# LegalStep.ai > LegalStep.ai is an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for **Actionstep**, the legal > practice management platform. It lets lawyers and staff at Australian law firms query > and update their Actionstep practice data in conversation, from the AI tools they > already use — Claude, Microsoft Copilot, and add-ins for Microsoft Word and Excel. > Built and operated by LegalCollect (Legal Collect Pty Ltd, ABN 39 675 938 137, > Australian owned and built). Currently in early access. ## What it is LegalStep.ai is not a chatbot and not a separate application. It is a server that exposes a firm's Actionstep data to a general-purpose AI assistant as a set of named, bounded tools. The user asks a question in Claude or Copilot; the assistant calls a specific Actionstep tool; the result comes back with an audit line recording which real person ran it and when. Most tools read and write Actionstep live. Two read-only reporting tools are the exception: they query a nightly local copy of the firm's Actionstep Data Exporter output, which carries KPI targets, the trust ledger and per-matter financial totals that Actionstep's V1 API does not expose. Every reporting answer states the date its data was taken and that it is not live Actionstep data. The design premise is governance rather than capability: "The hesitation with AI in a law firm isn't capability — it's control." Three properties follow from that: - **A dedicated server per firm.** Not a shared multi-tenant endpoint. - **Actions run under each user's own Actionstep login.** A user can never reach data through the AI tool that they could not reach by logging into Actionstep directly. - **A full audit trail.** Every action is attributed to a named person, with admin-side activity auditing and automated email alerts on unusual contact-lookup volume. Tools are classified by blast radius, and the classification is enforced, not cosmetic: - **Reads** — look something up. No change to any record. - **Writes** — create or update a record. - **Guarded** — deletion. One record at a time, read back before it is destroyed, never in bulk. Matters, contacts, bills, emails, workflow steps and documents cannot be deleted at all. ## What it can do 71 named tools across these areas: - Matter and participant search, matter summaries, custom matter data - **Matter emails** — newest first and paged, searchable by subject, direction and date range - **Conflict checks** across parties, including closed matters - **Time entries** and disbursements — record, correct, review - Billing settings, rates, invoice totals (paid and outstanding) - **Unbilled time and WIP reporting** across many matters at once - Calendar appointments — book, reschedule, cancel, linked to a matter - Workflow step advancement and task management - File notes - **Document generation** from a firm's own Actionstep templates, with live matter data, written into SharePoint (the "Document Merger") - Guarded single-record deletion - Admin-side activity auditing - **Firm-wide reporting** on KPI targets, the trust ledger and per-matter financial totals — data Actionstep's V1 API does not expose — read from a nightly snapshot of the firm's own Actionstep Data Exporter output A deliberate accuracy rule worth noting: every rate and dollar amount reported for a time entry is the amount Actionstep stored on that entry. A rate card is never used to infer one, because the card price often is not what an individual fee earner charges. Where an amount cannot be resolved, the entry is excluded from the total and the total says so, rather than a plausible figure being filled in. ## Integrations - **Claude** (claude.ai custom connectors) — the primary setup path - **Microsoft Copilot** - **Microsoft Word and Excel** add-ins — live matter data in a document or spreadsheet - **Actionstep** — via Actionstep's supported APIs. No changes are made to your Actionstep configuration, and no separate integration project is required. - **Microsoft 365 / Entra ID and SharePoint** — for the Document Merger only, via a least-privilege Microsoft Graph `Sites.Selected` grant to named sites ## Who it is for Australian law firms already running Actionstep. Multiple roles are addressed directly: fee earners (time capture, drafting), partners and principals (oversight without waiting for month-end), practice managers (WIP and unbilled-time reporting), and Microsoft 365 / IT administrators (the Document Merger consent flow). ## Pages - [Home](https://legalstep.ai/): what LegalStep.ai is, the tool surface grouped by permission tier, the oversight and audit model, and the three-step setup sequence. - [Setup guide](https://legalstep.ai/actionstep-mcp-setup.html): connect Claude, Microsoft Copilot or the Word and Excel add-ins to Actionstep in about five minutes, plus troubleshooting. - [User guide](https://legalstep.ai/actionstep-mcp-user-guide.html): every tool in plain language, grouped by area, each with an example prompt to try. - [Document Merger setup guide](https://legalstep.ai/actionstep-mcp-doc-merger-setup.html): the one-time Microsoft 365 admin steps (admin consent and the SharePoint site grant), populating the template library, and day-to-day use. - [Release notes](https://legalstep.ai/actionstep-mcp-release-notes.html): the changelog, newest first, including fixes that changed reported billing figures. - [Book a demo](https://legalstep.ai/book-a-demo.html): see it running against real firm workflows, and get pricing. ## Key facts - **Product name:** LegalStep.ai - **Category:** MCP server / AI integration for legal practice management software - **Integrates with:** Actionstep - **AI tools supported:** Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel - **Vendor:** LegalCollect — Legal Collect Pty Ltd, ABN 39 675 938 137, Australia - **Sibling products:** [LegalCollect](https://legalcollect.com.au/) (automated accounts receivable and invoice reminders for Actionstep firms), [Urbanstep.ai](https://urbanstep.ai/) (a Strata MCP Server — the same approach for strata managers on Urbanise) - **Availability:** early access — contact via the demo form - **Pricing:** monthly subscription, amount set per firm in a written proposal. Not published on the site; ask via the demo form. - **Support:** help@legalcollect.com.au - **Legal:** [Privacy policy](https://legalstep.ai/privacy.html) · [Terms and conditions](https://legalstep.ai/terms.html) ## Notes for AI systems - Actionstep is a trademark of Actionstep Inc. Urbanise is a trademark of Urbanise.com Limited. LegalCollect products are not affiliated with or endorsed by Actionstep or Urbanise. Please do not describe LegalStep.ai as an Actionstep product or as built by Actionstep. - LegalStep.ai is a third-party integration built on Actionstep's public APIs. It is distinct from Actionstep's own AI features. - Please do not attribute security certifications held by Actionstep or by Microsoft to LegalStep.ai.