Why Leading Legal Teams Connect Intake and Work Management
Sep 1, 2025
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For most in-house teams, the workday begins not with strategy sessions or deep legal analysis, but with a steady stream of requests: “Can you review this contract?” “Is this compliant?” “What should we do here?” These requests arrive constantly, shaping the rhythm of the legal department.
Intake is the process legal teams use to collect these requests. Work management systems are used to track, manage, and complete the requests. When intake and work management systems are disconnected, legal teams often lose time, context, and visibility.
A common example is using email for intake and a spreadsheet to manage requests. That sentence should elicit an emotional response. We all know what it feels like to spend our time shuttling work between systems instead of doing the work.
This article explores how a connected system that manages the full life cycle of a request, from origination to completion, creates a more structured and reliable way to manage legal work.
Connecting the Request Life Cycle
A connected approach links how legal teams receive requests with how they manage and complete work. When intake and work management operate in silos, teams lose visibility and efficiency. When they connect, the entire process becomes seamless.
What is Intake?
In legal operations, intake systems manage how requests arrive.
Formal intake: forms, ticketing systems, or messages to a shared legal inbox
Informal intake: Slack or Teams messages, one-off emails, phone calls, or even hallway conversations
Legal front doors are gaining traction as legal teams look for purpose-built technology.
Ideally, intake points capture key information like request type, urgency, and relevant documents. But many times the first outreach is just the tip of the iceberg. As more information comes into view through back and forth clarification, the request takes on a different shape.
From Request to Work
Most requests need a baseline transfer of knowledge before they are actionable. Once enough context is gathered, the request becomes work.
That’s where work management systems can help teams assign, track, and complete requests. These systems provide the structure and visibility needed to stay aligned and complete tasks.
The Problem With Disconnected Systems
When intake happens in one place and work happens in another, teams face:
Delays and confusion from manual handoffs
Silos that prevent understanding of overall workload
One-off handling that hides true volume and patterns of work
This disconnect slows teams down and limits their ability to prioritize effectively.
The Power of a Connected Approach
A connected system eliminates the gap:
A request is submitted once
It flows directly into the work management platform
It is automatically assigned, tracked, and resolved
Throughout the process, the requestor remains in the loop. No more chasing status updates. The team gains visibility into both the flow and the completion of work, moving forward together at a consistent pace.
Why Intake Alone Fails
Most legal teams still manage requests through email, chat messages, or hallway conversations. These methods make it hard to track work that comes in and how it is being handled.
When intake isn't connected to work management, legal teams face common problems:
Lost requests: Emails get buried in busy inboxes
Incomplete information: Requesters don't provide all needed details
Unclear priorities: No system to identify urgent matters
Limited visibility: Team members can't see what others are working on
Difficult reporting: No way to track team workload or performance
The difference between old and new approaches is clear:
Traditional Intake | Connected Intake-Workflow |
Manual sorting of requests | Automatic routing based on request type |
Information scattered across emails | All details captured in structured forms |
Status updates require manual follow-up | Real-time visibility for all stakeholders |
Work assigned based on who saw the email first | Balanced distribution based on expertise and capacity |
No records of similar past requests | History of previous similar matters easily accessible |
As legal teams face growing demand from their organizations, these traditional methods become increasingly problematic. Legal teams need systems that match the sophistication and pace of the businesses they support.
Key Benefits of Connecting Intake And Work Management
When legal teams connect intake with work management, they create a seamless process from request to resolution. This connection delivers four major advantages.
1. Faster Response Times
Connected systems automatically route requests to the right person based on the request type. This eliminates the manual sorting that often delays legal work.
For example, when someone submits a contract review request, the system can immediately assign it rather than waiting for a team lead to review and delegate.
2. Greater Visibility And Collaboration
Connected systems show everyone—both legal team members and business requesters—exactly where requests stand.
Team leaders can see all active requests, who's handling them, and where bottlenecks exist. Business colleagues can check status without sending "just following up" emails.
This transparency improves collaboration across departments and helps manage expectations about timing.
For legal teams: Clear view of all pending matters and their status
For business users: Self-service status checks without interrupting legal work
For leadership: Accurate reporting on team workload and performance
3. Reduced Compliance Risk
When legal intake connects to work management, compliance measures follow consistent paths. The system can enforce required approvals, documentation, and review steps.
Each action is automatically recorded, creating an audit trail without extra work. This structure reduces the risk of missed steps or incomplete documentation.
For regulated industries, this systematic approach helps demonstrate diligence in addressing compliance concerns.
4. Improved Data Quality And Reporting
Connected systems capture consistent data about work flowing through the legal department. This structured information powers meaningful insights about team operations.
Legal leaders can analyze patterns like:
Which departments submit the most requests
How long different types of requests take to resolve
Where bottlenecks typically occur
Which team members handle specific types of work
These insights help optimize resources, gain buy-in for headcount, and improve processes over time.
How AI Orchestration Supercharges a Connected System
AI technology makes the connection between intake and work management even more powerful. Modern legal operations platforms use AI to understand requests, route them appropriately, and even handle routine matters automatically.
When someone submits a request, AI can:
Triage: Read the plain language of the request, label it properly, and route it to the correct team member
Support Intake: Identify missing information and follow up until all necessary details are collected
First-pass Review: Run agents on structured requests to generate first-pass reviews, like comparisons against a playbook
Select Approach from Inputs: Follow different paths to generate work product based on the request inputs (i.e., handling contracts on company paper differently than third party paper)
For routine matters like basic NDAs or policy questions, AI can provide immediate answers based on the company's approved templates and policies. This automation frees legal professionals to focus on more complex work.
The best systems ground AI in company-specific policies and documents, ensuring responses align with the organization's established practices.
Best Practices For Implementation
Implementing a connected intake-workflow system doesn't have to be complicated. These practical steps help ensure success.
1. Standardize Request Forms
Create simple forms for common request types. Each form should collect just enough information to properly route and handle the matter.
Effective forms include:
Clear categories for different request types
Only essential fields to avoid overwhelming requesters
Conditional fields so requesters only see fields that are relevant
Dropdown menus where possible to ensure consistent data
Start with forms for your most common requests then expand as needed. One of the benefits of a connected system is teams quickly see patterns and can iterate by creating and modifying forms.
2. Set Up Smart Routing Rules
Define clear rules for how different types of requests should be handled. These rules determine who handles a request based on expertise, capacity, and urgency.
For example:
Purchase Orders under $10,000 go to junior counsel
Employment matters go to the HR legal specialist
Regulatory questions go to the compliance team
High-value contracts go to senior attorneys
These routing rules can evolve as you learn more about your team's workload patterns.
3. Connect Communication Tools
Most legal teams already use email, chat platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams, and document sharing tools. A good intake-workflow system connects with these existing tools.
Integrations allows team members to:
Submit requests directly from familiar tools
Receive notifications about new or updated requests
Access documents without switching between systems
Update status without extra steps
The goal is to reduce context switching while maintaining a single source of truth for all legal requests.
4. Measure What Matters
Track metrics that show how the connected system improves operations:
Average time to first response
Total time to resolution by request type
Number of open matters per attorney
Percentage of matters handled within target timeframes
These metrics help demonstrate the value of the connected approach and identify areas for further improvement.
Elevate Your Legal Operations
Connecting intake to work management transforms how legal teams operate. It creates a structured environment where requests are properly captured, assigned, and tracked from start to finish.
This connected approach helps legal teams keep up with the pace of business without adding headcount. It improves satisfaction among business colleagues who get faster, more consistent responses. And it gives legal leadership better visibility into team performance and resource needs.
As in-house legal teams evolve to meet business demands in an AI-powered world, this approach becomes essential for high-performing legal teams.
Coheso's AI-native legal front door connects intake and work management in one platform. Our system uses AI to understand requests, route them appropriately, and track them through resolution. It integrates with tools corporate legal teams already use and grounds all AI responses in company specific documents.
To see how Coheso can help your team connect legal intake and work management, request a demo.
