# 01 — Product Overview

## Vision

A single, secure platform that runs the entire law practice: from client intake
and conflict checking, through litigation and deadlines, to billing, trust
accounting and firm finance — with a client portal that makes the firm look
world-class. Built for Nigerian practice realities (adjournment culture, court
hierarchy, appearance fees, NGN, unreliable client email → SMS-ready).

## Personas & what they need

| Persona | Primary needs |
|---|---|
| **Managing Partner** | Executive dashboard, approvals, profitability, risk (deadlines/missed appearances), everything read-access |
| **Partner / Head of Chambers** | Matter oversight in their practice group, lawyer workload, client relationships |
| **Counsel (lawyer)** | Their matters, today's court schedule, hearing outcomes capture, time entry, fee claims, documents |
| **Paralegal / Litigation Secretary** | Roster management, filing deadlines, document versions, cause list, data entry |
| **Accounts Officer** | Invoicing, receipts, trust ledger, appearance fee payouts, expenses, reconciliation, aging |
| **Firm Administrator** | Users/roles, offices, settings, backups, audit review |
| **Client (portal)** | Case status, next hearing, invoices/receipts, shared documents, requests |

## Module catalogue

**Foundation**
- M01 Foundation & Administration — auth (2FA), RBAC, firm settings, offices/
  branches, reference data (courts, practice areas), audit log, numbering engine.

**Practice core**
- M02 Contacts & Clients — unified contacts (people/organizations), clients,
  opposing parties/counsel, conflict-of-interest engine, KYC files.
- M03 Matters — the work unit: litigation and non-litigation matters, teams,
  parties, stages, timeline.
- M04 Litigation — hearings with the adjournment chain, court roster with clash
  detection, attendance, **deadline & limitation-date engine** (first-class, not
  an afterthought), calendar + iCal.
- M05 Tasks & Workflow — matter tasks, checklists from templates (e.g. "New suit
  filing" checklist), assignments, due dates.

**Money**
- M06 Time & Billing — time tracking, fee arrangements (fixed/hourly/retainer/
  contingency/appearance), invoice builder from unbilled time & expenses, VAT/WHT
  aware, receipt allocation.
- M07 Finance — double-entry ledger (COA, journals), bank accounts, **trust/
  retainer accounting** (liability, overdraw-blocked), firm expenses, appearance
  fee claims → approval → payout, reconciliation, fiscal periods.

**Knowledge & collaboration**
- M08 Documents & Evidence — versioned documents on matters, legal typing,
  confidentiality levels, exhibit register, template-based document generation,
  full-text search.
- M09 Communication — announcements w/ acknowledgement, internal threads, matter
  discussions, notification centre, email + SMS channels, daily digest.

**Insight & reach**
- M10 Dashboards & Reports — executive dashboard, my-day lawyer dashboard,
  matter health, standard report library (PDF/Excel).
- M11 Client Portal — sanitized client view, secure document sharing, invoice
  payment status, appointment/inquiry requests.

**Back office**
- M12 People & System Admin — staff records, leave, simple payroll (optional
  flag), system health, backups, data import wizards.

## Explicitly out of scope (v1)

Inventory/stock, procurement workflows, departmental budget releases, project
management (matters ARE the work unit), native mobile apps (responsive web + PWA
later), e-filing integrations, multi-currency, **the public marketing website**
(deferred — may become a separate standalone project later; firm branding
config already supports it if revisited).

## Glossary

| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Matter | Any engagement for a client (a suit, an agreement review, an opinion). "Case" = litigation matter. |
| Suit number | Court-issued reference (e.g. K/123/2026); distinct from the firm's matter number |
| Coram | Judge(s) presiding at a hearing |
| Mention / Hearing / Ruling | Nigerian court sitting types |
| Adjournment | Court postponement to a new date — first-class concept here |
| Appearance fee | Payment to a lawyer for a court appearance |
| Retainer | Client money held before it is earned — a liability until applied |
| Limitation date | Statutory deadline after which an action is barred — missing one is malpractice |
| WHT / VAT | Withholding tax / Value-added tax on legal fees (Nigeria) |