Taiwanese lawyer builds AI case assistant Donna: quickly reads and saves case files, drafts legal filings, and automatically scans and archives them.

Created by Taiwanese lawyer Jerry, the AI case management assistant Donna is now officially online. It integrates lawyers' case files, AI, and administrative tasks into a single workspace. You can read the entire case file to answer questions, with citation page numbers marked, automatically categorize files into seven major case folders, and assist in drafting legal documents. Most importantly, case files can be stored on the lawyer’s own OneDrive, Google Drive, or firm NAS, with layered encryption during transmission and storage, using the firm’s exclusive keys.
(Background summary: Lawyer Lin Shanglun’s article "When Text Becomes Assembly Line: AI and the Industrial Revolution in the Legal Industry")
(Additional background: Anthropic funds your learning of Claude and your work: matched to a nonprofit organization in the U.S. for one year)

Table of Contents

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• Master the full case file function
• Store case files on your own cloud
• Major changes in Taiwan’s judicial sector

Key Summary

• Donna is an AI case assistant built by Taiwanese lawyers. Ask a question, and it will read the entire case file to answer, marking citation page numbers (e.g., p.69, p.148).
• Case files can be stored on the lawyer’s own OneDrive, Google Drive, or NAS, encrypted with the firm’s exclusive keys, and are never used to train AI.
• The platform is free, with charges based only on AI processing and storage; individual lawyers pay about 2000 TWD per month, promoting “starting a practice for less than 3000 TWD a month.”

Most Taiwanese lawyers spend more than half their day not in court but searching files, flipping through case files, and registering correspondence. Recently, a Taiwanese lawyer personally developed the AI case management assistant Donna, aiming to reclaim more of the lawyer’s working hours.

According to official statements, its positioning is to integrate lawyers’ case files, AI, and administrative tasks into one workspace, with data always remaining in the lawyer’s control. The product is now live, and registration for trial use is open on the official website donna.systems.

Donna’s core is not a chatbot but a “case assistant.” When a file is received, it automatically interprets the content and filename, infers which case and folder it belongs to—high-confidence matches are directly filed, low-confidence ones are returned for lawyer confirmation, emphasizing “never misfile.” Even scanned paper documents and emails can be automatically categorized.

Master the full case file function

Opening a case presents a one-page three-column workspace, with the key feature being AI-based evidence question-and-answer.

For example, the official website states: if a lawyer asks, “Did the opposing lawyer admit to a 2 million loan?” Donna will read the entire case file to answer and mark the citation pages (e.g., p.69, p.148), allowing the lawyer to verify. Hundreds of pages of scanned files can be OCR-processed first for searchability. More importantly, if something is not in the case file, Donna will directly say so, without fabricating.

Donna’s documentation states that AI can assist in drafting pleadings according to the firm’s preferred format, automatically inserting case number, docket number, opposing lawyer, and other case details, as well as continuing with evidence numbering, and organizing evidence lists and facts to be proved. PDF case files can be highlighted, annotated with sticky notes, and stamped with evidence seals directly within the interface—these annotations are layered over the original file without modifying it, and a copy is exported when needed.

Store case files on your own cloud

Donna places “data security” on equal footing with functionality, outlining three defense lines:

• Encryption during transmission and storage, TLS from browser to backend, static data encrypted with AES-256
• Firm-specific keys, each firm has an independent key, no universal key across firms, with nightly off-site backups
• Case files are not used to train AI; content sent to AI is not used for model training

Designed for “storage neutrality,” case files can reside in Donna’s encrypted cloud or on the lawyer’s preferred OneDrive, Google Drive, or NAS, with no forced data migration. All data can be packaged into a ZIP file for easy transfer.

Technically, Donna uses Anthropic’s Claude as the main model. Firms can also supply their own API keys for OpenAI or Gemini, handling AI calls internally—Donna does not process these directly. The platform has completed 37 permission patches, offering 12 permission levels and 6 roles (director, admin, lawyer, legal assistant, intern) with granular control over who can view or modify, set by the director.

Major changes in Taiwan’s judicial sector

According to Donna’s official citation of Ministry of Justice statistics, there are approximately 11,214 practicing lawyers nationwide, with 71.8% of solo practices in Taipei and New Taipei. Nearly 90% of lawyers cannot afford a full team. The monthly cost of hiring an assistant—including salary, labor insurance, and office space—is about 50k TWD.

This phenomenon is prompting many young lawyers to consider that as AI assistants become more refined, they can deliver legal services close to those of a full team at a much lower cost.

Meanwhile, Taiwanese law firms are beginning to align with large international firms, gradually launching AI products tailored to Taiwan’s local judicial environment. An unnamed law firm partner and industry observer predict that the legal assistant environment in Taiwan will undergo dramatic change, with AI playing a key role.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Donna? Who developed it?

Donna is an AI case management assistant created by Taiwanese lawyer Jerry, integrating case files, AI Q&A, and administrative tasks into one workspace. It can read entire case files to answer questions and mark citation page numbers. The product is live and available for trial registration at donna.systems.

Will my case files be used to train AI if I use Donna?

No. Donna emphasizes encrypted transmission and storage, with each firm having its own exclusive key. Content sent to AI is not used for model training, and case files can be stored on the lawyer’s own OneDrive, Google Drive, or NAS, with a one-click ZIP export option.