Replay for LegalTech: Modernizing Legacy Case Management Systems with Visual Context

Law firms and corporate legal departments are currently trapped in a $3.6 trillion technical debt cycle. While the world has moved toward fluid, cloud-native interfaces, the backbone of legal operations—the Case Management System (CMS)—is often a monolithic relic from the early 2000s. These systems are "stable" only in the sense that they are difficult to change, yet they hold the keys to firm productivity, billing, and document automation.

The challenge isn't just the code; it’s the lost context. When you attempt replay legaltech modernizing legacy projects, you aren't just fighting outdated C# or Java; you are fighting a lack of documentation. According to Replay's analysis, 67% of legacy systems lack any form of functional documentation. In the legal sector, where a single workflow for "Matter Intake" might involve 50+ validation rules and three external integrations, losing that context during a rewrite is catastrophic.

TL;DR:

• •The Problem: 70% of legacy rewrites fail because developers lack visual context and documentation for complex legal workflows.
• •The Solution: Replay uses Visual Reverse Engineering to convert video recordings of legacy UIs into documented React code and Design Systems.
• •The Impact: Reduce modernization timelines from 18 months to weeks, saving 70% on average development costs while maintaining 100% functional parity.
• •Key Benefits: SOC2/HIPAA-ready, AI-driven component extraction, and automated workflow mapping for regulated industries.

The High Cost of the "Black Box" in LegalTech#

In the enterprise legal space, the cost of manual modernization is prohibitive. Industry experts recommend a cautious approach to legacy systems, yet the pressure to provide mobile-responsive, AI-integrated tools for attorneys is mounting. Manual modernization typically requires a developer to spend 40 hours per screen just to understand, document, and recreate the UI and logic. With Replay, that time is slashed to 4 hours.

When we talk about replay legaltech modernizing legacy frameworks, we are addressing the "Black Box" problem. Most legacy CMS platforms were built by developers who have long since left the firm. The source code is often a "spaghetti" of procedural logic.

Video-to-code is the process of using computer vision and AI to analyze user interface interactions from a video recording and automatically generate the corresponding front-end code, state management, and design tokens.

For a legal organization, this means a paralegal can record themselves completing a "Discovery Request" workflow, and Replay will output the React components, the data flow architecture, and the design system required to rebuild that experience in a modern stack.

Why 70% of Legacy Rewrites Fail (and How to Avoid It)#

The statistics are grim: 70% of legacy rewrites fail or exceed their timeline significantly. In the legal world, this usually happens because the "as-is" state of the application is never fully captured. Requirements gathering is filtered through interviews and screenshots, which miss the subtle edge cases—like how a specific court filing date triggers a cascading series of calendar alerts.

Using replay legaltech modernizing legacy strategies allows teams to capture the ground truth. By recording the actual usage of the legacy system, Replay’s AI Automation Suite identifies every button state, modal window, and data validation rule.

Comparison: Manual Modernization vs. Replay Visual Reverse Engineering#

Technical Implementation: From Legacy Tables to React Components#

One of the biggest hurdles in LegalTech is the complexity of data grids. Legal professionals live in tables—dockets, time entries, and contact lists. Modernizing these requires more than just a "CSS facelift"; it requires a robust component library that handles complex state.

When utilizing replay legaltech modernizing legacy tools, the Replay Library (Design System) automatically extracts the DNA of your legacy UI. It identifies recurring patterns—like a "Matter Header" or a "Billing Row"—and generates clean, accessible TypeScript code.

Example: Legacy UI to Modern React Component#

Imagine a legacy Delphi or PowerBuilder screen for "Conflict Checking." The code is non-existent or unreadable. After recording the workflow, Replay generates a modernized React component like the one below.

typescript
// Generated by Replay AI Automation Suite
import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { Table, Badge, Button, Modal } from '@/components/legal-ui';

interface ConflictResult {
  id: string;
  clientName: string;
  matterType: string;
  riskLevel: 'Low' | 'Medium' | 'High';
  openDate: string;
}

const ConflictCheckResults: React.FC<{ data: ConflictResult[] }> = ({ data }) => {
  const [selectedMatter, setSelectedMatter] = useState<ConflictResult | null>(null);

  return (
    <div className="p-6 bg-slate-50 rounded-xl shadow-sm">
      <h2 className="text-xl font-semibold mb-4">Conflict Search Results</h2>
      <Table>
        <thead>
          <tr className="border-b border-slate-200 text-left text-sm text-slate-500">
            <th className="pb-3">Client Name</th>
            <th className="pb-3">Matter Type</th>
            <th className="pb-3">Risk Level</th>
            <th className="pb-3">Actions</th>
          </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
          {data.map((item) => (
            <tr key={item.id} className="border-b border-slate-100 hover:bg-white transition-colors">
              <td className="py-4 font-medium">{item.clientName}</td>
              <td className="py-4 text-slate-600">{item.matterType}</td>
              <td className="py-4">
                <Badge variant={item.riskLevel === 'High' ? 'danger' : 'warning'}>
                  {item.riskLevel}
                </Badge>
              </td>
              <td className="py-4">
                <Button variant="outline" onClick={() => setSelectedMatter(item)}>
                  View Details
                </Button>
              </td>
            </tr>
          ))}
        </tbody>
      </Table>
    </div>
  );
};

export default ConflictCheckResults;

This code isn't just a generic template. It is structured based on the Design Systems principles that Replay extracts directly from your recorded legacy sessions.

Mapping the "Flows": Understanding Legal Logic#

In LegalTech, the sequence of events is as important as the UI itself. A "Matter Intake" isn't a single screen; it's a multi-step journey involving conflict checks, fee agreements, and document generation.

Replay’s Flows (Architecture) feature maps these visual journeys. As a user records their screen, Replay tracks the transitions. If clicking "Approve" on a fee agreement opens a specific PDF generation modal, Replay documents that architectural relationship. This prevents the "logic gaps" that plague 70% of failed rewrites.

According to Replay's analysis, mapping these flows manually takes hundreds of hours of stakeholder meetings. With Visual Reverse Engineering, the recording is the documentation.

The Blueprints (Editor) Advantage#

Once the components and flows are captured, developers use the Blueprints (Editor) to refine the generated code. Unlike "no-code" tools that lock you into a proprietary ecosystem, Replay outputs standard React/TypeScript.

For a Senior Architect, this means you can:

1. •Refactor with Context: See the original legacy video side-by-side with the new code.
2. •Standardize Components: Ensure that every "Date Picker" across the entire Case Management System follows the same accessibility (A11y) standards.
3. •Inject Modern Logic: Easily swap out legacy SOAP calls for modern REST or GraphQL APIs within the generated component structure.

For more on how this speeds up the development lifecycle, check out our guide on Technical Debt Reduction.

Security and Compliance in Regulated Environments#

LegalTech requires the highest tiers of security. Whether you are dealing with PII (Personally Identifiable Information) in a personal injury case or sensitive corporate M&A data, modernization cannot compromise security.

Replay is built for regulated environments:

• •SOC2 & HIPAA-Ready: Our platform adheres to strict data handling protocols.
• •On-Premise Availability: For firms with air-gapped requirements or strict data residency rules, Replay can be deployed within your own infrastructure.
• •PII Masking: During the recording and reverse engineering process, sensitive data can be automatically masked to ensure that only the UI structure and logic are captured, not the confidential client information.

Modernizing a Document Assembly Component#

Document assembly is the heart of LegalTech. Legacy systems often use complex, nested forms to gather data before injecting it into a Word template. Modernizing this requires a sophisticated understanding of form state.

Here is how Replay handles the transition of a complex legal form into a modern, validated React Hook Form structure.

typescript
// Modernized Document Assembly Form generated via Replay
import React from 'react';
import { useForm } from 'react-hook-form';
import { zodResolver } from '@hookform/resolvers/zod';
import * as z from 'zod';

const schema = z.object({
  caseNumber: z.string().min(5, "Case number must be at least 5 characters"),
  jurisdiction: z.string().nonempty("Please select a jurisdiction"),
  filingType: z.enum(['Motion', 'Pleading', 'Subpoena']),
  isUrgent: z.boolean(),
});

type FormData = z.infer<typeof schema>;

export const DocumentAssemblyForm = () => {
  const { register, handleSubmit, formState: { errors } } = useForm<FormData>({
    resolver: zodResolver(schema),
  });

  const onSubmit = (data: FormData) => {
    console.log("Modernized Data Payload:", data);
    // Integration with modern Document API
  };

  return (
    <form onSubmit={handleSubmit(onSubmit)} className="space-y-4 max-w-lg">
      <div>
        <label className="block text-sm font-medium text-gray-700">Case Number</label>
        <input 
          {...register('caseNumber')} 
          className="mt-1 block w-full border-gray-300 rounded-md shadow-sm focus:ring-indigo-500 focus:border-indigo-500"
        />
        {errors.caseNumber && <p className="text-red-500 text-xs mt-1">{errors.caseNumber.message}</p>}
      </div>

      <div>
        <label className="block text-sm font-medium text-gray-700">Jurisdiction</label>
        <select {...register('jurisdiction')} className="mt-1 block w-full rounded-md border-gray-300">
          <option value="federal">Federal District Court</option>
          <option value="state">State Superior Court</option>
        </select>
      </div>

      <div className="flex items-center">
        <input type="checkbox" {...register('isUrgent')} className="h-4 w-4 text-indigo-600 rounded" />
        <label className="ml-2 block text-sm text-gray-900">Mark as Urgent Filing</label>
      </div>

      <button type="submit" className="w-full bg-blue-600 text-white py-2 px-4 rounded hover:bg-blue-700 transition">
        Generate Document
      </button>
    </form>
  );
};

By replay legaltech modernizing legacy forms like this, the system moves from brittle, hard-coded validation to a type-safe, schema-driven architecture. This allows for easier updates when court rules or filing requirements change.

The ROI of Visual Reverse Engineering#

The financial argument for Replay is clear. If an enterprise rewrite of a Case Management System is projected to take 18 months and cost $2 million in developer hours, Replay’s 70% time savings translates to:

• •Timeline: Reduced from 18 months to ~5.5 months.
• •Cost: Reduced from $2M to ~$600k.
• •Opportunity Cost: Attorneys get access to mobile-ready, efficient tools over a year sooner, increasing billable efficiency and reducing administrative churn.

Furthermore, the "Library" created by Replay becomes a permanent asset. It isn't just for one project; it becomes the firm's internal Design System, ensuring that any future applications—whether an internal HR portal or a client-facing intake site—look and feel consistent.

Conclusion: The Future of Legal Operations#

The legal industry cannot afford to stay stagnant. As AI-driven legal research and automated discovery become the norm, the underlying Case Management Systems must be capable of integrating with these new technologies. You cannot bolt an AI engine onto a 20-year-old legacy UI without significant friction.

By leveraging replay legaltech modernizing legacy strategies, firms can bridge the gap between their proven, reliable business logic and the modern web. We stop treating legacy systems as "burdens" and start treating them as "blueprints" for the future.

Modernization is no longer a multi-year gamble. With Visual Reverse Engineering, the path from a recorded workflow to a production-ready React application is measured in days, not months.

Frequently Asked Questions#

Does Replay require access to our legacy source code?#

No. Replay’s Visual Reverse Engineering platform works by analyzing the rendered UI and user interactions from video recordings. This makes it ideal for modernizing systems where the original source code is lost, poorly documented, or written in obsolete languages that modern developers cannot easily parse.

How does Replay handle complex data tables common in LegalTech?#

Replay is specifically designed to handle enterprise-grade UI complexity. Our AI Automation Suite identifies patterns in data grids, including sorting, filtering, and nested row logic. It then generates high-quality React components using modern libraries like TanStack Table or custom components within your new Design System.

Is the code generated by Replay proprietary or "lock-in"?#

Absolutely not. Replay outputs clean, standard TypeScript and React code. Once the components and flows are generated, they are yours to keep, modify, and deploy anywhere. We believe in empowering developers, not creating new forms of technical debt.

How does Replay ensure HIPAA and SOC2 compliance?#

We take security seriously. Replay offers PII masking tools to ensure sensitive client data is never processed by our AI. Additionally, for firms with the highest security requirements, we offer on-premise deployment options so that your data never leaves your controlled environment.

Can Replay modernize mobile versions of legal apps?#

Yes. By recording workflows from mobile emulators or devices, Replay can help generate responsive React Native or mobile-web components, ensuring that attorneys have the same functional experience on their tablets or phones as they do at their desks.

Ready to modernize without rewriting from scratch? Book a pilot with Replay