Product Requirements Document: Schell IP Practice Automation
Project: Schell IP — Patent Practice Management Automation
Owner: Jeff Schell / Whiz ⚡
Created: 2026-01-26
Status: 🟡 PRD Development
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1. Executive Summary
Build an autonomous system that manages Jeff's patent law practice by:
1. Monitoring Clio Manage for client communications
2. Tracking AppColl for upcoming patent deadlines (4-week window)
3. Automatically retrieving and organizing file histories to Google Drive
4. Presenting a daily matter-by-matter status dashboard
Success Metric: Zero missed deadlines, same-day awareness of client communications
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2. Problem Statement
Patent practice involves:
- Critical deadlines (USPTO responses, maintenance fees, etc.) that cannot be missed
- Client communications scattered across Clio Manage
- File histories needed for deadline prep but manual to retrieve
- Multiple matters requiring parallel tracking
Manual monitoring is error-prone and time-consuming. An AI-assisted system can ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
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3. System Architecture
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SCHELL IP AUTOMATION │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Data Sources │
│ ├── Clio Manage → Client communications │
│ ├── AppColl → Patent deadlines & matter data │
│ └── Google Drive → File storage & organization │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Daily Automation │
│ ├── Morning scan (7 AM): Check all sources │
│ ├── Deadline extraction: Next 4 weeks │
│ ├── File retrieval: Auto-populate Drive folders │
│ └── Dashboard update: Matter-by-matter status │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Dashboards │
│ ├── Main Dashboard: Practice overview │
│ ├── Deadlines Page: 4-week deadline calendar │
│ └── Matter Pages: Individual status per matter │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
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4. Functional Requirements
4.1 Clio Manage Integration
Purpose: Monitor client communications
- [ ] Connect to Clio Manage (method TBD: API or browser)
- [ ] Daily check of "Communications" tab for each matter
- [ ] Extract new messages/emails since last check
- [ ] Flag urgent communications for immediate attention
- [ ] Log all communications to matter dashboard
Questions for Jeff:
1. Do you have Clio API access, or should I use browser automation?
2. Which specific data from Communications tab is most critical?
3. Any matters to prioritize or exclude from monitoring?
4.2 AppColl Deadline Tracking
Purpose: Track upcoming patent deadlines
- [ ] Connect to AppColl (method TBD: API or browser)
- [ ] Pull all deadlines in next 4-week window
- [ ] Categorize by type (response, maintenance fee, filing, etc.)
- [ ] Calculate urgency (days remaining)
- [ ] Create dedicated deadline dashboard page
Deadline Categories:
- USPTO Office Action responses
- Maintenance fee payments
- Provisional to non-provisional conversions
- Foreign filing deadlines
- Client-set internal deadlines
Questions for Jeff:
1. Do you have AppColl API access?
2. What's your login method (username/password, SSO)?
3. Are there deadline types more critical than others?
4.3 File History Retrieval
Purpose: Prepare matter files for deadline work
Workflow:
1. Identify matters with deadlines in next 4 weeks
2. Retrieve complete file history from AppColl
3. Create Google Drive folder structure:
Schell IP/
└── Active Matters/
└── [Client] - [Matter Name]/
├── File History/
├── Communications/
└── Deadline Prep/
4. Populate with retrieved documents
5. Link from matter dashboard
Questions for Jeff:
1. What file types are in AppColl (PDFs, Word docs, images)?
2. Should I download everything or just specific document types?
3. Which Google Drive account (personal or business)?
4.4 Dashboard System
Main Dashboard (
schellip-dashboard.netlify.app):- Practice overview metrics
- Active matters count
- Deadlines this week / this month
- Recent communications summary
- Quick links to matter pages
Deadlines Page (linked from main):
- Calendar view of next 4 weeks
- List view sorted by urgency
- Matter name, deadline type, due date, status
- Links to Drive folders for prep
Matter Status Pages:
- Individual page per active matter
- Timeline of events
- All communications
- All deadlines
- File history links
- Current status and next action
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5. Daily Automation Flow
Morning Routine (7 AM MT):
1. CHECK CLIO MANAGE
├── Scan all matters for new communications
├── Extract and log any new messages
└── Flag urgent items → notify Jeff immediately
2. CHECK APPCOLL
├── Pull deadlines for next 4 weeks
├── Compare to previous day (new deadlines?)
├── Update deadline dashboard
└── For new deadline matters:
└── Retrieve file history → Google Drive
3. UPDATE DASHBOARDS
├── Rebuild main dashboard with fresh data
├── Update deadline calendar
└── Refresh matter status pages
4. MORNING BRIEFING
└── Send Jeff summary:
• New communications (count + highlights)
• Deadlines this week (prioritized)
• Any new matters or changes
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6. Technical Implementation
6.1 Access Methods (To Be Determined)
| System | Option A: API | Option B: Browser |
|--------|---------------|-------------------|
| Clio Manage | Clio API (OAuth) | Playwright automation |
| AppColl | AppColl API (if available) | Playwright automation |
| Google Drive | gog CLI ✅ | Already configured |
6.2 Data Storage
- Structured data: JSON files in
~/clawd/SchellIP/- Matter index:
matters/index.json- Deadline cache:
deadlines/upcoming.json- Communication log:
matters/[id]/communications.json- Files: Google Drive (organized by matter)
6.3 Cron Schedule
| Time | Task |
|------|------|
| 7:00 AM | Full daily scan (Clio + AppColl + Drive sync) |
| 12:00 PM | Midday deadline check (urgent items only) |
| 5:00 PM | End of day summary |
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7. Milestones
| Phase | Deliverable | Target | Status |
|-------|-------------|--------|--------|
| 1 | PRD Complete | Today | 🟡 In Progress |
| 2 | Access configured (Clio + AppColl) | TBD | ⬜ Blocked |
| 3 | Main dashboard deployed | TBD | ⬜ Not Started |
| 4 | Deadline page live | TBD | ⬜ Not Started |
| 5 | File retrieval working | TBD | ⬜ Not Started |
| 6 | Daily automation running | TBD | ⬜ Not Started |
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8. Risks & Mitigations
| Risk | Impact | Mitigation |
|------|--------|------------|
| No API access to Clio/AppColl | High | Use browser automation (slower but works) |
| Browser automation breaks | Medium | Build robust selectors, add error alerts |
| Missed deadline | Critical | Multiple notification channels, redundant checks |
| File sync errors | Medium | Verification step, manual backup option |
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9. Open Questions for Jeff
Access & Authentication
1. Clio Manage: API access available? Or username/password for browser automation?
2. AppColl: API access available? Login credentials?
3. Google Drive: Use jeff@theschellcompany.com or personal account?
Workflow Preferences
4. How do you want urgent communications flagged? (iMessage, email, both?)
5. What's the threshold for "urgent" — specific keywords, specific clients?
6. For deadlines, do you want reminders at specific intervals (7 days, 3 days, 1 day)?
Scope
7. How many active matters do you typically have?
8. Any matters to exclude from automation?
9. Should I also track completed/closed matters for reference?
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10. Next Steps
Immediate:
1. Jeff to provide Clio and AppColl access method
2. Jeff to clarify workflow preferences
3. Whiz to build dashboard skeleton
After Access Configured:
1. Test data retrieval from both platforms
2. Build matter indexing system
3. Deploy initial dashboards
4. Set up daily cron automation
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Document Version: 1.0 | Last Updated: 2026-01-26