Lawyer Sidnei Pedro Dias marks ten years in legal practice with a firm that looks very different from the one he started. SPD Advocacia now works as a digital law office: clients hire the firm, sign documents and have their case filed without leaving home, from any Brazilian state or from abroad. The change began in one of the hardest moments of the past decade, the pandemic.
The turning point: the pandemic
When the pandemic arrived, the firm worked out of a rented office in Anápolis. Law offices closed their doors and the courts suspended in-person service. No longer able to pay the rent, Sidnei had to close the office.
He moved to his father-in-law’s farm, Chácara Nossa Senhora das Graças, in Corumbá de Goiás, and it was from there that he created SPD’s digital law office, with a simple goal: to reach people who needed a lawyer and could not leave home. He started with a few practice areas, with video consultations and documents sent online.
SPD adopted electronic signatures when they were still rarely used in Brazilian legal practice. Engagement agreements and powers of attorney could now be signed on a phone, and distance stopped being an obstacle. The firm soon had clients in practically every Brazilian state.
The work caught the attention of the press. During the pandemic, g1 reported on a couple who obtained a divorce three days after filing through a messaging app, and TV Anhanguera covered virtual marriages and divorces in Anápolis. The Goiás State Court of Justice (TJGO) itself published a news story about that divorce, noting that the lawyer managed to conduct the case virtually, with the parties in different cities. Later came stories in Estadão, Mais Goiás and Rota Jurídica.
Technology did not arrive at the firm by chance. Sidnei's first postgraduate specialization was in information technology, and today he also works with artificial intelligence and automation applied to legal practice. That background made it possible to design, in house, the systems clients now use.
From a rented office to its own headquarters
The firm that had to close its rented office during the pandemic now has its own headquarters at the Genesis Office building, on Avenida Juscelino Kubitschek in Anápolis. It welcomes clients who prefer to meet in person, although most clients have never needed to go there.
Over these ten years, the firm has handled more than 5,000 court and administrative cases. Its clients include individuals and companies from many sectors, such as fuel station chains, construction companies, manufacturers, condominiums, distributors and clinics, as well as clients who live outside Brazil. The firm works before Brazil's highest courts, the STJ and the STF, presents oral arguments, and Sidnei is admitted to the Bar in the states of Goiás and São Paulo and in the Federal District.
His education grew along with the firm. Sidnei holds more than 12 postgraduate specializations in law, including civil procedure, business, tax, social security, labor, health and medical law, family and succession, and consumer law. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Constitutional Economic Law and will begin a doctorate in São Paulo in 2027. He leads the strategy of each case and presents oral arguments in the courts, including Brazil’s highest courts.
The team has grown as well. Adrielle Mariana dos Santos Oliveira, a family law specialist, works with Sidnei across the firm's other practice areas. In October 2026, Eduardo Prado joined the firm to lead criminal and electoral law, and SPD now covers every area of law. A support team handles client service, case registration, filings and billing, each person with a defined role.
“I closed the office because I could no longer pay the rent. From the farm, I found a way to reach people, and that is what opened the firm to all of Brazil. Today clients know where their case stands without having to call and ask.”
Sidnei Pedro Dias
Hire, sign and file your case remotely
Ten years on, the digital law office has become more complete. What began during the pandemic with video calls and electronic signatures now covers the entire case, from first contact to ongoing proceedings, with the aim of giving clients the best possible experience. In practice, there are five steps.
- 1You tell us about your case. The website has an intake form for each practice area, with simple questions and space to attach documents, photos, .zip files or Google Drive links.
- 2You talk to a lawyer. You book the consultation on the website, in person or by video, in time slots linked to the team's real calendar. The video call takes place in the website's video room, with nothing to install.
- 3You hire us and sign on your phone. The fee proposal comes in writing. The engagement agreement, power of attorney and other documents are signed electronically, and payment can be made by Pix, bank slip (boleto) or card.
- 4The firm files your case. Once the documents are gathered and signed, the team prepares the lawsuit and files it electronically with the court, whether the case is in Goiás or in any other state.
- 5You follow along and get notifications. Each matter has a tracking number and a stage you can see in the Client Portal. When your case moves to a new stage or a new document arrives, the system lets you know by e-mail, and conversations with the team continue on WhatsApp during business hours.
The website: the front door
The digital law office brings together on one page everything that used to require a phone call or a visit: intake forms by practice area, booking, the video consultation room and the option to install SPD on your phone's home screen, like an app. The site is available in Portuguese, English and Spanish, for people who live outside Brazil.
The Client Portal
The Client Portal (in Portuguese) is where your case becomes visible. You sign in with a code sent to your e-mail, with no password to remember. There you can see:
- the current stage of your matter and what happens next;
- anything still needed from you, when there is a pending item;
- documents the firm has sent you, such as judgments and court fee slips, ready to download;
- documents you have sent, which go straight into your case folder without filling in your details again;
- documents awaiting your signature, which you can sign right there.
Behind the screen: the firm's CRM
What clients see in the portal is fed by an internal system, the firm's CRM, also developed by SPD. Every request that reaches the firm becomes a card with a tracking number, an owner and a deadline. The card moves through clear stages: received, waiting, in progress, review, filing and completed.
This workflow solves common problems in legal practice. No request gets lost in an inbox, because every message is recorded in the case history, including the automatic notices sent to the client. Documents are organized in the client's folder, and those that go to court are numbered in the order they will be filed. When a document is signed electronically, the signed copy lands in the right folder on its own. And all work goes through a review stage by the legal team before it reaches the client or the court.
Responsible technology
Artificial intelligence and automation tools help organize information and prepare documents, but they do not replace the lawyer: case strategy and final review remain with the team. Access to the internal system is individual, every change is logged, and client data is handled with the confidentiality the profession requires.
A practical tip: the firm's WhatsApp numbers, +55 62 98184-3257 and +55 61 99833-1103, are verified by Meta. If someone contacts you on behalf of SPD from another number, be suspicious and confirm through the website before making any payment.
Where to start
If you are already a client, the Client Portal shows your matter. If not, the digital law office points you to the right intake form, and the scheduling page books an in-person or video consultation. Every situation requires individual analysis, and talking to a lawyer is always the first step.