialized agents that work together:

Agent	Role	Scheduled Work
Legal Agent	Tracks deadlines, coordinates calendars, and monitors matter milestones	Daily deadline check at 8am
Memory Agent	Captures case history, research notes, and client preferences	Continuous learning
Bookkeeper	Tracks time entries, manages expenses, and generates client invoices	Weekly billing review
Collections Agent	Follows up on outstanding invoices and manages accounts receivable	Weekly AR review