A small law firm specialising in family law, property conveyancing, and estate planning with 2 partners and 1 paralegal. They were drowning in admin that stopped them from focusing on billable legal work.
Time-Consuming Client Intake
Initial consultations required 45-60 minutes just to gather basic information.
Partners spent 8-10 hours per week on intake calls that could have been spent on legal work.
Document Collection Chaos
Chasing clients for documents (IDs, property titles, financial statements) took multiple phone calls and emails over 2-3 weeks.
Matters were delayed waiting for paperwork.
Conflict Checks Delays
Manual conflict checking through spreadsheets and memory meant delays in taking on new clients.
They'd previously had a near-miss with a conflict of interest.
Inconsistent Follow-Up
Potential clients who enquired but didn't immediately book were rarely followed up with.
Lost revenue from unconverted leads.
We built an automated system that handles the entire client onboarding process from first enquiry to first consultation.
Intake Process Mapping
- Documented current intake questions for each practice area
- Created intelligent forms that adapt based on matter type:
- Family law: marriage details, children, financial disclosure
- Conveyancing: property details, mortgage status, settlement timeline
- Estate planning: family structure, asset inventory, executor preferences
- Set up secure document upload portal (compliant with NZ privacy laws)
Document Workflow Automation
- Created automated checklist for each matter type
- Set up SMS and email sequences requesting specific documents
- Configured reminders for overdue documents (Day 3, Day 7, Day 14)
- Integrated secure e-signature for engagement letters
Conflict Checking System
- Set up form that collects names, addresses, and related parties
- Created alert system that flags when a name matches or closely resembles existing clients
- All conflicts still manually reviewed by partners (as required by law)
- Automated notification to partners when intake form submitted
AI Chatbot Deployment
- Trained chatbot on common legal questions (fees, process timelines, required documents)
- Set up intelligent routing so urgent matters get flagged for same-day callback
- Created after-hours booking system for initial consultations
Launch & Training
- Trained paralegal and partners on new system
- Set up monitoring dashboards to track intake completion rates
- Implemented weekly review process to optimise question flow
After 90 Days
Clients complete intake forms at their convenience. Partners spend just 15-20 mins on consultation.
Automated reminders kept clients accountable
Partners reclaimed 32 hours per month for billable work
Time savings enabled taking on more clients without hiring
Potential conflicts flagged immediately for partner review instead of manual searching
“I used to dread intake calls. Now clients arrive to their first meeting with everything organised, and I can focus on actually providing legal advice. We've grown 35% without adding staff.”