AbacusLaw

Supergood | AbacusLaw API

Alex Klarfeld

Alex Klarfeld

— 6 min read
Supergood | AbacusLaw API

Programmatically access AbacusLaw matter data, client records, court calendars, time entries, invoices, and trust transactions with a stable REST API. Supergood builds and operates production-grade, unofficial AbacusLaw integrations so your team can automate legal operations without heavy custom engineering.

Plain English: AbacusLaw is law practice management software used by small and midsize firms to manage cases (matters), clients, calendars with court rules, documents, time & billing, and trust accounting. An unofficial API lets you programmatically pull matter lists, contacts, events/deadlines, tasks, notes, documents, time entries, invoices, payments, and trust transactions—and push new records or updates back into AbacusLaw.

For a tech company integrating with AbacusLaw, this means you can ingest real-time matter and client data to power dashboards, sync deadlines and tasks to your calendaring system, automate time capture from your product, reconcile invoices and trust activity with accounting (e.g., QuickBooks, Xero), or enrich your platform with intake forms, documents, and communications. You can also trigger client-facing updates, attach files, create rules-based calendar events, and keep stakeholder systems (DMS, ERP/accounting, CRM, BI) aligned.

What is AbacusLaw?

AbacusLaw (https://www.abacuslaw.com/) is a practice and case management platform historically offered by AbacusNext (now part of CARET). Firms use AbacusLaw to centralize matter files, client/contact information, rules-based calendaring for court deadlines, task management, document automation, conflict checking, intake, time tracking, billing, and trust accounting. Deployments are commonly on-premises or hosted within Abacus Private Cloud, with Outlook add-ins and document integrations.

Core product areas include:

  • Matter Management (Matters, Stages/Status, Practice Areas, Parties/Contacts, Notes)
  • Calendaring & Tasks (Events, Rules-Based Deadlines, Reminders, Checklists, Staff Assignments)
  • Time & Billing (Time Entries, Expenses, Rates, Invoices, Payments)
  • Trust Accounting (Trust Accounts, Deposits/Disbursements, Matter-Level Balances)
  • Document & Communication (Document Assembly, File Links, Email/Outlook Sync, Client Portal)
  • Intake & Conflicts (Intake Forms, Conflict Checking, Lead Tracking)

Common data entities:

  • Users, Roles/Permissions (Attorney, Paralegal, Staff, Admin)
  • Matters (metadata, matter numbers, practice area, stage/status, responsible attorney)
  • Contacts (clients, opposing counsel, judges, vendors; addresses and communication preferences)
  • Calendar Events & Deadlines (court rules, triggers, service methods, reminders)
  • Tasks & Checklists (assignments, due dates, completion states)
  • Time Entries & Expenses (UTBMS-like activity codes, hours, rates, billable flags)
  • Invoices & Payments (invoice numbers, balances, payment methods)
  • Trust Accounts & Transactions (deposit/disbursement entries, balances, compliance)
  • Documents & Attachments (file metadata, storage locations)

The AbacusLaw Integration Challenge

Legal teams rely on AbacusLaw daily, but turning desktop/portal-first workflows into API-driven automation can be complex:

  • Legacy/desktop-first architecture: Many firms run AbacusLaw on-prem or via Abacus Private Cloud with limited or no modern REST APIs
  • Rules-based calendaring: Deadline chains, service methods, and event dependencies require careful modeling to avoid missed dates
  • Outlook-dependent flows: Email, contacts, and calendar sync often hinge on add-ins and can be brittle across versions
  • Trust accounting rigor: Compliance-sensitive trust transactions must be reconciled accurately at matter and account levels
  • Data spread: Key context spans matters, calendars, documents, time entries, invoices, and trust ledgers with references in multiple views
  • Authentication complexity: Windows AD/remote desktop, APC portals, and role-based permissions complicate headless automation
  • File storage nuances: Documents may live on network shares with permission and path issues rather than object storage

How Supergood Creates AbacusLaw APIs

Supergood reverse-engineers authenticated flows (APC portals and web modules) and safe backend adapters to deliver a resilient API endpoint layer for your AbacusLaw environment.

  • Handles username/password and domain/AD credentials securely; supports APC-hosted logins and MFA when enabled
  • Maintains session continuity with automated refresh, health checks, and change detection
  • Normalizes responses across modules so you can integrate once and rely on consistent matter, calendar, and billing schemas
  • Aligns with customer entitlements and role-based permissions to ensure compliant, least-privilege access
  • Supports document uploads via signed transfers and checksum validation; maps file-share paths when required

Use Cases

Matter & Contact Data Sync

  • Mirror matters, clients, and parties into your platform for analytics, intake, or CRM
  • Keep matter metadata current for dashboards, conflict checks, and reporting
  • Normalize matter numbers, statuses, practice areas, and responsible attorney assignments

Calendaring & Docket Automation

  • Create rules-based calendar events from your product (e.g., filing triggers, service method calculations)
  • Sync deadlines and reminders to your calendaring tools; track completion and rescheduling
  • Generate SLA alerts for upcoming court dates and push updates back into AbacusLaw

Time & Billing Workflows

  • Capture time entries from your product and push them to AbacusLaw for billing
  • Reconcile invoice status and payments with accounting (e.g., QuickBooks, Xero)
  • Normalize rates, billable flags, and activity codes across matters

Documents & Client Experience

  • Attach documents to matters and events; log communications
  • Trigger client portal updates, send reminders, and track acknowledgments
  • Unify intake forms and checklist progress across systems

Available Endpoints

Authentication

POST /sessions: Establish a session using credentials. Supergood can operate with username/password plus domain/AD and MFA when enabled (APC-hosted). Returns a short-lived auth token maintained by the platform.

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.supergood.ai/integrations/<integration_id>/sessions \
  --header 'Authorization: Basic <Base64 encoded token>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "username": "[email protected]",
    "password": "<password>",
    "domain": "YOURFIRM",
    "mfa": { "type": "totp", "code": "123456" }
  }'

Example response

{
  "authToken": "eyJhbGciOi...",
  "expiresIn": 3600,
  "user": {
    "id": "u_ab_1a2b3c",
    "name": "Paralegal",
    "entitlements": ["matters", "contacts", "calendar", "time_billing", "trust"]
  }
}

POST /sessions/refresh: Refresh an existing token to keep sessions uninterrupted.

Matters

GET /matters: List matters with filters and summary details.

Query parameters

  • practiceArea: string
  • status: open | closed | pending | archived
  • responsibleAttorneyId: string
  • updatedFrom, updatedTo: ISO 8601 timestamps
  • page, pageSize: integers for pagination

Example response

{
  "items": [
    {
      "matterId": "mtr_9f21c0",
      "matterNumber": "2026-CIV-0148",
      "title": "Smith v. Acme Co.",
      "status": "open",
      "stage": "discovery",
      "practiceArea": "Civil Litigation",
      "clientId": "ctc_88b32e",
      "clientName": "Jordan Smith",
      "responsibleAttorneyId": "u_ab_att_4401",
      "openDate": "2025-11-04",
      "nextHearingDate": "2026-02-12",
      "trustBalance": 2500.00,
      "billableHours": 118.6,
      "updatedAt": "2026-01-20T13:45:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "page": 1,
  "pageSize": 50,
  "total": 1
}

Calendar Events

POST /matters/{matterId}/events: Create a calendar event or rules-based deadline with court rule references and reminders.

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.supergood.ai/integrations/<integration_id>/matters/mtr_9f21c0/events \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <authToken>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "title": "Serve Defendant - Proof of Service Due",
    "eventDate": "2026-02-19T09:00:00-06:00",
    "type": "deadline",
    "courtRuleId": "cr_civ_12b",
    "triggerEventId": "evt_1c0d7a",
    "serviceMethod": "personal",
    "location": { "name": "Douglas County Court", "address": "1701 Farnam St, Omaha, NE" },
    "attendees": [
      {"contactId": "ctc_88b32e", "role": "client"},
      {"userId": "u_ab_att_4401", "role": "responsible_attorney"}
    ],
    "reminders": [
      {"minutesBefore": 1440, "channel": "email"},
      {"minutesBefore": 60, "channel": "popup"}
    ],
    "notes": "Compute downstream deadlines upon filing.",
    "attachments": [
      {"fileName": "service_instructions.pdf", "uploadToken": "upl_08ab73"}
    ],
    "notifyClient": true
  }'

Example response

{
  "eventId": "evt_5af8d0",
  "status": "scheduled",
  "type": "deadline",
  "createdAt": "2026-01-21T10:03:11Z",
  "reminderCount": 2
}

Time Entries

POST /time-entries: Create a time entry linked to a matter, with rates and billable flags.

curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.supergood.ai/integrations/<integration_id>/time-entries \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <authToken>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "matterId": "mtr_9f21c0",
    "userId": "u_ab_att_4401",
    "activityCode": "L110",
    "description": "Fact investigation; review documents from client",
    "date": "2026-01-21",
    "hours": 2.5,
    "rate": 275.00,
    "billable": true,
    "referenceId": "time-tracker-evt-9124"
  }'

Example response

{
  "timeEntryId": "te_90e412",
  "billableAmount": 687.50,
  "status": "recorded",
  "createdAt": "2026-01-21T10:45:32Z"
}

Get full API Specs →

Technical Specifications

  • Authentication: Username/password with optional domain/AD and MFA; supports APC-hosted login or customer-managed credentials
  • Response format: JSON with consistent resource schemas and pagination across modules
  • Rate limits: Tuned for firm-scale throughput while honoring entitlements and usage controls
  • Session management: Automatic reauth and session rotation with health checks
  • Data freshness: Near real-time retrieval of matters, contacts, calendars, time, invoices, and trust ledger objects
  • Security: Encrypted transport, scoped tokens, and audit logging; respects AbacusLaw role-based permissions
  • Webhooks: Optional asynchronous delivery for long-running workflows (e.g., court rule calculations, invoice updates)

Performance Characteristics

  • Latency: Sub-second responses for list/detail queries under normal load
  • Throughput: Designed for high-volume matter sync and calendar/time entry processing
  • Reliability: Retry logic, backoff, and idempotency keys minimize duplicate actions
  • Adaptation: Continuous monitoring for portal/adapter changes with rapid updates

Getting Started

  1. Schedule Integration Assessment

Book a 30-minute session to confirm your modules, deployment (on-prem/APC), and authentication model.

  1. Supergood Builds and Validates Your API

We deliver a hardened AbacusLaw adapter tailored to your workflows and entitlements.

  1. Deploy with Monitoring

Go live with continuous monitoring and automatic adjustments as AbacusLaw evolves.

Schedule Integration Call →

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Which AbacusLaw modules can this integration cover?

Supergood supports workflows across commonly used modules such as Matter Management (Matters, Contacts, Notes), Calendaring (Events, Rules-Based Deadlines), Time & Billing (Time Entries, Expenses, Invoices), and Trust Accounting (Accounts, Transactions), subject to your licensing and entitlements. We scope coverage during integration assessment.

Q: How are MFA, AD, and APC-hosted authentication handled?

We support username/password with optional domain/AD and can operate behind APC-hosted portals with MFA (SMS, email, TOTP) when enabled. Sessions are refreshed automatically with secure challenge handling.

Q: Can you sync invoices and trust transactions to our accounting system?

Yes. We normalize invoices, payments, and trust activity to match your ERP/accounting schema and deliver updates via webhooks or polling while complying with rate and permission constraints. We commonly integrate with QuickBooks and Xero.

Q: Are rules-based court deadlines supported?

Yes. We model triggers, service methods, and downstream deadline chains explicitly, compute reminders, and reconcile changes when events shift.

Q: What complaints do firms have about AbacusLaw integrations today?

Common pain points include a lack of modern REST APIs, reliance on desktop/APC environments, brittle Outlook sync, and difficulty extracting normalized data across matters, calendars, and billing. Supergood addresses these with a structured endpoint layer, normalization, and resilient session management.

Ready to automate your AbacusLaw workflows?

Supergood can have your AbacusLaw integration live in days with no ongoing engineering maintenance.

Get Started →

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