Overview
Novalaw is a legal-tech SaaS platform designed to revolutionize how law firms organize, index, and retrieve legal documents. Think LexisNexis, but built for the modern era with AI-powered search and intuitive document management.
The platform helps lawyers find relevant case law, manage client files, and maintain compliance with document retention policies — all through a clean, efficient interface.
My Role
As lead software engineer and project manager, I led the technical vision and built the entire platform solo:
- Platform Architecture — Designed scalable document storage and retrieval system
- Backend Development — Built the entire API layer with Node.js and Prisma
- Search Infrastructure — Implemented full-text search with relevance ranking
- Cloud Storage Integration — Architected secure document storage with versioning
- Security & Compliance — Designed systems for legal industry requirements
Built entirely by me.
Architecture
The platform is built for scale and security — critical requirements for legal applications:
Backend
Next.js API routes for the application layer. Prisma ORM for type-safe database access. PostgreSQL for relational data with JSONB for flexible metadata.
Document Storage
Cloud storage with client-side encryption. Versioning for document history. OCR pipeline for searchable PDFs.
Search Layer
PostgreSQL full-text search for core functionality. Trigram indexing for fuzzy matching. Relevance scoring based on document metadata and usage patterns.
Security
End-to-end encryption for sensitive documents. Role-based access at firm, team, and matter levels. Comprehensive audit logging for compliance.
Hard Problems
1. Document Processing Pipeline
Legal documents come in hundreds of formats. Built a robust processing pipeline that handles PDFs, Word docs, scanned images, and more.
2. Search Relevance
Lawyers need precise results, not fuzzy matches. Fine-tuned search ranking to prioritize exact citations and case names while still supporting natural language queries.
3. Access Control Complexity
Law firms have intricate permission structures — partners, associates, paralegals, clients. Designed a flexible permission system that maps to real-world hierarchies.
4. Scale with Security
Document stores grow fast. Implemented efficient storage with deduplication while maintaining encryption and access controls.
What I'd Improve Today
- Integrate AI for automatic document classification and summarization
- Add vector search for semantic document discovery
- Implement collaborative editing with real-time sync
- Build mobile app for document access on the go
- Add integration APIs for common legal practice management tools
- Consider edge computing for faster document previews