Client
Benjamin C. Wenzel Specialist Criminal Defense Attorney (Fachanwalt für Strafrecht), Berlin www.anwalt-wenzel.com
Status
Platform built and launched from scratch, with ongoing SEO and public content operations
Context
The assignment was not to deliver a simple attorney website.
Criminal defense is a high-trust, high-pressure legal environment. The public layer has to communicate authority, clarity and urgency. The operational layer has to support structured intake, document exchange, internal review, deadlines, agreements, billing state and sensitive client communication.
We designed the platform as one connected product system from the start: public authority layer for search, trust and urgent conversion; guided intake for new case enquiries; authenticated client portal for ongoing communication; internal workspace for staff and attorney workflows; case-linked documents, tasks, agreements and billing state; traceable activity events across sensitive workflow steps.
- Primary domain: www.anwalt-wenzel.com
- Focus market: Berlin criminal defense
- Scope: public authority layer + authenticated case workflow platform
What We Built
We designed and built a custom digital platform for a Berlin criminal defense law firm — combining a public authority website, structured case intake, authenticated client portal, internal operations workspace, document workflows, billing state and traceable case events. The project was not a simple attorney website. It was built as one connected operating system: public trust and SEO on the front end, controlled case handling and client communication behind the login.
01
Digital case review flow: Fall prüfen -> guided questions -> registration/login -> personal client portal
02
Authenticated client workspace tied directly to the live case record
03
Internal dashboard for staff and attorney with new cases, unread messages, deadlines, tasks and case activity
04
Managed case entities for document requests, client tasks, consultations, agreements, billing state and traceable events
05
Role-based product logic across client, staff and admin flows
The platform combines acquisition, intake, case handling, operational governance and billing state in one connected product.
Product Layer
On the client side, the platform creates a clear digital path from first case check to ongoing matter handling. Clients can submit a structured case review, create authenticated access, upload documents, see case status and next steps, receive office requests, manage assigned tasks, and view consultations, agreements and billing-related events.
On the firm side, every case behaves like a managed work unit. Staff and attorney users can work with case review, conflict-check status, deadlines, office tasks, document requests, internal notes, client activity, mandate onboarding, agreements, billing state and close/archive lifecycle.
01
Structured intake with guided qualification instead of unstructured lead capture
02
Authenticated client portal connected to live case state
03
Case messaging, document exchange and managed client tasks
04
Consultation requests, scheduling and acceptance inside the product flow
05
Mandate onboarding, agreements, invoices, payment requests and status tracking
06
Notification layer driven by database state rather than fragile UI state
Public Platform and SEO Layer
The public authority and SEO layer was designed as a core part of the platform, not as a separate marketing shell. These screens show the structured legal front-of-house that supports trust, discovery and urgent conversion.
Technical Architecture
The platform is built on Next.js App Router, Neon Postgres and Prisma. Neon acts as the source of truth for case records, documents, messages, tasks, consultations, agreements, billing state and traceable workflow events.
01
Next.js App Router for public, authenticated and internal product flows
02
Neon Postgres + Prisma for case, workflow and access data modelling
03
External object storage for files, with metadata and permissions handled in the database
04
Role-based route protection and case-level access checks
05
Payload validation and explicit flow separation for client, staff and admin actions
06
Activity logging for sensitive workflow state changes
The key architectural decision was to keep business logic and traceability in the product layer, while treating files as managed assets rather than the system of record.
Access Control and Sensitive-Data Handling
Because the system handles sensitive legal matter data, access design was treated as a core product requirement rather than an afterthought. The goal was to create a controlled access model for clients, staff and admin users — not a generic website account area.
01
Email verification code flow for user access
02
Password recovery and password-change workflows
03
Soft-delete profile removal
04
TOTP second factor for staff/admin accounts with recovery codes
05
Case access validation by role and relationship to the matter
06
Activity records for sensitive actions and workflow state changes
Operational Layer
The operational layer supports the full downstream operating model of criminal defense work, with explicit product entities and controlled state transitions.
01
Formal review layer for new matters
02
Conflict-check entity
03
Client tasks and office tasks
04
Deadline management and timeline events
05
Admin dashboard and notification logs
06
Billing state and mandate state
07
Close/archive lifecycle for every case
That means the platform helps the firm not only win the mandate, but continue the matter as a structured process inside its own system.
UX and Product Design
A major product challenge was to make the authenticated product layer feel native to the criminal-defense brand rather than like a generic SaaS tool bolted onto a law firm site.
01
One visual language across public pages, intake, authentication, client portal and internal screens
02
Calm, restrained interface aligned with legal trust expectations
03
Clear workflows for users in urgent or emotionally difficult situations
04
Operational density for staff without losing clarity
05
Shared interface patterns between client-facing and internal tools
Product Layer Screens
Selected product screens from the intake, client portal, internal workspace and operational case management layer.
Result
The finished platform gives the law firm a connected digital operating system for criminal-defense matters.
Clients get a clearer path from urgent enquiry to authenticated case workspace. The firm gets structured intake, document handling, internal review, deadlines, billing state and case lifecycle management in one system.
The business now has more than lead generation: it has public authority, intake, client access and internal operations connected through one product architecture.
- Public authority layer for search, trust and urgent conversion
- Authenticated client product layer for ongoing case handling
- Internal workspace for review, operations, billing state and lifecycle management
- One connected product architecture instead of fragmented handoffs between forms, email and office operations
Live domain: www.anwalt-wenzel.com
