Streamline Matter Intake Approvals with Microsoft 365 Tools

Slow matter intake approvals stall client service, frustrate attorneys, and create avoidable risk. By automating the approval path with modern tools, firms can shorten cycle times from days to hours while improving compliance, auditability, and collaboration. This week’s article shows how to streamline matter intake approvals end-to-end—what to automate, how to design the workflow, and which Microsoft 365 components and legal operations practices to use to deliver measurable gains in turnaround time and quality.

Table of Contents

• The Bottleneck and Business Case
• Workflow Optimization & Best Practices
• Technology Tools in Focus (Microsoft 365 and more)
• Hands-On Build: Automating Intake Approvals in Microsoft 365
• Compliance & Risk Management
• Collaboration & Client Service
• Security & Data Protection
• Metrics & Continuous Improvement
• Future Trends & Innovation
• Conclusion

The Bottleneck and Business Case

Matter intake approvals often traverse multiple people and systems: business development, conflicts, billing, practice leadership, and risk/ethics counsel. Email-driven approvals create blind spots, rework, and inconsistent decisions. The result is a slow, opaque process that harms client experience and delays revenue recognition.

Automation reframes the problem. A rules-driven intake workflow captures structured data upfront, routes approvals based on matter attributes, and provides real-time visibility. Firms that automate typically report:

• 40–70% reduction in intake approval cycle time
• Fewer handoff errors and less rekeying of data
• Consistent application of Outside Counsel Guidelines (OCGs) and risk policies
• Better forecasting of attorney workload and onboarding timelines

Operational insight: Treat matter intake approvals like a stage-gate process with explicit entry/exit criteria. Automate gates, not people. Humans should make risk-informed decisions; the system should do everything else.

Workflow Optimization & Best Practices

Before selecting tools, design the workflow. Map the stages, clarify who decides what, and define data requirements. A clean design reduces exceptions and accelerates approvals.

Key best practices

• Collect once, use many times: Use structured fields (client, related parties, jurisdictions, fee model, scope, deadlines) and push to your DMS, time/billing, and CRM from a single source of truth.
• Conditional routing: Route high-risk matters (e.g., cross-border sanctions exposure, novel IP) to risk counsel; send standard engagements to practice leads with SLA timers.
• Embedded controls: Automate conflict checks, OCG validation, and required attachments (e.g., engagement letters) before approvals can proceed.
• SLAs and escalations: Set time-bound approvals with reminders and escalation to alternates to avoid bottlenecks when partners are unavailable.
• Auditability: Log decisions, comments, and timestamps to satisfy audits and client inquiries.

Technology Tools in Focus (Microsoft 365 and more)

Modern legal operations capitalize on Microsoft 365 and targeted integrations to orchestrate intake and approvals. Below is a pragmatic toolset that many firms use.

Where appropriate, extend with specialized services: conflicts databases, sanctions/PEP screening APIs, and client portals. The orchestration can still live in Microsoft 365 for a cohesive user experience.

Hands-On Build: Automating Intake Approvals in Microsoft 365

The following example demonstrates a practical, production-ready intake approval flow that a midsize firm can implement quickly, then harden for scale.

Objective

Reduce average intake approval time from 3 business days to under 24 hours, while enforcing conflict checks, OCG adherence, and structured matter creation across the DMS and billing system.

Step-by-step configuration

1. Create the intake form (Microsoft Forms):
   • Capture client, related parties, jurisdictions, matter type, practice group, fee model, urgency, and OCG upload.
   • Add conditional questions: if “Cross-border” = Yes, show “Sanctions exposure” and “Export controls” fields.
   • Enable file uploads with clear data-use notice.
2. Store and validate data (SharePoint List):
   • Build an “IntakeRequests” list with columns mirroring the form fields plus: Status, RiskScore, Approver, SLA Due, and AuditTrail.
   • Create choice fields to standardize matter types and fee models (reduces downstream data cleanup).
3. Power Automate: Trigger and enrich:
   • Trigger on new form submission; write data to the list.
   • Enrich with client master data via your CRM or finance system connector to avoid duplicates.
   • Calculate a simple RiskScore (e.g., +2 cross-border, +1 politically exposed, +2 expedited start, +1 new client).
4. Automate the conflict check gate:
   • Call conflicts service or send a structured task to the Conflicts Team queue (SharePoint/Planner) with related parties attached.
   • Block progress until ConflictsStatus = “Clear” or “Waiver Required.” If waiver required, route to Ethics for decision.
5. OCG and policy rules check:
   • If OCG uploaded, scan for flagged clauses (billing increments, staffing limits) using Power Automate + AI-based document classification or a pre-tagged template library.
   • Mark exceptions requiring practice lead acknowledgment.
6. Dynamic approver routing (Approvals in Teams):
   • Route low-risk matters to Practice Lead; high-risk to Practice Lead + General Counsel.
   • Send Approvals cards in Teams and Outlook with summary fields, OCG exceptions, conflict outcomes, and SLA clock.
   • Set reminders at 12 and 20 hours; escalate to alternate approver if overdue.
7. Engagement terms and document generation:
   • Generate engagement letter from a Word template (Content Controls) populated with matter data.
   • Attach to the approval for confirmation; store final signed letter in the matter workspace.
8. Create the matter across systems:
   • Upon final approval, create the matter in the DMS (iManage/NetDocuments) and finance (3E/Aderant) using connectors or RPA if needed.
   • Provision a Teams channel or SharePoint site with sensitivity label “Confidential – Client Matter” and correct permissions.
9. Notify and track:
   • Post a Teams message to the practice channel with the matter ID, owner, and next steps.
   • Update Power BI dashboards for cycle time and throughput by practice and office.
10. Close the loop with the requestor:
    • Send a confirmation email with matter number, assigned team, and onboarding checklist.
    • Provide a link to the matter workspace and the engagement letter.

What good looks like

Compliance & Risk Management

Automating approvals should strengthen compliance rather than bypass it. Design the workflow to encode risk policies while keeping human judgment where it matters.

• Conflicts of interest: Ensure all related parties are captured and deduplicated; require documented waivers where needed.
• Sanctions/AML/KYC: For relevant geographies, trigger screening steps and hold the workflow until checks are cleared.
• OCG compliance: Flag nonstandard billing increments, staffing restrictions, and e-billing requirements before matter setup.
• Engagement letters: Enforce approved templates; track deviations and approvals.
• Audit trail: Maintain immutable logs of who approved what, when, and why.

Codify your risk matrix so that higher-risk matters require broader approvals and deeper documentation, while routine matters flow quickly with appropriate safeguards.

Collaboration & Client Service

Automation should also improve the client and attorney experience. Focus on transparency and clarity of next steps.

• Single source of truth: The SharePoint list or intake system is the authoritative status; no more “Where is it?” email threads.
• Real-time notifications: Teams messages and adaptive cards keep approvers moving without context-switching.
• Client-facing updates (optional): Provide a secure client portal page showing “In review,” “Approved,” or “Awaiting conflicts,” with dates and contact points.
• Faster engagement: Approved matters automatically spin up collaboration spaces, ensuring the legal team can begin work immediately.

Best practice: Publish a service-level commitment (e.g., “Standard matters approved within 24 hours”) and measure it. Internal transparency builds trust and reinforces timely participation by approvers.

Security & Data Protection

Security is integral to intake. Matter data often includes PII, privileged information, or sensitive strategy details. Control access and data handling at every step.

• Sensitivity labels: Apply labels like “Confidential – Client Matter” to intake records and generated documents.
• DLP policies: Block or warn on sharing sensitive intake data externally.
• Conditional access: Require MFA and compliant devices for approvers working remotely.
• Least privilege: Restrict access to intake records and matter workspaces to the assigned team.
• Retention & governance: Use Microsoft Purview for retention policies, eDiscovery holds, and complete audit logs.

Metrics & Continuous Improvement

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Build a simple KPI set into the workflow and show trends monthly.

• Cycle time: Submission to final approval; segmented by practice, office, and risk tier.
• Gate time: Time in conflicts, time awaiting approver, time to create matter in DMS/finance.
• First-time-right rate: Percentage of submissions approved without rework due to missing or inaccurate data.
• SLA compliance: Share of matters approved within the published SLA.
• Exception rate: OCG deviations, waiver-required matters, escalations.

Use Power BI to visualize bottlenecks and run Plan-Do-Check-Act cycles. For example, if “awaiting approver” is consistently the longest stage, add alternates, shift to Teams approvals, and tighten escalation windows.

Future Trends & Innovation

The next wave of intake approvals is intelligence-driven:

• AI-assisted triage: Use large language models to summarize OCGs, detect unusual terms, and propose risk scores for human confirmation.
• Copilot for M365: Draft engagement letters, auto-summarize conflict findings, and generate client-ready status updates from workflow logs.
• Dynamic forms: Adaptive intake forms that change based on prior answers and historical patterns, reducing user effort and errors.
• Knowledge graphs: Connect clients, matters, related parties, jurisdictions, and lawyers to identify conflicts and staffing insights preemptively.
• Embedded compliance checks: Real-time sanctions/PEP screening APIs and automated documentation of decisions for audit.

Conclusion

Automating matter intake approvals shortens turnaround time, reduces risk, and elevates client experience. By combining a clear stage-gate design with Microsoft 365 tools and targeted integrations, firms can replace email-driven bottlenecks with predictable, auditable flow. Start with structured data, conditional routing, and actionable approvals in Teams; measure cycle time; then iterate. The payoff is rapid: faster engagement, fewer errors, and a scalable foundation for continued innovation.

Want expert guidance on improving your legal practice operations with modern tools and strategies? Reach out to A.I. Solutions today for tailored support and training.