Filling Station: How to Prepare Your Law Firm for Document Assembly

Most law firms that aren’t yet into it, want to get into document assembly because they understand the advantages related to quicker document preparation = more work volume or more time off.

But a lot of those potential document assembly users get caught in the starting blocks because they don’t know to prepare toward the launch of a document assembly software.  If that sounds like you, here’s how to proceed.

First, identify all of your document templates (or, precedents).  You know, the types of forms you create all the time.  Then, organize them in order from most-used to least-used.

Second, identify the fields in each of those documents.  What is the information that you replace each time?  Names, dates, locations, etc. – that’s what the software’s going to fill in moving forward.

Third, identify the logic in each of those documents.  Those are the clauses that change based on the client’s particular situation – that’s what the software’s going to determine (based on your, or your client’s, answers to questions, moving forward.

Now, start with the most-used documents and build down from there.  And even if you’re not coding the documents yourself, there are contractors who can help with that process – and that process will go a lot smoother (and, will be a whole lot cheaper), if you prepare in this wise.

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If practice automation is in your future plans, reach out + we can talk it all over!

The Wyoming State Bar offers free law practice management consulting services through Red Cave Law Firm Consulting.

To request a consult, visit the Wyoming State Bar’s law practice management page, and start running your law firm like a business.

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