Legal workflow automation software takes a lot of the manual, repetitive work off your plate.
It maps out the steps, assigns the right people, and keeps things moving without you chasing approvals or following up on every task. The process runs the way it’s supposed to, but with less hands-on coordination from you.
Some tools lean into contract management. Others focus on litigation, intake, compliance, billing, or internal requests. The right choice comes down to where work tends to stall in your process.
Whatever your needs may be, here are seven platforms worth considering.
Every time you move from billable work to an admin task, you lose momentum. Research shows those switches cost about 6 to 8 minutes each time. If that happens 15 to 20 times a day, that’s roughly two hours gone. Over a year, that’s more than 500 hours.
Legal workflow automation software helps you reduce that constant switching.
It’s technology that organizes how legal work moves. You set the steps. The system routes the task to the right person, triggers the next action, sends reminders, and tracks status automatically.
Legal departments and law firms use legal workflow management software to handle repetitive tasks and bring structure to legal operations.
Plus, there are different types of legal automation. Some platforms focus on contracts. Some support litigation workflows, compliance tracking, intake requests, billing processes, or internal approvals.
The tech behind it can include workflow engines, document automation, AI review tools, dashboards, and integrations with other business systems.
Workflows often include:
If your legal work keeps getting slowed down by approvals and repetitive admin steps, the right workflow tool can make a real difference. Below are some of the top legal workflow automation platforms that help bring structure, visibility, and speed to how your team operates.
If your legal team spends a big portion of its time handling contracts, Aline is designed with that reality in mind.
Aline brings AI contract lifecycle management, workflows, signing, and reporting into one system so work moves in a defined path instead of through scattered emails and manual follow-ups.
You can draft agreements, run AI-assisted contract redlines, route for approvals, collect signatures, and then pull reporting on obligations or renewal dates without exporting data into spreadsheets.
Routine tasks like first-pass review, clause comparisons, and portfolio searches take minutes rather than hours of manual review.
It’s built for legal departments, legal ops, procurement, finance, and sales teams that all touch contract management. And it connects with existing tools like Microsoft Word and other business systems, so you’re not rebuilding your entire stack to make automation work.
Clio is a cloud-based legal workflow software platform designed for law firm practice management. It helps firms manage matters, deadlines, billing, documents, and the client intake process in one centralized system.
Law firms handling active cases, tracking court dates, processing invoices, and managing new client requests use Clio to bring structure to daily operations.
Tasks, time entries, and case details stay connected to each matter, which reduces manual data entry and cuts down on administrative burdens.
For teams looking to simplify administrative tasks while giving legal ops teams clearer visibility into firm performance, Clio provides a practical and widely adopted solution.
Filevine is a case and matter management platform built for litigation practices. It organizes cases, deadlines, documents, and communication inside one structured system so legal professionals can see exactly where each matter stands.
The platform centers on automated legal workflows. Case stages trigger predefined task lists, reminders, and internal updates without constant manual oversight. That setup helps streamline repetitive tasks and cuts down the need to track work in multiple systems.
More time goes toward practicing law, less toward managing spreadsheets or chasing internal updates.
Smokeball is a practice management and matter management platform designed primarily for small and mid-sized law firms. What sets it apart from many other legal workflow tools is its focus on automatic activity tracking tied directly to billing.
While some platforms center on complex workflows or enterprise-level automation, Smokeball leans into practical day-to-day operations.
As work happens inside a matter, emails, document edits, and time spent are captured automatically. That reduces the need for manual time entry and makes it easier to see where effort is going.
It also supports legal intake and task automation, but its real differentiator is the tight connection between automating processes and revenue tracking. The workflow structure exists to support productivity and billing accuracy at the same time.
Litify is a legal workflow and case management platform built on Salesforce. It combines matter management with CRM-style visibility, which makes it different from traditional practice management tools.
Because it runs on Salesforce, Litify connects legal work to broader internal processes and strategic initiatives. Case data, client communication, reporting, and performance metrics all live in one structured environment.
That setup gives teams a clearer view of how each practice area performs and how cases move from intake to resolution.
Litify is commonly used in litigation-heavy environments, though its Salesforce foundation also appeals to in-house legal teams that want tighter alignment between legal operations and business reporting.
The platform places a strong emphasis on structured intake, workflow automation, and measurable outcomes tied to client satisfaction.
Onit is a legal operations and enterprise workflow platform designed to manage legal requests, matters, spend, and vendor oversight in one structured system.
It’s often used inside corporate legal departments that handle high volumes of internal requests and need tighter control over processes.
The platform focuses on automating internal workflows such as intake, approvals, and budget tracking.
Automated routing directs requests to the right reviewer based on predefined rules, which reduces manual errors and cuts down administrative overhead. Instead of tracking requests through email chains or spreadsheets, everything moves through a visible workflow.
Onit also stands out for its integration capabilities. It connects with finance systems, CRM platforms, and other enterprise tools, which support productivity improvements and clearer reporting across the business.
Everlaw is an eDiscovery and litigation platform built to manage large volumes of legal documents during investigations and disputes. This tool focuses heavily on document review and structured collaboration, which makes it different from general matter management tools.
When cases involve thousands or even millions of files, manual processes quickly become unmanageable. Everlaw organizes review stages, tagging, production sets, and collaboration into clear, organized workflows.
Moreover, teams can assign reviewers, track progress, and adjust resource allocation in real time.
It’s especially useful in matters that carry strict regulatory requirements or court deadlines, where visibility and auditability matter.
The platform emphasizes speed and clarity during review, helping legal teams move from raw data to defensible production with immediate productivity improvements.
No single platform solves every workflow inside a legal team. Contract analysis, litigation tracking, intake, spend management, and approval chains often require different tools.
The key is choosing technology that fits how your business processes actually run, not how a vendor says they should run.
Start with clarity. Map your highest-friction workflows first. Then evaluate tools based on how well they automate those specific steps and how easily they connect to your existing systems.
Here’s what to look for:
Remember: The right stack supports your workflows, integrates with your environment, and evolves as your needs grow.
Legal workflow automation only works when it removes friction instead of adding another layer of software to manage.
Some tools handle intake well. Some focus on litigation. A few specialize in reporting or spend tracking. The challenge is finding something that connects contract drafting, review, approval chains, signing, and analysis in a way that actually fits how your team operates.
That’s where Aline separates itself.
It brings AI-powered automation, structured workflows, reporting, and built-in e-signature into one system. You’re not stitching together separate tools to move a contract from request to renewal. The process lives in one place, with visibility into every stage.
If your legal team wants tighter control over workflow data, fewer repetitive manual steps, and real intelligent automation that supports day-to-day work, Aline is worth testing in your own environment.
Legal workflow automation matters because it reduces time spent manually tracking requests, approvals, and deadlines. Clear processes improve visibility, limit bottlenecks, and give in-house teams better control over workload and turnaround times.
No. Small firms, growing companies, and enterprise legal departments all benefit from structured workflows. The scale may differ, but the need to organize tasks, approvals, and documentation stays the same.
Most reputable platforms use encryption, audit logs, and role-based access controls to safeguard sensitive data. Access controls limit who can view or edit documents, which helps maintain confidentiality and compliance standards.
Adoption depends on the tool. Platforms that integrate with familiar tools like Microsoft Word or offer customizable templates tend to see smoother transitions. The goal is to reduce friction, not force a complete overhaul of how legal work gets done.
Brent is an attorney, a full-stack JavaScript engineer and the CEO of Aline.
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