Workflows are the engine that separates firms that use Filevine as a filing cabinet from firms that use it as a growth machine. When configured properly, Filevine’s workflow automation handles the repetitive coordination work that bogs down attorneys and paralegals, freeing your team to focus on the legal work that drives revenue. This guide shows you how to build workflows that actually save time.
Understanding Filevine’s Workflow Architecture
Filevine’s workflow system is built on three core components that work together:
- Phases represent the major stages of your case lifecycle. For a personal injury case, these might include Intake, Investigation, Treatment, Demand, Negotiation, Litigation, and Resolution.
- Task Templates define the specific work items that need to happen within each phase, including who is responsible, when it is due, and what happens when it is completed.
- Triggers are the rules that determine when tasks are created, assigned, or escalated. They fire based on events like a phase change, a field value update, a deadline approaching, or the completion of a prerequisite task.
The power of the system comes from chaining these components together so that completing one task automatically creates the next, moving cases forward without anyone having to manually check what comes next.
Step 1: Map Your Current Process Before You Build
The most common mistake firms make with Filevine workflows is jumping straight into configuration without first documenting how work actually flows through the firm. Before touching the platform, gather your team and map out:
- Every task that happens from the moment a new client contacts your firm through case resolution
- Who is responsible for each task and who needs to be notified when it is complete
- What information or documents are needed before each task can begin
- What deadlines govern each task, whether they are hard deadlines like statutes of limitations or soft deadlines like internal follow-up targets
- Where cases commonly get stuck and what intervention is needed to move them forward
This exercise often reveals inefficiencies and redundancies that you can eliminate before encoding them into your automation.
Step 2: Design Your Phase Structure
Each project type in Filevine should have a phase structure that mirrors your case lifecycle. Keep these principles in mind:
- Keep phases broad. A phase should represent a meaningful stage of the case, not an individual task. Having too many phases creates confusion rather than clarity.
- Name phases clearly. Use names that everyone in the firm understands, not legal jargon or internal shorthand.
- Define entry and exit criteria. For each phase, specify what must be true before a case enters it and what must be completed before it moves on.
- Account for non-linear paths. Not every case moves through phases in the same order. Design your structure to handle cases that skip phases or move backward.
Step 3: Build Your Task Templates
Within each phase, create task templates for every action that needs to happen. Effective task templates include:
- A clear, action-oriented title like “Request medical records from treating physician” rather than vague labels like “Medical records”
- Assignment to a specific role or person, with escalation rules if the task is not completed on time
- A due date calculated relative to the case start date, phase entry date, or a preceding task completion date
- Detailed instructions in the task description that tell the assigned person exactly what to do, including links to relevant templates or resources
- Dependencies that prevent the task from becoming active until prerequisite tasks are completed
Step 4: Set Up Automated Triggers
Triggers are what transform your task templates from a static checklist into a dynamic automation engine. The most powerful trigger patterns include:
Phase Change Triggers
When a case moves into a new phase, automatically create all tasks associated with that phase, notify the responsible team members, and update the case status. This is the most basic and most important trigger type.
Completion Chain Triggers
When a specific task is marked complete, automatically create the next task in the sequence. For example, when “Send engagement letter” is completed, immediately create “Confirm signed engagement letter received” with a due date three days out.
Conditional Triggers
Create different tasks based on field values. If the case type is set to “auto accident,” trigger tasks for police report retrieval and insurance company notification. If the case type is “slip and fall,” trigger tasks for premises liability investigation and property owner notification instead.
Deadline-Based Triggers
Create reminder tasks or notifications when a critical deadline is approaching. Set up escalating alerts at 90, 60, 30, and 7 days before a statute of limitations expires, with each alert assigned to increasingly senior team members.
Step 5: Test Before You Launch
Before rolling out new workflows to your team, test them thoroughly:
- Create test cases in a sandbox environment and run them through the entire workflow
- Verify that every trigger fires at the right time and creates the correct tasks
- Confirm that task assignments go to the right people and that notifications are delivered
- Test edge cases like skipping phases, changing field values mid-workflow, and reopening completed tasks
- Ask team members to walk through the workflow and flag any steps that are confusing or unnecessary
Five Workflow Templates to Steal
Here are five proven workflow patterns that work well in Filevine across different practice areas:
- New Client Onboarding: Engagement letter generation, conflict check, welcome email, initial document request, first appointment scheduling, and case team assignment
- Medical Record Collection: Record request letter generation, provider follow-up at 14 days, escalation at 30 days, record review upon receipt, and medical summary creation
- Discovery Response: Response deadline calculation, document review assignment, privilege log creation, response drafting, partner review, and filing
- Settlement Processing: Settlement agreement drafting, client approval, lien resolution, disbursement calculation, trust account transfer, and file closing
- Monthly Case Review: Automated report generation, idle case flagging, upcoming deadline summary, task completion rate analysis, and team meeting agenda creation
Get Expert Workflow Configuration Help
Building effective Filevine workflows takes time and expertise, but the investment pays for itself many times over in reduced manual work and fewer missed deadlines. If you need help designing and implementing workflows for your firm, Courthouse Digital has deep experience with Filevine configuration. Contact us to discuss your workflow needs.