Online Legal Consultations Portal Development

Technology Stack

Laravel
jquery
mysql
stripe
AWS

The Client

This custom-built website helps people seek legal advice from qualified lawyers at affordable rates, much less than what a solicitor’s office would charge. Clients can find the best-matched lawyer on this website with just a few clicks. It’s an easy drill. The clients need to log in to the website, select a subscription package, choose a lawyer registered on the platform, fill in case details, fix an audio/video call with a lawyer, and get advice. No bureaucracy. No sky-high bills. No lengthy paperwork of a typical law firm.

The Challenge

Capital Numbers had to develop this website from the ground up. We had to take care of everything from ideation to launch and even maintenance. As a top-tier web development company, we are fully proficient in developing a custom-made website from scratch. But, for this project, certain areas needed added focus.

Firstly, we had to embed a multi-step registration form for customers and lawyers. We had to add key input fields in the form yet keep the sign-up process simple.

Secondly, we had to sync lawyers’ Outlook calendars with the website to aggregate the availability of various lawyers and show those details on this website. Every day, each lawyer has loads of appointments booked. There will be cancellations that open a last-minute slot. We needed to reflect these available slots in a calendar view to help signed-in customers see which lawyer is free and who’s not.

Thirdly, we needed to embed audio/video calling capabilities to ensure an immersive interaction between the lawyer and his client.

And fourthly, we needed to add multilingual capabilities to cater to users from different nationalities and countries.

Our team was required to handle this entire project in two phases. First, we had to build and deploy the portal. And in the second phase, we needed to monitor it post-release.

The Solution

Capital Numbers kicked off the project by delving into the requirements first. We jotted down the key points that needed particular focus, such as APIs, integrated solutions, and macro-aesthetics. Although some elements were predefined, others required custom coding. We took into account everything and prepared a mockup. After finalizing the mocks, we continued the production work using the following techs.

We chose Laravel 6 for the backend. We used Laravel because it supports the integration of third-party mail services like Outlook, which was crucial for this project. Moreover, Laravel handles securities better, helps test automation, speeds up development, and improves authorization.

We used Sass to style the website. Sass’ powerful syntax helps programmers write fewer CSS codes, allowing everyone to work faster. We used jQuery to optimize the look and feel and make the website fast-loading.

Our experts integrated the Outlook calendar API into the site as per the project needs. The lightweight calendar API was easy to sync with the backend architecture.

We integrated Zoom for high-quality audio and video calls. Zoom is easier to use. It is intuitive, free from buffers, and provides a seamless transition from a call to a video. Moreover, Zoom calls work well even if the Internet connectivity is not the greatest.

MySQL was our preferred database solution for round-the-clock uptime, on-demand scalability, and data security.

For the payments, we added both Stripe and PayPal. We added them because both are easy to use, don’t require setup costs, and are PCI-compliant.

Finally, we hosted the platform on AWS because it’s flexible, reliable, cost-effective, and offers load balancing even with a huge traffic spike.

Results

Having handled numerous web development projects, we know what it takes to ship a high-quality digital product with speed and confidence. This website development project was no exception.

We implemented the best-fit technologies and design practices to roll it out flawlessly. But, something that we were particularly proud of in this project was the level of customizations we had to make. We custom-coded various areas like dropdowns, checkboxes, registration forms, calendar views, subscription packages, dynamic content, etc. Here’s a quick low-down of the critical areas where we majorly contributed:

Easy Sign-ups

As planned, we kept the onboarding process simple. All users (i.e., customers and lawyers) can register in minutes by populating just the essential fields like name, email, phone number, etc.

KYC Uploads

We added a KYC upload feature in the registration form where KYCs are cross-checked for authenticity at the backend before onboarding new clients.

Case Document Uploads

We prepared a robust backend to allow clients to upload large-sized case documents of 600+ pages without the system slowing down.

Custom Checkboxes

Our developers coded custom checkboxes for Privacy Policies and T&Cs to ensure users know and agree to all terms before proceeding further.

Dynamic Dropdowns

We added dropdowns to help clients choose areas of law in which they need advice. We kept the dropdowns dynamic for the backend admin to populate it as and when he likes.

Calendar Integration

We synced lawyers’ Outlook calendars with the website to reflect their reserved and empty slots and help clients see the bigger picture before booking appointments.

Laravel Translate

We had to cater to a larger audience from multiple nationalities and countries, so we made the website multilingual using Laravel translate.

Zoom Calls

Our skillful Zoom call integrations paved the way for HD-quality video and audio calls between lawyers and clients. We also implemented the Zoom transcription feature to facilitate instant speech-to-text transcriptions during Live Zoom calls.

Custom Programming

We did custom programming to display the ‘top-rated’ and ‘most-available’ lawyers on the search list to help clients find them at-a-glance.

Multiple Payment Gateways

Our seamless Stripe and PayPal integrations allowed clients to pay their lawyers using debit/credit cards without any failed transactions or duplicity.

3D Secure Solutions (3DS)

As per the project needs, we also added a 3D Secure library to provide an extra layer of security to authenticate cardholders and prevent fraud.

Commission Calculations

Our experts even added custom logic to help the admin calculate his commission earnings and decide on the percentage he needs to pay out to the lawyers on the platform.

Post-release Maintenance

All our solutions and clever implementations led to the product’s successful launch and adoption. We also took care of the system’s post-release maintenance tasks to ensure it is intrinsically safe and fail-proof.

Verified Lawyers On-demand

Our team did an excellent job in launching this well-designed and well-engineered portal that allows clients to connect with vetted, certified lawyers over Zoom calls.

Legal Consultations in Minutes

Developing a portal that demanded privacy and customization at so many levels was challenging. But, Capital Numbers’ technical know-how and progressive methods helped it overcome all constraints. The product currently allows people to:

Consult lawyers online in minutes
Share private info without risks
Avoid overheads of a law firm
Get started with a few taps

All thanks to our talented engineers and designers for executing every development phase with absolute perfection. Had it not been for their sincere efforts and dedication, we couldn’t have given this product the required shape.