SmartProBono — Legacy Legal Platform Prototype

Current production: https://smartprobono.org
Current canonical codebase: BTheCoderr/smartprobonoip

This repository is an earlier SmartProBono legal-tech prototype. It is kept as a reference for features, UX ideas, and migration candidates. It is not the source currently serving SmartProBono production.

Project snapshot: Earlier full-stack SmartProBono experiments covering AI-assisted intake, legal research, document workflows, role-based dashboard concepts, WebSocket experiments, and case-management prototypes.

What it demonstrates: Full-stack product design · AI-assisted workflows · role-based UX concepts · legal-tech prototyping · Flask + React architecture.

Important: A file, component, or API route being present in this repository does not mean that capability is enabled, production-ready, or live at smartprobono.org.

Current Status

SmartProBono has moved forward into a unified Legal + IP preparation platform at https://smartprobono.org.

The current production product uses the newer smartprobonoip repository as its canonical codebase. That application now provides the SmartProBono umbrella experience, SmartProBono Legal, SmartProBonoIP, unified accounts/workspaces, and the current Supabase architecture.

This older repository should be treated as a feature archive and prototype source, not a production feature checklist.

What This Repository Actually Contains

Active frontend routes in this legacy build

The current frontend/src/App.js actively mounts:

• Home
• About
• Contact
• Legal AI Chat
• Document Scan
• Login
• Register
• Dashboard
• Privacy
• Terms

The app also contains many additional page components and experiments, but most are currently commented out or otherwise not enabled in the active router.

Prototype / migration-candidate features present in code

Code exists for concepts including:

• AI Virtual Paralegal workflows
• CourtListener/case-law research
• Client portal
• Lawyer dashboard
• Bondsman dashboard
• Admin dashboard
• Document generation
• Legal forms
• Document collaboration
• WebSocket notifications
• Compliance/risk experiments
• CRM/case-management APIs
• Enhanced v2 APIs
• Voice/court-filing/model-management experiments

These should be described as prototype capabilities or migration candidates, not as live production features unless they are separately verified and enabled.

Important Legacy Limitations

This repository includes development shortcuts and prototype implementations that should not be represented as production behavior:

• The frontend ProtectedRoute currently allows access without enforcing authentication.
• Many dashboard/tool routes are commented out in frontend/src/App.js.
• Document collaboration currently uses in-memory dictionaries for demo storage rather than durable collaborative persistence.
• The standalone WebSocket server defaults to localhost:8765.
• Several backend blueprints are conditionally registered and can be unavailable if dependencies or services are missing.
• Some older feature documentation describes intended behavior more broadly than the currently active runtime.
• This repository is not the code currently deployed at smartprobono.org.

Production

Use the current product here:

https://smartprobono.org

The production SmartProBono architecture is organized around:

• SmartProBono Legal — legal preparation, document understanding, Ermi, draft preparation, and guided workflows.
• SmartProBonoIP — IP readiness, invention organization, research preparation, and professional handoff.
• Unified Workspace — authenticated Legal + IP persistence while preserving anonymous IP preparation.
• Learn → Prepare → Connect — the platform operating model.

SmartProBono is a preparation platform and is not a law firm. It does not replace lawyers, courts, legal-aid organizations, patent professionals, or other qualified professionals.

Local Development for This Legacy Repository

localhost is used only for local development of this historical codebase. It is not the public SmartProBono address.

Backend

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

cd backend
python combined_server.py

Typical legacy local backend:

http://localhost:3001

Frontend

cd frontend
npm install
npm start

Typical legacy local frontend:

http://localhost:3002

Legacy Project Structure

SmartProBonoAPP/
├── backend/
│   ├── combined_server.py
│   ├── production_app.py
│   ├── routes/
│   ├── services/
│   └── websocket_server.py
├── frontend/
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── pages/
│   │   ├── components/
│   │   └── App.js
│   └── public/
└── requirements.txt

Notable Legacy APIs

The repository contains backend implementations for several API groups, including:

• Document scanning and document generation
• Legal AI
• AI Virtual Paralegal experiments
• CourtListener research
• Enhanced v2 case/user/document APIs
• CRM and intake workflows
• Document collaboration
• Analytics
• Voice and court-filing experiments

Because this is a legacy prototype repository, do not assume every endpoint is enabled in the deployed runtime merely because its source file exists.

Migration Rule

When a capability from this repository is useful, migrate it deliberately into the canonical SmartProBono platform rather than reactivating the entire old stack.

Migration candidates should receive:

1. Current security/auth architecture
2. Current Supabase ownership/RLS model
3. Current SmartProBono Legal safety language
4. Production tests
5. Explicit Legal/IP workspace integration
6. Current deployment verification at smartprobono.org

License

MIT License — see LICENSE.