In 1854 a court in England ruled on a broken crankshaft. The Hadley brothers' mill in Gloucester stood still because the carrier, Baxendale, delayed the replacement part. The question was what he had to pay for. The answer still shapes contract law today: recoverable is what was foreseeable when the contract was made.
Foreseeability is also the word we use for AI in law firms. That is why our product carries the name: Hadley. Legal Intelligence.
Why we built Hadley
Over the past months we spoke with many lawyers. The question we heard most was not "what can the AI do?". It was: "Who am I actually giving my files to?"
Legal AI reads briefs, expert opinions, litigation strategy and client names. That is the core of professional secrecy (§ 9 RAO in Austria). Anyone using software here has to know where the data goes, who reads along and what happens to it afterwards.
We are AI experts from Tyrol. We run no law firm and take no mandates. For years we have built systems that work in a traceable way: same case, same path, every step in the audit trail. Hadley is that work, applied to the daily work of a law firm.
The trial that becomes a problem
It often starts like this. An AI tool for lawyers offers a free trial. You sign up, tick the terms and conditions, and upload a real file to see whether it works.
What is missing at that moment:
- A data processing agreement. Art. 28 GDPR requires one before a provider processes personal data on your behalf. Terms you accept at sign-up usually do not replace it.
- The list of sub-processors. Which language model reads along, who runs it, in which data centre?
- A commitment on training. Does the content flow into a model? What has been trained cannot be taken back.
- Clarity on storage. How long does the file stay with the provider, and who deletes it?
Client data is then with a provider without the legal basis for it. For a profession built on confidentiality, that is not a small slip. It is exactly the risk the trial was meant to rule out.
Our advice, whether or not you choose Hadley: do not test AI with real files before the data processing agreement is signed. Get the model, the operator, the storage location and the deletion period in writing.
How we do it
With Hadley you test without your data first. In the demo you work with a complete, fictional law firm: files, parties, deadlines, judgments, transcripts. You see what Hadley does on real workflows, and not a single piece of client information leaves your firm.
Only when you want to go further do your files come in, and then in this order:
- First the data processing agreement, then the first document. With the list of all sub-processors.
- A separate environment of its own for every firm. Your data does not sit next to other firms' data.
- AI inference without data retention. The model processes the request and keeps nothing.
- No training on your data. No model learns from your files.
- Automatic deletion. A file in the appeals module shows the date it will be deleted.
- An audit trail over every step. Which document, which page, who approved.
What Hadley does
Research in the RIS
You ask your legal question in your own words. Hadley shows every work step in the RIS, Austria's legal information system: which search, how many hits, which document it read. Every statement carries the case number and RS number, and you open the original in one click. You choose the depth, from a short answer to thorough research.
Appeals
Hadley evaluates the judgment and transcripts and proposes grounds of appeal, sorted by chance of success. Each ground comes with the quote, the page and its risks, such as an assessment of evidence that is hard to challenge. You choose the grounds, then the brief is drafted. The same works for a reply to an appeal.
The file on one page
Hadley writes the case summary, lists the issues in dispute with their status and keeps the case profile and parties. In the assistant beside it you ask about the case and get answers with document, page and quote.
Practice data, read only
Hadley reads a copy of your practice data, for example from ADVOKAT: deadline book, calendar, services, fee notes, open items, ERV inbox. Questions like "Which deadlines expire by Friday?" come back as a table. Nothing is written back.
Documents in your firm's style
Store your firm's branding once, with letterhead, logo and colours, or let Hadley create it. From it come presentations, letters, mail merges and documents, plus diagrams and interactive figures. The content comes from your files, and every statement is checked against the sources read.
One public price
What AI for lawyers costs is on our website. As an introduction, Hadley costs €220 per user and month for the first three months, then €360. For two users that is €440, then €720 a month; for five users €1,100, then €1,800. All prices excl. VAT.
Take a look
In a free 30-minute demo, Marcus shows Hadley on the fictional firm. Then you decide whether and when your own files come in, with the data processing agreement first.
AboutWho is behind LumeSecThe people building LumeSec: background, experience and why we do this.Meet the teamAll names, files, amounts and deadlines in the images are fictional. ADVOKAT is a trademark of its owner. LumeSec is not affiliated with the maker of ADVOKAT and is neither supported nor endorsed by it. This article is not legal advice.