Aylor Law Firm is run by attorney Jeff Aylor and his office manager, Cindy. Before working with me, they had no technology or established management process for tracking client work. Documents were passed back and forth manually, and both people struggled to keep track of where each client’s documents stood.
I built a client workflow management system that gives them a shared view of client status and document progress, with automated email reminders when no progress has been made or needs a follow up with the client.
Managing client work through manual handoffs
The firm’s estate planning work required regular coordination between Jeff and Cindy. Jeff would prepare documents and pass them to Cindy to contact the client. As the documents moved through review, signatures, and completion, responsibility passed back and forth.
There was no shared tracking system or organized process to make those handoffs visible. To find out what had happened or what needed to happen next, they had to ask each other for an update.
With dozens of clients to manage, staying on top of the documents became a job in itself. Jeff and Cindy needed to know which documents were with Jeff, which needed client follow-up, and which were ready for the next step. Keeping all of this information straight with manual handoffs was taking time and causing frustration.
Building a shared process from the ground up
I organized the work into a defined workflow using Trello. I created a board with stages for each step in the process. Each client is represented by a card on the board and moves along each step from the initial meeting to signed and completed documents.
The stages cover capturing meeting notes, attorney review and document preparation, sending documents to the client, collecting signatures, and completion. This gives the attorney and office manager a shared way to track work that previously moved between them without a management system.
Both can now see each client’s status, where the documents are in the process, and what needs attention next. They can check one client’s progress or get an overview of the firm’s active work without having to leave their desks to ask each other.
Automated reminders to keep work moving
I set up automated email reminders around the handoffs between Jeff, Cindy, and their clients. Each stage has its own timing for reminders, so the right person gets notified when their attention is needed.
After an initial client meeting, Jeff passes his notes to Cindy to turn into drafts. If she hasn’t returned the drafts to Jeff within five days, she receives an email reminder. Once Jeff has the drafts, he gets a reminder after three weeks if his step is still unfinished, followed by another two weeks later if it remains outstanding.
When the documents are sent to the client, the focus shifts to follow-up. If they haven’t been signed and finalized after 30 days, both Jeff and Cindy receive a reminder to check in. Once the documents are finalized and marked complete, the reminders stop.
This gives them a consistent way to catch work that has stalled, whether it’s waiting on draft preparation, Jeff’s review, or a client response.
Less time chasing updates
The firm now has one place to track dozens of clients and see the status of their documents. Jeff and Cindy spend less time asking each other where work stands and have a clearer view of what they need to do next.
- Shared visibility. Both people can see client progress and document status in the same system.
- Clearer handoffs. Defined stages help them coordinate when work moves between the attorney, office manager, and client.
- Less manual chasing. Automated email reminders move stalled progress forward.
- Easier oversight. Outstanding and overdue work is easier to identify across active clients.
The biggest benefit is less administrative effort to manage client work. Instead of constantly checking with each other to find out the status of a document, they can use the Trello board to see where it stands and keep it moving.
Expanding beyond estate planning
I started with estate planning documents and will be expanding the system to other documents and processes the firm handles for its clients.
The foundation is the same: a defined process, a shared view of progress, and automated reminders to help a small team stay on top of its work.
