Applications · Client work / Case study
IRLI: bringing case data into one working system
A confidential backend management tool for the Immigration Reform Law Institute, combining case-data consolidation with a retrieval-augmented generation pipeline.
Contribution
Backend development, case-data consolidation, and RAG integration
Outcome
Confidential client backend
Confidential project / abstract workflow
Project context
Backend development for the Immigration Reform Law Institute, named here with permission. The application itself is under NDA, so this case study describes the work without showing case records, screens, or code.
The external link is the organization's public profile, not something built in this project.
High-level project workflow
- 01Consolidate case information
- 02Retrieve relevant context
- 03Use context in generation
- 04Support case-management work
01
The brief: connect information to the work it supports
The Immigration Reform Law Institute needed a backend tool for managing and consolidating case-related information. McKay built the application backend and a RAG pipeline, bringing data consolidation and retrieval-assisted generation into the same project. The focus was internal operational software, rather than a public-facing website.
02
The data problem: collection is only the starting point
Putting information in one place and making it useful are related but different tasks. In case-management work, the important question is not simply whether a record exists, but whether relevant information can be brought into the context of the task at hand. Consolidation was the foundation of this project: connecting case data to a backend workflow instead of treating each source as an isolated destination.
03
The RAG layer: retrieval before generation
Retrieval-augmented generation pairs a generative model with retrieved source material, so its output can draw on the case information supplied rather than on the model's training alone. That is the pattern behind this project's RAG component; the specific models and retrieval setup stay private under the NDA.
04
The design consideration: useful context, not automatic authority
In legal work, relevant and reliable are different things: retrieving a passage does not make a generated answer complete or correct. That makes the relationship between source records, retrieved context, and generated output the real design problem, not just connecting a model. The aim is a tool that supports the people doing the work, not one that replaces their judgment.
05
The result: one backend for case data and retrieval
The delivered work brought a case-management backend, data consolidation, and a RAG pipeline together in one application for a real legal organization. Because the project is confidential, the illustration here is purpose-made rather than a screenshot, and no performance figures are published.
Delivered outcomes
- A backend management tool built for the client's case-related work.
- Case information consolidated into a shared application context.
- A retrieval-augmented generation pipeline incorporated into the backend.
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