CloudTech Legal Suite — The Counsel
Enterprise, multi-tenant legal practice management platform.
The Counsel is a production-grade SaaS for law firms — comparable in ambition to Clio, PracticePanther, MyCase and Litify — built on a fully Supabase backend (PostgreSQL + Row Level Security + Storage + Realtime + Edge Functions). There is no custom REST/Express server; every tenant's data is isolated and enforced at the database with RLS.
The product has two completely separate experiences:
| Who | Purpose |
|---|
| CloudTech Platform Console | CloudTech staff (Platform Owner/Admin) | Manage the SaaS: organizations, subscriptions, plans, billing, analytics, audit — never a firm's legal data. |
| Organization Workspace | A law firm's own team | Run the practice: matters, clients, documents, hearings, calendar, tasks, staff. |
Routing switches layout by identity: a Platform Admin only ever sees /platform/*; a firm user only ever sees the workspace. No shared sidebar, no data leakage.
New to this codebase? Read docs/ARCHITECTURE.md first — it covers the repo/branch/environment layout (two separate GitHub repos, two separate Supabase projects for Testing/Production), the security model, and the specific gotcha classes that have bitten this project before. This README is setup instructions; that doc is the map.
Tech stack
- React 19 + TypeScript + Vite 6
- React Router, TanStack Query (server state), React Hook Form + Zod (forms/validation)
- Tailwind CSS + shadcn/ui + Framer Motion
- Supabase — PostgreSQL, Auth, Storage, Row Level Security, Database Functions, Realtime, and Edge Functions only where a service role is required
Design language: editorial-prestige enterprise — warm ivory surfaces, rich charcoal sidebar, brass primary (#B38A3E), Playfair Display + Inter, generous spacing, soft shadows. Currency is Naira (₦).
Architecture
Feature-based, strictly typed, reusable by default.
src/
app/ # router, navigation, layout wiring
features/
auth/ # login, session, permission engine
platform/ # CloudTech console (orgs, subscriptions, plans, billing, analytics…)
dashboard/ # firm executive dashboard
clients/ # individual & corporate clients
matters/ # matters + tracking timeline + notes + documents
documents/ # firm-wide document management
hearings/ # court calendar entries
calendar/ # month + agenda views over hearings
tasks/ # assignments, priorities, deadlines
staff/ # lawyers & staff profiles, avatars
notifications/# live activity feed + reminders
administration/ # firm members & roles (Firm Settings)
shared/ # ui primitives, components, hooks, lib, types
supabase/
migrations/ # ordered SQL: schema, RLS, functions, triggers, seed
functions/ # Edge Functions (admin-create-user, hard-delete-organization)
Multi-tenancy & security
- Every tenant table carries
organization_id; RLS enforces isolation via helpers has_permission(org, perm), is_org_member(org), is_org_admin(org), is_platform_admin() (all SECURITY DEFINER).
- Permission engine: granular permission keys (
matters.create, documents.upload, staff.manage, …) attached to roles (Managing Partner → Paralegal → HR/Finance/Receptionist). The UI hides what a role can't do; RLS blocks it server-side.
- Storage: private
documents bucket (tenant-scoped by path) and public avatars bucket, both governed by storage policies.
- Audit logging on every meaningful action, surfaced live via Realtime.
Authentication model (no public signup)
- The first account created becomes the Platform Owner automatically (bootstrap trigger).
- Platform Admins create organizations and each firm's first admin.
- Firm admins create their own users (lawyers, staff) from Firm Settings.
- Admin-created accounts are provisioned through the
admin-create-user Edge Function (service role), so passwords never touch the browser.
- Permanently deleting a trashed organization goes through the
hard-delete-organization Edge Function, which purges the login accounts of members who exist only for that firm via the Auth Admin API before removing the organization row — auth.users isn't reachable from a plain SQL function.
Modules
Platform Console — Dashboard (orgs, MRR/ARR, trials, health, activity) · Organizations (create with plan, suspend/activate, soft-delete → Trash → purge) · Organization Users (read-only directory) · Subscriptions (inline plan/status) · Plans & Pricing (editable + custom tiers) · Billing (revenue by plan, renewals) · Platform Analytics · Audit Logs · plus scaffolds for Support Tickets, System Health, Platform Users, Settings.
Organization Workspace — Dashboard (activity trend, KPIs) · Clients · Matters (auto matter numbers, detail with Tracking timeline, Documents, Notes) · Documents (upload PDF/Office/images, in-app preview) · Hearings · Calendar (month + agenda) · Tasks (assignments, due dates, overdue) · Lawyers & Staff (profiles, bar membership, avatars, assigned matters) · Notifications (live activity + reminders) · Firm Settings (members & roles).
Getting started
1. Install
npm install
2. Configure Supabase
Create a Supabase project, then copy the environment file and fill in your project values:
cp .env.example .env.local
VITE_SUPABASE_URL=https://<your-project>.supabase.co
VITE_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY=<your-anon-key>
The anon key is safe for the browser — RLS enforces all access.
3. Apply the database
Run the SQL migrations in supabase/migrations/ in order (Supabase SQL Editor, or supabase db push if linked). They create the schema, RLS policies, functions, triggers, and the documents / avatars storage buckets.
4. Deploy the Edge Function
supabase functions deploy admin-create-user
5. Create the Platform Owner
In the Supabase dashboard → Authentication → Users → Add user (your email + password). The first user is auto-promoted to Platform Owner.
6. Run
npm run dev
Open the printed URL, sign in as the Platform Owner, create an organization + its admin, then explore the firm workspace as that admin.
Build
npm run build && npm run preview
Roadmap
- Billing — time entries, expenses, invoices (PDF generation), payments, trust accounts, revenue dashboard
- Reports — matter, lawyer-productivity, client and financial reporting
- Support Mode (audited firm impersonation), Support Tickets, System Health, in-house DOCX→PDF preview
Status
Actively built module by module — each ships with schema, RLS, types, services, hooks, and UI before the next begins. See supabase/migrations/ for the authoritative, ordered database history.
