1. The Starting Line
When we first engaged with this firm—a high-volume personal injury practice—they were running their client intake process entirely manually. Think: nine hours of total staff time per new case. It started with static PDF forms, emailed back and forth between staff and clients. Paralegals had to chase missing signatures, decipher handwriting, and double-enter information into the firm’s case management system. It was frustrating, error-prone, and burned out valuable staff.
This intake bottleneck wasn’t just a nuisance—it was a revenue limiter. When your entire system depends on human re-entry and follow-ups, your caseload growth is capped by your team’s stamina.
2. The Digital Blueprint
We helped the firm move to a fully digital workflow built around a smart intake form in HubSpot. Here’s how it worked:
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A conditional logic HubSpot form tailored the questions based on the client’s answers
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Once submitted, a customized DocuSign engagement letter was automatically generated and sent to the client
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Upon signature, client data synced bi-directionally to the firm’s case management platform—no paralegal intervention required
The vision was simple: zero manual re-entry, faster turnaround, and better data quality. Paralegals would be freed from repetitive grunt work to focus on higher-value tasks.
3. The Stakeholder Detour
That’s when a senior partner threw in a curveball.
“I still think we should offer the old paper process, just in case some clients prefer it.”
Fair enough. It sounded harmless. But within weeks, the team was back to running two parallel intake systems. Clients could choose digital or PDF. What happened next was predictable—but painful.
Cycle time ballooned again, especially for clients who started in one system but had to be converted midway. The error rate doubled on manual cases. Team sentiment dropped, with paralegals venting frustration about not knowing “which version of the truth” to trust. Ownership became unclear, and managers found themselves manually tracking progress across both formats.
4. The Core Insight
Parallel processes feel safe—but they introduce an invisible tax:
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Context Switching: Staff waste time toggling between systems
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Data Fragmentation: Information lives in two places, but neither is trusted
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Unclear Ownership: When something breaks, no one’s sure who owns the fix
These aren’t workflow problems—they’re leadership problems. The team needs one clear process, one source of truth, and one set of expectations.
5. The Turnaround Plan
We helped the firm regain alignment through a focused one-week pilot. Here’s what we did:
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Digital-Only Trial: For one week, the firm committed to using only the digital intake process for all new cases
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Daily Stand-Ups: Quick morning check-ins allowed the team to surface blockers and reinforce adoption
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Real-Time Dashboard: We created a KPI dashboard tracking form submissions, DocuSign status, and time-to-open-case
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Targeted Training: Short video modules addressed recurring questions and boosted confidence
By Friday, the sentiment had flipped. The team saw the power of one streamlined system in action.
6. Results
Once the dual-path friction was removed, the numbers spoke for themselves:
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Cycle Time: Reduced from 9 hours per intake to 2 hours and 45 minutes
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Error Rate: Dropped by over 50% due to automation and validation logic
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Partner Hours Saved: 8 hours per week recaptured that would’ve been spent reviewing incomplete forms
Beyond the metrics, morale improved. Staff no longer had to guess which process to follow or chase missing signatures. Confidence grew, and with it, case throughput.
7. Need Help?
Still juggling manual processes “just in case”? It’s time to commit.
📄 Download our Three-Step Digital Intake Checklist to assess your workflow readiness
📞 Or book a 30-minute strategy call to see how Lloyd Solves can streamline your operations using HubSpot, DocuSign, and proven processes
Let’s make “one process, one outcome” your firm’s new mantra.
