Case Study
58x ROI Replaced two competitors with a single platform - despite investing in one of them
Firm Name
Pines Federal
Location
Houston / Baltimore / Atlanta
Practice Area
Federal Employment Law
Firm Size
17 Employees
Billing System
Clio
vs WiseTime + Tempello
58x
Return on Investment
$42K
Monthly Revenue Recovered
+1.2
Extra Billable Hrs/Day
2 → 1
Tools Consolidated
The Practice
Federal Employment Law, Nationwide
Pines Federal was founded in 1997 by Eric Pines and exclusively represents federal employees in EEO claims, MSPB appeals, Title 38, OWCP, and OPM disability matters. The firm operates from Houston, Baltimore, and Atlanta with 5 attorneys and 12 support staff. Eric is not a typical managing partner - he built his own GPT for the firm, created custom Clio integrations, and even tried to build an automated timekeeping system through Upwork.
The Evaluation
Two Tools Running. Invested in a Third. Still Missing Time.
Before Ajax, Pines Federal was paying for two separate tools simultaneously: WiseTime for time tracking and Tempello for email filing. Eric is also a financial investor in Tempello - he put real money into the company. Even with both running, neither captured the full picture. WiseTime tracked at the application level but couldn't see document content. Tempello filed emails but didn't handle comprehensive timekeeping.
Head-to-Head Comparison
One Tool Did What Two Could Not
Capability | Ajax (1 tool) | WiseTime + Tempello (2 tools) |
|---|---|---|
Time tracking | ✓ Full screen capture + APIs | App-level tracking only |
Email filing | ✓ Built-in (sees email content) | Separate tool, separate cost |
Document review | ✓ Sees actual content on screen | ✗ Neither captures this |
Call notes | ✓ Automatic | ✗ Not captured |
Tools / logins | 1 | 2 |
The Results
58x ROI Across the Firm
The ROI report confirmed what Eric already knew from watching the entries come in. The firm's baseline was low (0.9 hrs/day) because federal employment law involves significant work that's hard to track manually. Ajax captures all of it.
"I want my money back for my investment [in Tempello] now. This is too cool."
Eric Pines
Founder, Pines Federal
Standout Performers
Individual Impact
Trinity's 192% increase is one of the most dramatic individual improvements across all Ajax customers. As a newer attorney, billing was a significant challenge - Ajax eliminated the friction entirely.
What The Team Says
From Skeptic to Advocate
I'm so confident in your product that I wanted to invest. If you could add [email filing] in, I would beg you once again to invest in you, but you won't let me invest."
Eric Pines
Founder, Pines Federal
"I really like it. I'm a pretty young attorney who's only worked at charities before, so billing was really hard for me. So I personally really like it."
Trinity Buchanan
Attorney, Pines Federal
About Customer
About Pines Federal
Pines Federal (Law Offices of Eric L. Pines, PLLC) was founded in 1997 by Eric Pines in Houston, Texas. The firm exclusively represents federal employees in EEO, MSPB, Title 38, OWCP, and OPM disability matters, with offices in Houston, Baltimore, and Atlanta. With over 60 years of combined team experience, Pines Federal is nationally recognized in federal employment law and has helped thousands of federal employees protect their careers and benefits.
About Ajax
Ajax is AI-powered timekeeping automation for law firms. Ajax captures attorneys' billable work from their screens and generates polished, client-ready time entries automatically. Hundreds of law firms and thousands of users rely on Ajax to find revenue they'd otherwise miss. Fourteen customers have invested in the company alongside venture capital partners Fika Ventures and Bloomberg Beta. SOC 2 certified. Learn more at joinajax.com.
