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JuristIS
This project involves the development of an advanced information system tailored for legal offices, focusing on the aggregation of data from public databases. The primary objective is to enhance the efficiency of legal processes by automating data retrieval and management, allowing legal professionals to focus on higher-value tasks. The scope includes integrating multiple external government databases, providing a robust document management system, and ensuring secure access control for various user roles.
Figure 1: Client dahsboard overview on desktop and mobile
System Specification and Design
Requirements Gathering and Analysis
The system is designed to serve small to medium-sized legal offices, addressing the needs of legal professionals by integrating public databases to streamline client management, case tracking, and document organization. The initial phase involved analyzing legal office processes to identify the system's essential functions, such as client tracking, document management, and task billing.
UML Modeling and Use Cases
UML models were employed to capture the system's design, including use case diagrams for core features like user authentication, client management, and case tracking. The design was iteratively refined based on feedback from legal professionals, ensuring that the system meets real-world needs.
User Interface and Experience Design
The user interface was designed with a focus on ease of use, following an iterative prototyping process. User feedback was incorporated at each stage to refine the interface, resulting in a streamlined workflow for legal professionals.
Figure 2: User interface screen designs in Figma
System Architecture
High-Level Architecture Overview
The system is built on a three-tier architecture that separates the user interface, business logic, and data storage layers. This architecture supports scalability and ease of maintenance.
MVP Pattern and Layered Structure
The Model-View-Presenter (MVP) pattern is used to decouple the user interface from the business logic, allowing for independent development and testing of the system's components. The architecture includes:
- View Layer: Handles the user interface and client-side logic.
- Presenter Layer: Manages interactions between the view and model layers.
- Model Layer: Represents the data and business logic, including database operations.
Database Design and ER Diagrams
The database is designed to store various entities such as clients, cases, documents, and user activities. An Entity-Relationship (ER) diagram was created to visualize the relationships between these entities, ensuring efficient data retrieval and storage.
Figure 3: High-Level Architecture Overview
Integration with External Databases
Data Aggregation from Public Databases
One of the system's key capabilities is integrating data from multiple public databases, including the Commercial Register and the Insolvency Register. This integration allows legal professionals to access comprehensive client information directly within the system.
Challenges in Data Integration
The project faced challenges in standardizing data formats from different sources. The system includes a data aggregator module that normalizes data into a consistent format, ensuring seamless integration across various external databases.
Specifics of Implemented Modules
- InfoSoud: Retrieves court case information and updates users on new developments.
- InfoJednání: Provides real-time updates on court hearings, including dates, times, and any schedule changes.
- Insolvency Register: Monitors ongoing insolvency proceedings and alerts users to relevant changes.
- Company Register: Monitors company records, notifying users of changes in structure, management, documents, or status.
- Self-Employed Register: Tracks self-employed individuals, updating users on new registrations, cancellations, or changes.
Figure 4: Sequence diagram for the proccess of data aggregation from Public Databases
Implementation of Core Features
Case Management and Client Tracking
The case management feature allows legal professionals to track the progress of cases, including deadlines, court dates, and associated documents. Client, court and hearing information is automatically retrieved and updated from government public registers, ensuring all data stay up to date.
Figure 5: Legal case overview with client and case details and a case timeline with activities and updates on a mobile device.
Mail Management and Integration with Data Boxes
The system integrates with the Czech Data Boxes (ISDS) for managing legal correspondence. This integration ensures that all legal communications are securely stored and easily accessible within the system.
Work Tracking and Billing Automation
The system includes tools for tracking employees work and billable hours for simple generation of invoices based on defined rates or legal tariffs. This feature reduces administrative overhead, ensures accurate billing for legal services and simplifies work organization.
Figure 6: Work board view with recorded daily work tasks and billable services of a selected employee.
Security and User Authentication
The system uses secure authentication methods, including OAuth-based login and two-factor authentication, ensuring that only authorized users can access sensitive information.
Role-based access control (RBAC) is implemented to restrict access to specific system features based on user roles. Roles include office administrators, lawyers, and assistants and can be configured using a robust permission management system.
Document Management System
Custom document management system allows users to organize documents in a hierarchical structure, supporting version control and easy retrieval. The system also offers integrations with common cloud storage providers such as google drive for convenient and secure document handling.
Figure 7: Case documents view with folders and documents and drag & drop funcitonality demonstration.
Testing and Validation
Functional Testing and User Scenarios
Extensive functional testing was conducted to ensure that all system features work as expected. Test scenarios were designed to mimic real-world use cases, identifying and resolving potential issues before deployment.
Integration Testing with External APIs
The integration with external databases and APIs was rigorously tested to ensure data consistency and reliability. Automated tests were implemented for critical functions, such as data retrieval and user authentication.
User Feedback and Iterative Improvements
User feedback was collected during beta testing, leading to several improvements in the system's usability and performance. These enhancements included optimizing the user interface and refining the document management workflow.
Deployment and Maintenance
Deployment Strategy
The system was deployed on a cloud platform, ensuring scalability and high availability. A continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline was established to streamline updates and maintenance.
Future Enhancements
Planned future enhancements include expanding the system's integration with additional public databases and improving the analytics features for better decision-making support.
Conclusion
The project successfully developed a comprehensive information system for legal offices, integrating public databases and automating key administrative tasks. The system has the potential to significantly enhance the efficiency of legal professionals by reducing manual data entry and improving access to critical information. Future developments will focus on expanding the system's capabilities and ensuring it remains a valuable tool for legal professionals.