A 24-attorney litigation firm was turning away cases because intake couldn't keep up with demand. Paralegals spent 3 hours per potential client on data entry, conflict checks, and engagement letter prep: before knowing if the case was even viable. The Aizen Event restructured the entire process.
8 steps, 3+ hours of paralegal time per intake, 3-day average to signed engagement. 40% of paralegal capacity was consumed by intake work versus billable client support. Qualified cases were turned away because the firm lacked bandwidth to process them.
In the Aizen Event, we map each workflow step to an AI type: Deterministic (rules with predictable output), Probabilistic (learned judgment), or Human Required. Classification drives build vs. defer decisions.
| Step | AI type | Recommendation | New state | Time saved | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Inquiry capture Manual inbox logging and acknowledgment |
Deterministic | Unify all channels (calls, forms, referrals) into single intake portal. Auto-acknowledge receipt within 5 minutes. Lead record created immediately in CMS. Paralegal reviews only priority cases. | ● Automated | 4-8 hrs |
| 02 | Initial screening Phone call with unstructured questions |
Probabilistic | AI-driven intake form with conditional logic. Collects case type, incident, parties, damages in 8-minute online form. AI pre-screens viability against firm's historical acceptance criteria. Scoring and flagging for attorney review. | ● Augmented | 17 min |
| 03 | Conflict check Manual multi-system database search |
Deterministic | Auto-run against all parties named in intake form. Checks CMS, billing system, and archived matters simultaneously. Results in 45 seconds. Flags potential conflicts for attorney review only. | ● Automated | 24 min 15 sec |
| 04 | Case viability Attorney manual review of call notes |
Probabilistic | Attorney receives AI-generated case brief: key facts, damage estimate range, comparable matters won/lost, recommended action. 3-min read replaces 20-min unstructured manual review. Reduces attorney friction. | ● Augmented | 17 min |
| 05 | Client info gathering 45-min phone call with manual data entry |
Deterministic | Structured online intake form with document upload, e-signature, and CMS auto-population. No phone call needed for 75% of cases. Paralegal intervenes only for complex cases or clarifications. | ● Automated | 45 min |
| 06 | Document collection Email-based manual file organization |
Deterministic | Secure client portal. Client uploads docs directly, auto-categorized and linked to matter. OCR extracts key dates and parties. No paralegal file-by-file handling required. | ● Automated | variable |
| 07 | Engagement letter prep Manual template completion from spreadsheets |
Deterministic | Auto-generated from CMS data. All client, case, and matter fields populated automatically. Attorney reviews in 2 min. System ready for signature flow. | ● Automated | 23 min |
| 08 | E-signature delivery Manual email + 3-day print/sign/scan cycle |
Deterministic | DocuSign integration. Client signs on phone in 3 min via secure link. Auto-filed to matter and CMS on completion. Same-day execution. | ● Automated | 3 days |
We plot each step by implementation complexity (X) against business impact (Y). Steps in the top-left are Quick Wins: start here. Top-right are Strategic Investments: build after wins are live. Bottom-right: skip entirely.
Deterministic rules. Highest impact, very low complexity. Live in week 2.
Portal automation. Auto-acknowledge & CMS sync. Week 1-2.
Template + CMS data automation. Week 3.
DocuSign integration. Same-day signing. Week 3.
Conditional logic + pre-screening. Phase 2.
Highest ROI. Probabilistic scoring. Phase 2.
The redesigned workflow after the Aizen Event implementation. Every step with a new state shows the before design, what changed, and who now handles what.
Build cost, deployment timeline, and three-year return: based on observed intake patterns at mid-market firms, average paralegal labor costs, and measured capacity increases post-deployment.
This case study represents a composite of typical mid-market law firm intake engagements. Metrics are based on observed industry patterns and comparable implementations. All investment figures are illustrative ranges based on the Otonmi service tiers.
Tell us about the process your team is spending the most time on. We'll classify every step and tell you what's worth building: and what isn't.