Optimize These 5 Legal Operations Workflows to Boost Performance

Technology options for legal teams are endless, and the application of technology can be daunting. As teams manage workloads, business goals, and ad-hoc requests, technology must support the business without becoming a burden itself. Automated legal operations workflows streamline routine tasks, approvals, and data integration—without the heavy lifting.

While “workflow” can take many forms—like setting automated filters in your email, for example—they are not created equal. Legal teams can benefit from implementing workflows designed to meet legal’s need for security, permission, and integrations with existing tech you use every day (like matter management and eBilling tools, Salesforce, e-Signature, Teams, Slack and more).

If your 2025 goals include standing up technology quickly, driving adoption, and creating a few champions along the way, here are five workflows you should be implementing for immediate impact.

1) Commercial Legal Requests

A legal request portal or “front door” streamlines intake, tracking, triage, and self-service for sales-related legal requests.

Why Workflow? Quickly deploy pre-approved contracts like non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) or legal FAQs, directing requests to workflows instead of your inbox. Improved visibility into status and assignees reduces deal cycle times and positions legal as a strategic partner, not a bottleneck.

To drive adoption, look for technology that can be embedded in email, intranet, Slackbot, or directly in Salesforce. Inside, logic dynamically routes requests based on department, amount, urgency, or other criteria, plus integrations with eSignature routes pre-approved contracts without manual intervention.

Workflow Tip: In your first version, include an “all other requests” option with an open text field. This helps track ad-hoc requests, which can later be analyzed for common patterns and automated in future workflows.

2) Vendor Intake & Invoice Reviews

While sales teams send invoices, other departments receive them—for contractors, vendors, technology, and partnerships. A vendor onboarding and invoice review workflow automates evaluation, approval, and compliance management.

Why Workflow? Each agreement requires different levels of vetting—some need only department sign-off, while others require legal, IT, or security review before reaching finance. Regardless of complexity, routing all agreements through a workflow ensures they are stored in a central repository or integrated with vendor management systems. Plus, a structured process makes it easy to review, consolidate, and optimize investments by identifying overlapping services.

Workflow Tip: The workflow doesn’t have to end with payment. Renewal or review reminders can be configured for dynamic time frames or specific dates, with notifications including key agreement details. This creates a proactive negotiation and renewal process.

3) Outside Counsel Conflict Waivers 

Conflict waivers are the first step in establishing a successful relationship with a law firm. This process should be smooth and efficient, allowing both teams to begin work quickly.

Why Workflow? Ensure timely reviews and approvals, maintain compliance, and improve collaboration with law firms. Workflow captures necessary conflict details, routes them for approvals, and logs all actions for easy auditing.

Workflow Tip: Choose a workflow technology that allows external parties to participate as users or submit forms anonymously. This streamlines adoption without adding costs or requiring time-consuming license setup.

4) Trademark and IP Requests

Trademark, intellectual property, and patent requests are essential for protecting products, maintaining a competitive edge, and ensuring rights are upheld in the marketplace.

Why Workflow? Streamline approvals, filings, and renewals, ensuring efficiency.

While requestors complete an easy-to-use form, the data is sent to your matter management system for processing and storage.

Conditional logic can reroute or reject submissions if key steps—like a trademark search or asset creation—haven’t been completed, reducing the need for numerous back-and-forths. Look for collaboration features to allow teams to refine and discuss requests without leaving the workflow.

Workflow Tip: Set up automated approvals for routine filings and notifications for renewal deadlines to keep stakeholders informed and prevent lapses in intellectual property (IP) protection. Sync updates with your matter management system for seamless tracking and compliance.

5) Employee Onboarding

A seamless onboarding experience sets the tone for success. Onboarding workflows manage tasks outside of traditional human resources (HR) functions, including hardware/software setup, policy acknowledgments, training, and role-specific activities.

Why Workflow? While HR handles core onboarding, legal can benefit from the automation, compliance, and potential cost-sharing that comes with inter-department workflows. Plus, a seamless onboarding for new legal team members means they can also hit the ground running.

Workflow Tip: Set up parallel routing so IT, hiring managers, and others complete tasks simultaneously, so the process keeps moving.

By automating these five legal operations workflows, legal teams can achieve cost savings, compliance, and efficiency. They also drive user adoption through easy-to-use technology, strengthen cross-functional collaboration, and foster innovation in legal operations.