Automation Playbook Template
A ready-to-use template for mapping process paths, ownership, and escalation rules for any recurring legal matter type.
Designing a process path is only useful once it's written down in a form someone can actually follow. This playbook template gives you a consistent structure to capture that design — the same fields, filled in once per matter type, so the next NDA, contract review, or compliance sign-off follows a defined path instead of being reinvented on the spot.
How to Use This Template
Fill in one playbook per recurring matter type — NDAs, standard vendor contracts, employment matters, and so on. Start with your highest-volume or highest-risk matter types first, since that's where a defined path pays off fastest. Once a playbook is filled in, it becomes the basis for a reusable workflow template.
The Playbook Template
Each playbook answers seven questions for a single matter type. Together, they define the full path from intake to resolution.
1. Matter type
What kind of request does this playbook cover? Be specific enough that it's clear which requests it applies to, and which it doesn't.
2. Trigger
What starts this process — a submitted request, a signed contract nearing renewal, a flagged compliance question?
3. Steps, in order
The sequence of actions from trigger to resolution. Note which steps can happen in parallel and which must happen in sequence.
4. Owner for each step
Who is responsible at each stage, and who the backup owner is if the primary is unavailable.
5. Approval chain
Who needs to sign off, in what order, and what happens if an approval isn't given within the expected timeframe.
6. Escalation path
The threshold for what counts as stalled, who gets notified first, and where it goes if that notice is unanswered.
7. Definition of done
What a completed matter of this type looks like, so there's no ambiguity about when the process has actually finished.
Example: NDA Review Playbook
Here's how the template looks filled in for a common, high-volume matter type.
| Field | NDA Review |
|---|---|
| Matter type | Standard mutual or one-way NDA, no material deviation from approved templates. |
| Trigger | Business stakeholder submits an NDA request through intake. |
| Steps | Intake review → template match check → counterparty redline review (if any) → final sign-off. |
| Owner | Paralegal for intake and template match; reviewing attorney for redlines and sign-off. |
| Approval chain | Reviewing attorney only, unless redlines deviate from approved fallback positions — then escalate to senior counsel. |
| Escalation path | If unreviewed after 2 business days, notify reviewing attorney's manager. |
| Definition of done | Fully executed NDA on file, logged with counterparty name and effective date. |
Keeping Playbooks Current
Review on a Schedule
Set a recurring check-in — quarterly is common — to confirm the playbook still reflects how the matter type is actually handled.
Reconcile Exceptions
When a matter deviates from the playbook, note why. Recurring exceptions usually mean the playbook needs updating, not the matter.
Retire What No Longer Applies
If a matter type stops recurring, archive its playbook rather than leaving it to clutter active reference material.
Related Reading
A playbook is only as useful as the next matter it's applied to. The value isn't in writing it once — it's in using the same one, every time, for every matter of that type.
Stop coordinating by hand. Watch one matter type run itself.
We'll build a free, working proof of concept on one of your real legal workflows — approvals, notifications, and escalation, configured and running against an actual matter type — before you commit a dollar.