Not only has [the process] improved our efficiency, but it's also given us valuable insights into how we can better serve our internal clients. It's a win-win for both the legal team and the broader business.
Contracting is how business gets done. A strong conviction in that belief is why we built Ironclad CLM, and it’s why we use it for our own contracting needs. As builders and users, teams across our organization have unique perspectives on making the most of the Ironclad platform. We want to share those perspectives with you in our new Ironclad Blueprints series.
In the third installment, we take a closer look at how our legal team leverages Ironclad to efficiently manage legal intake across the organization.
The objective: centralizing and streamlining legal requests
As companies grow, so does the volume of legal requests from across the business. Managing this “legal intake” becomes increasingly challenging, with requests coming through multiple channels, often lacking necessary information or clarity. This not only creates inefficiencies for the legal team but also leads to a lack of transparency for those looking for help from the legal team.
We needed a scalable solution for the legal team to engage with the business efficiently. By moving lawyers away from fielding requests via email, Slack, or even getting tapped on the shoulder in the office and into a centralized intake process, we can track the volume and type of requests. This arms us with structured data on our team’s resource allocation, and even surfaces issues and risks that our business is facing.
Our workforce had already heavily adopted Ironclad for commercial contracts, so it was logical for us to design our solution in a familiar platform. Even better, the features happened to be a great fit to streamline the intake process while providing visibility to all stakeholders.
Legal’s key priorities
In designing our legal intake solution, we identified several key requirements:
Centralize request channels
Requests were coming in through email, Slack, and a number of other channels, making them difficult to track and manage. We needed a single point of entry for all legal inquiries.
Collect comprehensive information upfront
Often, initial requests lacked crucial details, leading to back-and-forth communications where we had to ask for documents, approvals, and other context. We wanted to ensure we gathered the right information from the start.
Direct requests efficiently
With a growing legal team and different areas of legal expertise, requests would often be directed to the wrong team member. We needed to ensure requests were routed to the appropriate team member quickly.
Enhance requester experience
We wanted to provide requesters with visibility into the status of their submissions and improve their overall experience with the legal team.
Track process data
To continually improve our processes and demonstrate value to the business, we needed comprehensive data on requests, responses, and related metrics.
The solution: a custom Ironclad workflow for legal intake
Realizing that Ironclad already possessed many of the features we needed, we leveraged our no-code Workflow Designer to create a custom “General Use | Legal Intake Workflow.” This workflow is now available to every employee in our company, providing a standardized process for legal requests.
Here’s how the process works:
1. Simplified launch form: Requesters fill out a straightforward form, providing key details such as their department, request category, issue description, and urgency level.
2. Automated routing: Based on the information provided, the request is automatically directed to the appropriate legal team member.
3. Two-step approval process: The workflow includes two approval stages – one to acknowledge receipt of the request, and another to mark its resolution.
4. Collaborative communication: Legal team members can communicate with requesters and loop in additional stakeholders through the activity feed.
5. Resolution documentation: Once resolved, the legal team member records the resolution in the workflow, which is automatically added to a summary document.
6. Automated follow-up: Upon completion, an email containing the resolution is sent to the requester, along with a link to a feedback form.
Key Ironclad features leveraged:
Workflow Designer: The no-code workflow designer allowed us to create a custom workflow without requiring developer or other external resources.
Activity Feed: Enables clear communication between legal team members and requesters.
Routed approvals: Facilitates a structured process for acknowledging and resolving requests and ensures that approvals are being handled in the correct order.
Ironclad Insights: Provides robust data visualization capabilities for tracking and analyzing intake data. Insights is able to tell us things like how many requests we process each quarter, what departments made the most requests, what turnaround times each request type had, and much more.
The results: improved efficiency and visibility
The implementation of our legal intake workflow has yielded significant benefits for both the legal team and our internal clients:
Streamlined process
By funneling all requests through a single channel and collecting comprehensive information upfront, we’ve greatly reduced ad-hoc inquiries and the need for follow-up questions. This allows our legal team to focus more on deep work and less on managing incoming requests.
Enhanced visibility
Requesters now have clear visibility into the status of their submissions, leading to higher satisfaction with the legal team’s services. They particularly appreciate the ability to track their requests and refer back to resolved issues.
Data-driven insights
Through Ironclad Insights, we now have access to robust data on the types of requests we receive, their frequency, and how they’re handled. This information is crucial for demonstrating the legal team’s value to the business and potentially justifying additional resources. It also helps us allocate bandwidth where it’s most needed.
Scale
As our company continues to grow, this workflow provides a scalable solution that can adapt to increasing demand without compromising quality or efficiency.
The legal team loves this because it’s a solution we can build and customize ourselves, all in a platform we’re already familiar with.
Looking ahead
As we gather more data over time, we plan to refine our intake form to include additional information that may preempt certain requests, allowing for more self-service options. This will further enhance the user experience and allow our legal team to focus on more complex, high-value work.
If you’re interested in implementing a similar solution for your organization, you can download our template workflow from the Ironclad Workflow Library. We provide this free resource to help you unlock new value for your business and streamline your legal operations.
