Capability area 04 / 04
Product engineering for legal tech thatworks in production
I design, build, integrate, stabilize and secure the software behind legal products. Start with a new product or an existing platform, and work directly with the engineer who writes the code.
Delivered in client workAll 5 capabilities on this page.
30-minute intro call on Calendly
01 / Who it’s for
Which product problems can I take on?
I take on product work in legal tech, from a first build to a platform that already misbehaves.
You are a legal-tech founder or team that needs a technical lead who owns architecture and delivery.
Your case-management system holds the records, but email, documents and workflow tools do not connect to it.
The app works in a demo and behaves unpredictably with real users, data or load.
A security finding needs fixing in the code, then confirming that the fix holds.
02 / What’s included
The 5 capabilities in this area
Translate operational needs into architecture, application features, integrations and background processing. Build new functionality, stabilize existing behavior and implement security corrections.
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Solution architecture
I turn an operating problem into a system you can build, with its roles, interfaces, data flows and component boundaries defined. You get a design your team can review and challenge, with permissions and tenant boundaries decided before code is written.
How it works
- Understand
Map the workflow, the users and roles, the existing systems and what a working result means.
- Design
Draft the interfaces, services, data model and integration points, with permissions and tenant boundaries explicit.
- Review
Walk through the design with your team and test the riskiest assumptions early.
- Document
Write down the architecture, decisions and open questions so others can build from it.
- What it needs
- Time with the people who know the workflow, plus any existing code, schemas or system documentation.
- Limits
- I recommend an approach and state its trade-offs, and you make the final decisions on scope and priorities.
- Understand
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Full-stack product delivery
I build the working product, with interfaces in Next.js and React, services and APIs in Node.js or FastAPI, and the data layer behind them. AI-connected features ship in the same codebase, with permissions and background processing built in.
How it works
- Plan
Break the agreed scope into releasable pieces, each with clear acceptance criteria.
- Build
Implement interface, API and data changes together, in small increments that can be reviewed.
- Verify
Test each piece against the agreed cases before the next one starts.
- Release
Deploy through your CI/CD pipeline and document how the system runs.
- What it needs
- An agreed scope, access to your repository and environments, and a named person who can answer product questions.
- Limits
- I build to the scope we agree, and changes to that scope are discussed and agreed before they are built.
- Plan
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Case-management and legacy system integration
I connect case-management systems and older platforms to email, documents, calendars, e-signature and phone systems, where their interfaces and permissions allow. Under NDA, I built an agentic case-management system with these integrations for a multi-office US law firm.
How it works
- Assess
Review the system’s available APIs, access permissions, data quality and workflow constraints.
- Agree
Decide which records and actions to connect, and which stay read-only.
- Connect
Build the integration with retries, background processing and error handling for unreliable endpoints.
- Verify
Test against agreed cases and record which user or process changed each record.
- What it needs
- Credentials or sandbox access to the system, its API documentation if it exists, and a contact who owns the data.
- Limits
- Where a system offers no usable interface, I tell you early and agree another route with you.
- Assess
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Application stabilization
I find why an application behaves unreliably and fix the cause with targeted changes. That covers inconsistent results, inefficient API calls and workflow defects. Each correction is checked against the original problem before handover.
How it works
- Reproduce
Collect the failing cases, logs and user reports, then reproduce the problem on a copy of the system.
- Diagnose
Trace the cause through the code, data, queries and third-party calls.
- Fix
Make the smallest change that removes the cause, and add tests around it.
- Verify
Re-run the failing cases and the surrounding workflows, then record what changed.
- What it needs
- Read access to the code and logs, a safe environment to test in, and examples of the behavior that goes wrong.
- Limits
- Some causes sit in third-party systems or old data I cannot change, so I document them and agree a workaround with you.
- Reproduce
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Security remediation engineering
I fix security findings in the application code, then retest the affected behavior and nearby features for regressions. Findings can come from my own assessment or from another tester’s report. Authorization, tenant isolation and input handling are the usual areas.
How it works
- Triage
Review each finding, its evidence and its impact, then agree the order of fixes.
- Fix
Change the code where the weakness starts, such as a missing authorization check or unvalidated input.
- Retest
Repeat the original steps, then test related features and permissions for regressions.
- Record
Document what changed, what was retested and anything still open.
- What it needs
- The finding report or reproduction steps, access to the code, and a staging environment where fixes can be tested.
- Limits
- I fix and retest what is in scope, and I do not certify that an application is secure overall.
- Triage
03 / How it fits together
How is a legal-tech product put together?
I build a product in layers, with permissions and an audit trail running through every one.
Interface
Next.js and React screens for staff, clients and administrators, showing each role only what it may see.
Services and APIs
Node.js and FastAPI services apply the business rules and expose the APIs that screens and other systems call.
Data
PostgreSQL holds the records inside tenant boundaries, and Redis supports caching and queues.
Background processing
Temporal and BullMQ run long tasks, retries and scheduled work outside the request, such as large-file processing.
Integrations
Case management, Microsoft Graph, SharePoint, Stripe, e-signature, calendars and telephony connect through controlled interfaces.
04 / Controls and limits
How I verify work before handover
Every project follows the same engineering standards, so you can see what was built, how it was checked and where its limits are.
Permissions designed in
Roles, tenant boundaries and access rules are decided in the first design and tested with each feature.
Verification before handover
Each change is tested against agreed cases and the evidence is recorded. Security fixes are retested.
Traceable changes
Sensitive actions are logged, so you can see who or what changed a record, and when.
Documented limits
Handover notes cover how the system works, what it does not do and what to watch.
- Rewrite a working system from scratch by default. Work starts with the smallest change that solves the problem.
- Change code or systems without an agreed scope and the access you grant.
- Promise a result that cannot be verified. Anything I could not test is reported.
- Certify that a product is secure or compliant.
- Make legal decisions. Lawyers decide, and the systems prepare and record.
- OWASP Top 10(opens in new tab)
A widely used list of common web application security risks, useful background when deciding what a fix needs to cover.
- OWASP API Security Top 10 (2023)(opens in new tab)
Includes broken object level authorization, which matters wherever one customer’s records sit beside another’s.
05 / Proof
What product work have I delivered?
Most client work is under NDA, so these examples are one named client, one public case study and five public projects.
Delivered with law firms, in-house legal tech teams and legal-tech founders over the past three years, mostly under NDA.
- Named client · Tech lead
Clausio
As tech lead, I worked directly with the co-founder on Clausio, an AI contract review tool for law firms. The work included tenant isolation security, new product features, third-party integrations including Stripe and a Microsoft Word add-in connected to firm knowledge.
- Public case study · Legal AI
Human-governed AI intake
I handled architecture and implementation of an intake system for a US personal-injury firm. It connects voice, email and documents to attorney review, with an action-level audit trail.
Read the case study - Public project · Healthcare platform
MyCaregorithm
My work covered patient appointments, collaboration interfaces, educational materials and a print module for a healthcare platform.
View project - Public project · Commerce
Splits59 e-commerce store
Full-stack development for the move from a Shopify Liquid storefront to a headless commerce architecture.
View project - Public project · Multilingual platform
Promo Travel website
A multilingual travel platform built with Next.js, React and Sanity, supporting dynamic travel content and booking experiences.
View project - Public project · Website
Scott Baron law firm website
A Next.js and Node.js website for a law firm, with legal-service content, responsive navigation and content management.
View project - Public project · Shopify
Rudis e-commerce store
Shopify storefront development with custom themes, responsive interfaces and product-catalog management.
View project
07 / Next step
Tell me what you need built, connected or fixed
Describe the product or system, the people who use it and what is going wrong or missing. I’ll help you find a practical first scope.
30-minute intro call · or email hkhantanoli@gmail.com(opens in new tab)
What to share
- The product or system and who uses it
- The systems it must connect to
- What is failing, missing or at risk
Please leave out passwords, access keys and client data.
Questions
Can you act as technical lead for a legal-tech startup?
Yes. I have worked as tech lead directly with a co-founder. I can own architecture and delivery, review code, and work alongside your engineers or build on my own. The scope is agreed up front, and you keep the product decisions.
Can you fix or extend a product that is already live?
Yes. Many projects start with an existing platform. I review the code, data and access first, then agree a defined set of changes and how each one will be verified. A full rewrite is not the default.
Can you integrate with our case-management system or legacy software?
Often, yes. I first check the available APIs, permissions and data quality, then agree what can be connected. Where a system offers no usable interface, I tell you early and agree another route with you.
How do you protect client data while you work?
I work only within the access you grant and prefer a staging environment with test data. Permissions and tenant boundaries are designed in, sensitive actions are logged, and I can work under your NDA.
How does a project start, and how is it priced?
Every project starts with a 30-minute intro call. We agree the scope, access and acceptance criteria, and the work is priced from that scope. Each project is scoped on its own, so there is no standard price list.
Last updated · Written by Hamza Khan