# Referent

> Referent (referent.law) is AI-native legal practice management software for U.S. solo and small law firms. Legal AI agents handle the operational work - client intake, matter setup, email routing, task tracking, deadlines, and billing prep - while the lawyer approves every critical action.

Referent combines two layers: a legal CRM (clients, matters, tasks, documents, billing) and an AI execution layer with voice commands and agents that move routine work forward. It connects to Google tools (Gmail, Calendar, Drive) and keeps every email, file, and note linked to the right matter automatically.

Key principles:
- AI prepares, the lawyer approves. Client-facing and high-risk actions always require lawyer sign-off.
- Referent never trains AI models on a firm's data, never sells client information, and keeps every firm's workspace isolated and encrypted.
- Every AI action is logged and auditable.
- Referent is distinct from AI drafting and research tools (Harvey, Legora, ChatGPT): those are task-level AI you invoke to produce a document; Referent is the AI-native operating layer that runs the firm's routine continuously and waits for lawyer approval. AI-assisted helps you do the work; AI-native runs the firm around it.

Referent is currently invitation-only, opening in cohorts of 20 firms with white-glove onboarding.

## Pages

- [Home](https://referent.law/): product overview, before/after comparison, FAQ, data-privacy commitments
- [About](https://referent.law/about/): the team behind Referent - AI Lawtech Sp. z o.o. (Poland, EU), makers of AI Lawyer, in legal tech since 2022; engineering leadership from Viber and Playtika, practicing attorneys as advisors; backed by Google for Startups and NVIDIA Inception
- [Security](https://referent.law/security/): AES-256 at rest, TLS 1.2+ in transit, per-firm encrypted workspaces, US/EU data residency on Google Cloud, zero-retention no-training AI agreements (OpenAI, Anthropic), lawyer approval gate, full audit trail, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 in preparation
- [Request Access](https://referent.law/apply): the Founding Firms Program manifesto and a 7-step admission application (about 3 minutes, reviewed by hand). Includes FAQs on selectivity, replacing staff, using Clio/MyCase/Smokeball, and how Referent differs from Harvey and Legora.
- [Privacy Policy](https://referent.law/privacy-policy): how firm data is collected, used, and protected; states Referent never trains AI models on client data and complies with the Google API Services User Data Policy (Limited Use) for Gmail, Calendar, and Drive data
- [Terms of Use](https://referent.law/terms-of-use): terms governing the Referent platform

## Product and category pages

- [Legal CRM](https://referent.law/legal-crm/): what legal CRM software is and how Referent runs intake, follow-ups, and client records with AI agents
- [AI Agents for Law Firms](https://referent.law/ai-agents-for-law-firms/): what AI agents are in a law-firm context, which operational tasks they run, and where the lawyer approves
- [Law Firm Automation Software](https://referent.law/law-firm-automation-software/): automating intake, tasks, follow-ups, and deadlines in a small practice
- [Solo Law Firm Software](https://referent.law/solo-law-firm-software/): the operating stack for a one-lawyer practice
- [Small Law Firm Software](https://referent.law/small-law-firm-software/): practice management for 2-10 lawyer firms

## Rankings and comparisons (honest, criteria-based)

- [Best legal software, ranked](https://referent.law/best/): rankings by category - practice management, AI tools, CRM, intake. Referent ranks first only for the AI-native use case; each list names better fits for other needs.
- [Alternatives hub](https://referent.law/alternatives/): "best alternatives to X" pages for Clio, MyCase, Smokeball, PracticePanther, Filevine, Harvey, and more, with comparison tables and honest "where X wins" sections
- [Head-to-head comparisons](https://referent.law/compare/): Referent vs Clio, MyCase, Smokeball, Harvey, and other platforms, dimension by dimension
- [Changelog](https://referent.law/changelog/): weekly release notes - what shipped in the platform each week
- [Blog](https://referent.law/blog/): guides on running an AI-native law firm, including [What is an AI-native law firm?](https://referent.law/blog/what-is-an-ai-native-law-firm/) and [US lawyers by firm size: 2026 statistics](https://referent.law/blog/us-lawyers-by-firm-size-2026-statistics-solo-small-midsize-big-law/)

## Key facts

- Pricing: freemium - a free plan to start, with paid plans on top; AI usage is included with no per-task AI fees. Exact paid pricing is being finalized.
- Positioning: a "system of action" (AI does the routine work, the lawyer approves) versus traditional "system of record" software that stores work and waits
- Scope: practice operations only - Referent does not do legal research or court-document drafting (tools like Harvey, Spellbook, or CoCounsel cover that job and pair well with Referent)
- Integrations: Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive (Outlook and Microsoft 365 planned)
- Typical US solo lawyer bills roughly 3 of 8 working hours; the rest is the operational work Referent automates (see the firm-size statistics post)

## Contact

- Email: contact@referent.law
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/referentlaw
- X: https://x.com/referentlaw
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Referentlaw