How should a law firm use AI? Start with how a matter moves from intake to billing.
By Chris McCarthy, Founder & Chief AI Officer, OB.1
Your partners want to talk about AI. Someone asks the fair question: how should the firm use it, and where do we start?
Here's where my head is at. Start with how a matter moves from intake to billing today. Write down who does each step and which rule they follow. Then rank what to fix first. At OB.1, that first step is an Operational Blueprint.
I'm not a lawyer, and nothing here is legal advice. Your lawyers decide what your practice rules require. This post is about how the work moves: intake, handoffs, documents, scheduling and approvals.
The short answer
Start with one process your partners care about. For many firms, the path a matter takes from intake to billing is a strong first pick. Walk it with the people who run it. Write down each step, who owns it and the rule they follow. Then rank what to fix. Pick AI tools last.
Before you buy AI, write down how your company runs.
I wrote this line for any business, and it fits a law firm well.
AI tools run on rules and data. They need to know who approves what, which form goes where and where the files live.
In a lot of firms, those rules live in people's heads. They work fine day to day. A tool can't read them, though.
So the first job is to get the work on paper. Write the steps down. Name the owner of each one. Note the rules they use to make calls.
The rule I work by is simple. Decide how AI will be used before anyone picks a tool. More on that step in how to decide how AI will be used.
Why a matter's path from intake to billing is a good first place to look
A matter touches most of the firm on its way from intake to billing. Someone takes the first call. Someone checks for conflicts. A partner decides whether to take the work. Then the team does the work and keeps the client updated. Billing turns the time into an invoice.
Every handoff in that chain has a rule behind it. Some are written down, and many are not.
When you map that path, you see the whole firm in one process. You see the handoffs, the owners and the gaps.
Before you automate, ask the person who knows.
In many firms, paralegals keep the files moving. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists their tasks. They gather and organize case documents and draft letters. They also call clients and witnesses to set up meetings. Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.
So ask a paralegal how the document set for a new matter gets built. Ask where each piece goes, who reviews it and what they check before it goes to a lawyer.
They know the steps no form captures. Writing it down with them helps the whole team and the next hire.
The same method in a manufacturing company
This method didn't start in law firms. We use the same one in manufacturing companies, and a worked example shows how it carries over.
Take how a manufacturing company builds a quote. Sales takes the request. Engineering reads the drawing. Purchasing checks material. Scheduling checks capacity. Finance sets the margin.
Swap the names, and the shape looks a lot like a new matter. A request comes in. A few people check it. Someone approves it, and the work starts.
In both, the rules often sit with a few people. In both, writing them down comes before picking a tool. For the full walk-through, read how your company builds a quote. For the method from the top, read where a manufacturing company should start with AI.
How to start, one process at a time
Pick one process your partners care about
New matter intake is a strong default. Document handoffs and scheduling are good picks too. Choose the one that takes the most partner time.
Walk it with the people who run it
Sit with the people who do the work. Ask them to show you a recent matter, start to finish. Follow your firm's own rules on client files while you do it.
Write down each step, who owns it and the rule they follow
Keep it plain, with one line per step. Who does it, what they decide and how they decide it.
Note where the data lives
Some of it sits in your practice management system. Some is in email, shared drives or one person's notes. Write down where each piece sits.
Rank what to fix first
Look for steps that wait on one person, rules nobody wrote down and data your team types twice. Rank them by how much they slow the firm.
Then decide where AI is the right fix
Some fixes need a clear owner or a written rule. Some need a better checklist. A few will be good work for AI. We'll tell you when AI is the wrong fix.
For a closer look at the mapping itself, read how to map how work moves.
What you'll know when you're done
You'll know how work moves through your company and what to fix first.
Your partners get a shared picture, and the firm gets a clear first target. Any AI tool you pick later has something steady to work from.
Want a gut check first? Read how to tell if you're ready for AI.
How OB.1 helps
We start by looking at how your firm runs today.
The first step is an Operational Blueprint. It starts with a 30-minute Blueprint Session. It gives you a diagnosis of your platforms, process and people, and a plan your team can act on.
We map how work moves through your company and who owns each rule, then rank what to fix first.
No rush on any of this. Whenever you're ready, let's talk.
Questions law firm leaders ask
How should law firms be using AI?
Start with the work, not the tool. Map how a matter moves from intake to billing. Write down each step, who owns it and the rule it follows. Then rank what to fix first.
How do you use AI in a law firm?
Pick one process, such as intake. Walk it with the people who run it and write it down. The map shows which fixes need AI and which need a written rule or a clear owner.
Which AI do law firms use?
Firms use a range of tools, and the right one depends on the work. Start with the work, then pick the tool. Once the steps and rules are on paper, you can judge any tool against them.
Does our firm need an AI policy?
That's a question for your lawyers. Start with the Supreme Court of Ohio resource library on AI and the legal system, or your state bar's guidance. The ABA also issued Formal Opinion 512 on generative AI tools. A map of how work moves gives any policy something real to point to.
Who should be in the room when we map the work?
The people who do it. In many firms, that means paralegals, legal assistants and the partner who approves new matters.
Is this legal advice?
No. OB.1 looks at how work moves through your firm. Your lawyers decide what your practice rules require.
How does a law firm compare to a manufacturing company here?
The method is the same. A manufacturing company maps how a quote gets built. A law firm maps how a matter moves from intake to billing. Both write down the rules before they choose tools.