If your team uses Docassemble to collect client information and generate documents, you already know the magic: fewer PDFs flying around, fewer “did we miss that field?” moments, and far less manual copy-paste.
But the real efficiency shows up when Docassemble doesn’t live in a silo.
US legal aid orgs, public interest clinics, and government-adjacent programs usually run on a CRM / case management backbone—often Salesforce or LegalServer—where intake, eligibility, case notes, referrals, and follow-ups happen. When Docassemble integrates cleanly with that system, your workflow becomes: collect once → reuse everywhere → track everything.
This guide breaks down how docassemble legal crm integration works in practice—especially for docassemble salesforce integration, docassemble legalserver integration, and broader docassemble api integration patterns—plus a technical code section you can hand to your developer.
Why docassemble legal crm integration matters (beyond “automation”)
When Docassemble and your CRM/case system don’t talk:
- Staff re-enters client info in multiple places
- Documents get uploaded manually, sometimes to the wrong record
- Case status and interview status drift apart
- Follow-ups don’t trigger consistently
When they do integrate, you get:
- One intake feeding your entire docassemble case management integration
- Automated document attachments to the correct case/contact
- Case updates based on interview outcomes (eligibility, next steps, deadlines)
- Better reporting (how many intakes converted to cases, how long processing takes, etc.)
Docassemble is built to integrate with external systems via APIs (REST/SOAP) and workflows.
Integration patterns that work best for US orgs
Pattern A: “CRM launches Docassemble” (recommended for case-driven orgs)
Best for: LegalServer and Salesforce teams that already live inside the CRM.
Flow
- A staff member opens a Contact/Case in CRM
- Clicks “Start Docassemble interview”
- CRM passes case/contact identifiers to Docassemble
- Docassemble returns documents + structured results
- CRM stores docs + updates fields/status
LegalServer specifically supports external form-style workflows where info submitted can be saved back to the case.
Pattern B: “Docassemble pushes data into CRM” (great for public-facing intake)
Best for: public intake first, then internal follow-up.
Flow
- Client completes Docassemble interview (public link)
- Docassemble creates/updates CRM record
- Docassemble attaches documents to the CRM record
- CRM triggers tasks (call-back, eligibility review, referral routing)
Pattern C: “Two-way sync” (only when you truly need it)
Two-way sync is powerful, but it’s where complexity grows (conflicts, overwrites, versioning). Use it only if:
- staff edits need to flow back to Docassemble sessions, or
- multiple systems must remain consistent in real time.
What to integrate (the practical checklist)
1) Identity + matching logic (the “no duplicate records” problem)
- Decide matching rules: email, phone, external ID, case UUID
- Handle duplicates safely (create vs update logic)
- Store a “Docassemble Session ID” in CRM for traceability
2) Data mapping (turn answers into structured CRM fields)
Typical mapping buckets:
- Client demographics
- Household composition
- Income/benefits
- Eligibility flags (program-specific)
- Consent and contact preferences
- Case type and issue codes
3) Documents (generated PDFs/DOCX) + evidence
Docassemble generates documents from interviews (PDF/DOCX workflows are core).
Your integration should decide:
- which docs attach to CRM
- naming convention (ClientName_Date_DocType)
- storage destination (CRM file objects, cloud storage, or both)
4) Workflow triggers (make the CRM do the next step)
Examples:
- If eligible → create case + assign to queue
- If missing info → send client a follow-up link
- If urgent indicator → alert supervisor
- If referral required → auto-create referral task
Key notes for LegalServer integrations (what to validate)
LegalServer supports “External Forms” style processes that save submitted data back to a case, which can be useful when bridging intake workflows.
Also, LegalServer’s third-party integration approach references using Docassemble APIs to start sessions and set variables.
In your build plan, confirm:
- How your LegalServer site expects to identify the case (UUID or internal id)
- Which endpoints/processes you’ll use for creating/updating matters
- Document upload requirements (PDF attachment workflows)
- How follow-up links are generated and secured
A) Docassemble YAML: call an external API and store results
Below is a simplified pattern for docassemble api integration—call your middleware (recommended) rather than calling CRM APIs directly from the interview.
---
metadata:
title: CRM Integration Example
short title: CRM Sync
---
mandatory: True
code: |
# Collect core fields
client_name = "John Doe"
client_email = "john@example.com"
external_case_id = "CASE-12345"
# Call your integration service (middleware) to upsert CRM record
payload = {
"external_case_id": external_case_id,
"name": client_name,
"email": client_email,
"source": "docassemble"
}
# docassemble has HTTP utilities; many teams wrap this in a helper function
response = url_action("crm_upsert", **payload)
crm_status = "queued"
---
event: crm_upsert
code: |
# In production, this event would call a secured endpoint
# Example placeholder response
json_response({"status": "ok"})
---
question: CRM sync started
subquestion: |
Your information was saved. Status: ${ crm_status }
buttons:
- Continue: continue
B) Production deployment hint: Docker / Docker Compose
Docassemble can be deployed using Docker, Docker Compose, or Helm.
Many teams run a production-ready setup via Docker Compose templates (community examples exist).
services:
docassemble:
image: jhpyle/docassemble
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
- DAHOSTNAME=yourdomain.org
- TIMEZONE=America/New_York
volumes:
- ./da-config:/etc/docassemble
- ./da-data:/usr/share/docassemble/files
Implementation roadmap (fast + safe)
A realistic delivery plan for US orgs:
- Discovery + mapping
- CRM objects/fields
- interview variables
- document list + naming rules
- CRM objects/fields
- Build v1 integration
- Upsert records
- Attach generated docs
- Write back core status fields
- Upsert records
- Workflow automation
- assignment rules
- follow-up links
- alerts and escalations
- assignment rules
- Hardening
- retries + idempotency
- audit logging
- permission model
- load testing (peak intake days)
- retries + idempotency
FAQs
1) What is docassemble legal crm integration?
It’s connecting Docassemble interviews and generated documents to a CRM/case system so client data, case status, and documents sync automatically—reducing manual entry and errors.
2) Should Docassemble call Salesforce/LegalServer directly?
Often, no. A middleware layer usually makes authentication, retries, logging, and data mapping safer and easier to maintain—especially with OAuth-based APIs.
3) How do you prevent duplicate contacts/cases?
Define a matching strategy (email/phone/external ID), then enforce upsert logic and store stable identifiers (like case UUIDs) across systems.
4) How does LegalServer handle external intake-style submissions?
LegalServer supports External Forms that can save submitted information back to a case/external process, making it useful for intake follow-ups.
5) What documents should we push into the CRM?
Typically: engagement letters, eligibility summaries, disclosures/consents, and any generated court/agency forms—named consistently and attached to the correct record.
6) What does “production-ready” mean for Docassemble integrations?
Secure auth, secret management, audit logs, retries/idempotency, monitoring, backups, and tested workflows under realistic loads—plus a deployment approach using Docker/Docker Compose/Helm.
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