Every legal team has a rhythm for how work gets done. When that rhythm breaks, progress slows, and even simple tasks start to feel heavier than they should.

Legal workflows bring that rhythm back. They give structure to scattered tasks, turning them into clear, repeatable steps that move work forward without constant friction or guesswork.

But what do those workflows actually look like in practice?

This guide walks through real legal workflow examples that show how structure can make even the busiest practice feel manageable.

From contract approvals to invoice reviews, you’ll see how legal work becomes more organized, more predictable, and easier to manage. You’ll also get a closer look at how automation tools help make that structure stick.

What Is a Legal Workflow?

A legal workflow is a step-by-step process that helps legal professionals and law firms organize how legal and administrative tasks are completed. In its simplest form, it outlines each stage of a task, who’s responsible, and how information moves through the process.

In a typical legal practice, workflows create structure for routine work such as drafting, reviewing, and approving contracts. They help teams manage their workload, avoid confusion, and maintain consistency across different matters.

And to do that, a legal workflow usually includes:

• A clear sequence of steps from start to finish
• Assigned responsibilities for each stage
• Approval checkpoints to maintain compliance
• Automatic notifications and status updates

Of course, every workflow looks a little different depending on the firm, the matter, and the way a team likes to work, but the basic building blocks tend to be the same.

Common Legal Workflow Examples

There are many different workflows in a legal practice, and each one serves a unique purpose. Examples make it easier to see how structured processes can simplify administrative tasks.

So, let's take a look at a few of the most common ones:

1. Contract Approval Workflow

The contract approval workflow is one of the most important parts of managing legal documents. When done right, it helps teams move contracts from draft to signature without confusion or delay.

Basically, this process makes sure that every agreement gets the right level of review and approval before it’s finalized. It typically includes:

• Drafting: Creating the initial version of the contract.
• Internal review: Performing contract analysis to check clauses, risks, and compliance.
• Approvals: Routing the document to the right stakeholders.
• Signatures: Collecting electronic signatures from all parties.
• Archiving: Saving the final copy in a secure contract repository.

Manual approval processes can feel slow and repetitive. Automating them reduces repetitive tasks and eliminates bottlenecks. Fortunately, modern contract management software tools make this easy by tracking status, assigning reviewers, and reminding approvers automatically.

With Aline, the entire approval process happens in one place, from drafting and approvals to e-signature and storage. Its dynamic routing and built-in compliance checks save time and prevent missed steps.

Start your free Aline trial today to find out what an accelerated approval process looks like.

2. NDA and Vendor Agreement Workflow

NDAs and vendor contracts are among the most frequently handled agreements in corporate legal departments.

And because they deal with repetitive details and standardized clauses, setting up a workflow makes these processes faster and more consistent. It also helps teams avoid common errors that come from copying and pasting between documents.

Here’s what a typical NDA or vendor agreement workflow looks like:

• Template selection: Begin with a pre-approved contract template that aligns with company policy.
• Customization: Fill in deal-specific details, such as vendor names, payment terms, or confidentiality clauses.
• Review: Use legal document automation tools to check for missing or outdated language.
• Approval and signature: Route the document to stakeholders for review, approval, and signing.
• Contract storage: Archive signed contracts in a document management system for easy retrieval and reporting.

This workflow removes unnecessary back-and-forth and simplifies routine tasks like version control and follow-up.

Many teams offering legal services now rely on automation to maintain consistency across contracts, track approvals, and set reminders for renewals or expiration dates. As a result, even high-volume vendor agreements can be handled efficiently and securely.

3. Employee Onboarding Workflow

Employee onboarding often involves several agreements and approvals that can quickly become time-consuming tasks for HR and legal teams.

Offer letters, confidentiality agreements, and policy acknowledgments all need to be reviewed, approved, and signed before a new hire starts.

So, without structure, this process creates an unnecessary administrative burden and increases the risk of missed steps.

A well-designed onboarding workflow helps keep everything in order:

• Document preparation: Generate offer letters and employment agreements from templates.
• Internal approval: Send documents for management or finance review.
• E-signature collection: Gather electronic signatures from new hires and internal stakeholders.
• Compliance check: Confirm that all required documents are signed and stored properly.
• Record keeping: Archive completed files in a secure system for easy reference.

Using legal workflow software can automate many of these steps and cut down on manual coordination. It connects HR, legal, and management through shared dashboards and task management tools that show exactly where each document stands.

All in all, automating onboarding not only saves time but also gives new employees a smoother start, as every document and approval is handled quickly and accurately.

4. Compliance Review Workflow

Compliance reviews help legal teams confirm that contracts and business practices follow laws and company policies.

For new clients, this process is especially important to verify terms, check data privacy clauses, and confirm regulatory alignment before work begins.

A structured compliance workflow typically includes:

• Data collection: Gather relevant client information and documents.
• Initial review: Identify clauses that may create risk or conflict with internal standards.
• Detailed checks: Use legal practice management software or automated systems to flag missing terms or outdated language.
• Approval: Route the reviewed material to compliance officers or partners for sign-off.
• Record keeping: Store completed reviews securely for audits or future reference.

Manual contract compliance tracking can feel like an endless list of routine administrative tasks, but automation makes it faster and more reliable. Tools that centralize contracts and automatically flag potential issues save teams from repetitive document reviews.

When you set up an automated compliance workflow, you can maintain accuracy across every client engagement, reduce oversight risks, and keep regulatory requirements visible at every stage of their work.

5. Legal Request Intake Workflow

The legal request intake workflow helps organize and prioritize incoming requests from other departments or clients. These might include contract review workflows, policy clarifications, or document drafting.

Without a system, lawyers often spend hours sorting through emails and follow-ups, most of which fall under non-billable tasks.

Meanwhile, a structured intake process reduces repetitive tasks and keeps communication clear. Here’s what it typically includes:

• Client intake forms: Collect details about the request, such as the type of legal work, urgency, and documents needed.
• Automatic routing: Assign the request to the right lawyer or team based on its category.
• Document creation: Generate standard responses or agreements using templates.
• Status tracking: Keep requestors updated to maintain consistent communication.
• Archiving: Store completed requests for future reference or reporting.

Automation is key here. Using legal automation tools, firms can replace manual processes with digital forms and automatic task assignments. This keeps work organized and prevents delays caused by missing information or unclear ownership.

6. Contract Renewal Workflow

The contract renewal workflow keeps legal operations teams organized as agreements approach expiration.

When renewals are handled through scattered emails or spreadsheets, it’s easy for deadlines to slip through the cracks. A clear workflow supported by contract renewal software helps prevent that and gives teams complete visibility into every active contract.

A well-structured renewal process can look like this:

• Deadline tracking: Automated reminders for upcoming expirations.
• Contract analysis: Reviewing terms to adjust pricing, obligations, or risk language.
• Internal feedback: Routing renewal drafts for comments and approval.
• Approval routing: Using an automated workflow to handle sign-offs and signatures.
• Record updates: Saving renewed agreements and updating contract metadata.

With legal workflow automation software or in-house legal software, renewal tracking becomes part of everyday operations rather than an afterthought.

7. Litigation Case Tracking Workflow

Managing litigation involves multiple moving parts, such as deadlines, filings, hearings, and client updates.

For many law firms, keeping all that organized can be difficult, especially when different teams work across separate existing systems. On the flip side, a clear litigation case tracking workflow helps bring everything together in one structured process.

Here’s how it usually works:

• Case intake: Record case details, deadlines, and assigned attorneys.
• Task scheduling: Set reminders for filings, discovery, and court appearances.
• Legal research: Store and track research materials, evidence, and related documents.
• Document management: Keep pleadings, motions, and correspondence in one secure system.
• Progress tracking: Monitor case stages and update status for clients and partners.

Using automation can reduce manual coordination by automating repetitive tasks like status updates and reminders. It also makes sure that no filing dates or obligations are overlooked.

When combined with case management tools, this workflow gives legal teams a single source of truth for every active case. The result is smoother collaboration, faster document access, and better insight into ongoing litigation across the entire practice.

8. Client Onboarding Workflow

A strong client onboarding workflow sets the tone for the entire relationship. It helps legal teams manage new clients with clarity, consistency, and attention to detail.

When you have no proper structure, early legal tasks like engagement letters or information collection can drag on. In turn, this can cause confusion and slow down collaboration.

A well-organized onboarding process typically involves:

• Information gathering: Collect key client details and case background.
• Document preparation: Draft engagement letters, fee agreements, and initial disclosures.
• Approvals: Review documents internally before sharing them with the client.
• Client communication: Send updates, clarify next steps, and confirm deliverables.
• Follow-up tasks: Track open items such as signatures, payments, or document submissions.

Using automated tools makes onboarding faster and more transparent. These tools can auto-generate templates, send reminders, and store all client information in one secure place.

The result is improved client satisfaction, as clients receive timely responses and know exactly what to expect. For law firms, it also reduces onboarding errors, shortens setup time, and builds trust from the very first interaction.

9. Invoice Approval Workflow

The invoice approval workflow helps law firms and legal teams process invoices quickly while keeping financial records organized. Manual review methods, like email approvals or shared spreadsheets, often cause slow responses, duplicate entries, or missed payments.

But with legal workflow automation tools, these steps can be handled more smoothly and accurately.

Here’s what a structured invoice approval process usually includes:

• Invoice submission: Vendors or attorneys submit invoices through a shared platform.
• Verification: Reviewers check client codes, time entries, and compliance with billing policies.
• Approval routing: Invoices are sent automatically to the right managers for review.
• Payment scheduling: Integrate with billing software to handle timely payments.
• Archiving: Save approved invoices for financial tracking and audits.

Automation helps eliminate human error and reduces the time spent on legal processes related to billing. It also improves visibility over spending and allows teams to focus more on billable hours.

What Is Legal Workflow Automation?

Legal workflow automation refers to using software and technology to simplify the everyday processes that keep legal work moving. There are many legal automation tools available today. Some focus on contracts, others on compliance, billing, or matter management.

Each tool does something slightly different, but they all share one goal: to replace manual effort with automated processes that save time and reduce errors.

Plus, the principle behind automation is the same across all tools. Every repetitive step can be handled by a system rather than a person. This means fewer delays, fewer missed details, and more time spent on meaningful work.

Platforms like Aline bring this principle to life in a single, all-in-one solution. Aline combines AI-driven drafting, natural language processing, and built-in e-signature tools to help teams draft, negotiate, sign, and analyze contracts up to 10x faster.

Compared to manual work filled with scattered files and endless emails, Aline keeps everything organized, connected, and easy to track to make contract work faster, clearer, and far less repetitive.

Check out how it handles AI-powered workflows.

What Are the Benefits of Automating Legal Workflows?

Using legal workflow automation software connects every part of legal operations, from digital contract management to compliance tracking, matter intake, and billing, into one coordinated system.

Here are some of the main benefits of automating legal workflows:

• Faster turnaround: Reviews, filings, and approvals happen in hours instead of days.
• Fewer errors: Automated validation and data checks reduce the chance of oversight.
• Better collaboration: Shared dashboards connect departments and keep progress transparent.
• Improved visibility: Every step from intake to resolution can be tracked in real time.
• Integration capabilities: Works with CRMs, billing systems, and document platforms to unify legal technology stacks.
• Time savings: Routine follow-ups, reminders, and document updates happen automatically.
• Consistency: Automated rules and templates bring uniformity to communication and documentation across teams.

In short, automation turns fragmented legal processes into predictable, organized workflows. The result is smoother coordination, faster delivery, and more reliable outcomes across all areas of legal work.

Building Better Contract Workflows With Aline

Looking at different legal workflow examples shows how much smoother work becomes when each process follows a clear structure.

But when it comes to contracts — the part that touches nearly every deal, partnership, and negotiation — having the right system matters even more.

Aline focuses entirely on making contract work faster and simpler. It connects drafting, review, approval, signing, and analysis in one clean workflow. Even better, it's powered by AI that understands how contracts actually work.

If contract tasks still slow your team down, it’s time for something more efficient.

Start your Aline trial today to make contract management faster and more organized.

FAQs About Legal Workflow Examples

What is the legal workflow process?

The legal workflow process is a structured series of steps that guide how tasks move through a firm or department. It covers everything from document generation and review to approvals and archiving. These workflows keep teams organized, reduce manual work, and make it easier to track progress across multiple matters.

What are the four types of legal workflows?

The main types often include contract management, compliance tracking, client intake, and billing process workflows. Each one helps legal teams manage repetitive data entry, review cycles, and approvals more efficiently through automation.

What is an example of a legal workflow?

A common example is a law firm automation setup where new clients fill out forms through secure client portals. The data flows into case files automatically, documents are created from templates, and tasks are assigned for review or approval, all connected within existing workflows.

What are the three basic elements of a legal workflow?

Every workflow includes inputs, actions, and outcomes. Inputs might be contracts or other legal documents; actions involve reviews or legal analysis; and outcomes deliver a completed task or decision. The benefits of legal workflow in the legal industry include better accuracy, faster turnaround, and smoother collaboration across a law firm’s website and internal systems.