How integrations work
Links instead of copies, a per-field source-of-truth matrix, human review of duplicates and conflicts, and replaying failed syncs.
For: Owner
On this page
LegalBook is built to sit beside the systems a firm already uses, not to replace its system of record. The integration center is Integrations in the Firm workspace (press g i), with Overview, Sync errors, Reviews, Reconciliation and Imports.
Live vendor connections are not available yet. The integration engine is built and tested; each vendor connection is in early access until it is certified with that vendor. Signed webhooks, website forms and CSV import are available. See Phone, email, payment and calendar providers.
Links, not copies
An integration does not keep a second copy of your data. People, matters, appointments, notes and prospects stay in their LegalBook modules. The integration stores links between a LegalBook record and the matching record in the other system, plus a queue of sync jobs.
Every write to a LegalBook record during a sync goes through the same rules as a person's change: permissions, legal holds and duplicate checks all apply.
The source-of-truth matrix
For each kind of record (contacts, prospects, matters, appointments, notes, tasks, document links, users) and each field, you decide which system is authoritative:
| Authority | Meaning |
|---|---|
| LegalBook | LegalBook's value wins and is sent to the other system |
| External | The other system's value wins; LegalBook will not overwrite it, and staff cannot edit it in LegalBook |
| Manual | A difference opens a review for a person to decide |
Edit the matrix from the connection, per record type. Load defaults fills a sensible starting point, Preview shows the effect without writing anything, and Save matrix saves all rows at once. Giving a field external authority needs a recent sign-in.
Never-sync data
Some data never leaves LegalBook through an integration, whatever the matrix says: identifiers such as A-numbers, safety flags, attorney-only notes, and notes, tasks or documents of an attorney-only matter.
Reviews
Reviews has two tabs:
- Possible duplicates: an incoming record matches more than one LegalBook record, or the match is not certain. Link it to a candidate, create a new record, or mark it not related.
- Conflicts: the two systems disagree on a field set to manual. Keep LegalBook's value, use the other system's value, or dismiss.
Values are masked unless you may read the record in LegalBook.
When the other system is down
A provider outage never loses a write. Jobs retry; after repeated failures the connection's circuit opens and later jobs wait without using up their attempts. When the provider recovers, the queue drains oldest first. Core work in LegalBook continues while an integration is down.
Jobs that fail for too long become dead letters in Sync errors, where an operator can Replay, Replay selected, replay all for a connection after recovery, Retry now, Cancel or Discard. Error messages name the field and the rule, never the record's value.
A record deleted in the other system is never deleted in LegalBook. The link is marked, and the firm is told.
Reconciliation and recovery drills
Reconciliation compares records in both systems and queues repairs where one side is clearly right. A recovery drill simulates an outage to prove that jobs queue safely, errors become visible and replay works, without calling the provider or changing any record (onboarding step 31).
Who can do what
| Permission | Who | Allows |
|---|---|---|
| Read | Firm owner, Firm administrator, Supervising attorney, Case coordinator, Team supervisor | See the integration center |
| Operate | Firm owner, Firm administrator, Supervising attorney, Case coordinator | Sync now, reviews, retries and replays |
| Admin | Firm owner, Firm administrator | Connect, disconnect, credentials, the matrix, go live |
| Import | Firm owner, Firm administrator | CSV imports |
Connecting, disconnecting, changing credentials and going live need a recent sign-in. Credentials are encrypted and never shown again.