As much as we try to iron out the kinks in our legal operations, sometimes things still slip through the cracks. Let's take the legal intake process, for instance. Loads of teams use a whole mixed bag of channels — think email, Slack, calls, texts — to gather legal requests. It sounds flexible, but it's quite easy for stuff to get lost in the shuffle.
With this kind of haphazard process, one urgent request can send your entire day into a frenzy. And just think about the time you waste switching between tools, hunting down more information from the person who made the request, or sifting through related documents. Before you know it, your team is spending more time managing the request than actually ticking things off the to-do list.
3 ways to optimize your legal intake process
Thankfully, legal teams don’t have to rely on manual or cobbled together intake processes. The right tools can help you standardize, automate, and simplify legal intake, allowing in-house lawyers to get more done in less time.
Here are three ways in-house legal teams can optimize the legal intake process:
Consolidate tools to standardize your legal intake
Modern legal teams are fielding requests from every business unit, and many teams track them in just as many tools. Maybe sales sends Slacks, but marketing uses their project management tool and the executive team mentions something in a meeting that you jot down on a piece of paper.
When it comes to optimizing your legal intake, selecting one tool to manage your intake is a great first step. Centralizing all legal requests, approvals, and associated contracts into a single location makes it easy for you to triage and execute on requests.
Simplify the request process for stakeholders
It’s true — consolidating your intake channels is easier said than done. Sometimes, your teammates submit requests through different channels because they don’t know any better. They don’t know what the “proper” channel is, or they’re unsure where to find it.
The easier you can make it for stakeholders to submit requests, the more likely they are to follow your process. Empower stakeholders to submit requests in the channels they already use. This can be as simple as linking your form on your intranet or adopting an intake tool that integrates with email or your preferred messaging tool.
Cut down the manual work
Tiny manual processes add up. Inputting requests from email into a spreadsheet, tracking requests in email threads, and documenting them in your notes app are small actions that have a huge impact on your legal workflows.
How you receive requests is just one piece of the puzzle. How you track those requests is just as important. Look for a project management tool that goes beyond just legal intake and can help you manage, track, and report on all that work.
Takeaways
Legal intake is the front door to your legal team and it sets the tone for the rest of your legal workflows. To boost the efficiency of your legal intake process, consider adopting a tool where you can track and report on not just requests but all the work you’re doing.
See how LinkSquares Prioritize can help you streamline legal intake workflow. Request a demo today.
