Start with the work, not the technology
The best first automation project is rarely the most ambitious one. It is the process your team repeats every day, follows the same rules each time and already resents doing by hand.
Before looking at tools, write down what actually happens: where the information comes from, which systems it goes into, who checks it and what happens when something is unusual.
Signs a legal workflow is ready to automate
Good candidates tend to share a few traits:
- High volume and predictable steps
- The same data typed into more than one system
- Clear rules for what 'correct' looks like
- Exceptions that can be recognised and routed to a person
- A measurable cost in staff time or delays
Keep the case management system at the centre
Automation should strengthen the systems your firm already relies on. Platforms such as Proclaim and Actionstep — and any system with an API — can be updated directly, so the matter record stays the single source of truth.
Where no API is available, a digital worker can operate the system's interface in the same way a member of staff would.
Build in control from day one
For regulated firms, every automated action should be logged, access should follow existing permissions and uncertain cases should go to a named reviewer. Test with the team, roll out under supervision and only then let the process run unattended.