Blog / Case study
A Texas mediation practice saves approximately 30 hours a week by automating mediation administration
One person handled the firm’s mediation administration, from reviewing booking requests to sending invoices and setting up case files. We connected that process across the firm’s existing tools with an AI-powered administrative workflow, removing enough routine work to largely eliminate its need for dedicated human administrative assistance.
- Client
- Texas law firm
- Industry
- Legal services and mediation
- Scope
- Booking, client communication, invoicing, and case setup
- Approximately 30 hours
- Saved each week, based on the supplied estimate
- 1 administrator
- Previously coordinated the process
- 5 connected systems
- Booking software, email, QuickBooks, Outlook, and Google Drive
Overview
When a client books a mediation online, it only takes a few minutes. For this mediation firm, processing that booking required someone to review the request, check for potential conflicts of interest, coordinate approvals, prepare documents, generate an invoice, update the calendar, and create the case file.
Before we helped them with an AI solution, one administrator’s entire job was to handle this coordination.
The information existed across the firm’s systems. Moving it between those systems, collecting missing details, and following up on outstanding requests required manual work throughout the week.
We mapped the process and built connected AI-native workflows that handle the routine steps while keeping the firm’s staff responsible for conflict reviews and booking approvals.
The problem
Every booking created work across several systems
A booking arrived through the website, but the administrator still had to carry its details through the rest of the operation.
Confirmation documents went out by email. Invoices came from QuickBooks. Sessions needed an Outlook calendar entry. Case files lived in Google Drive. The administrator entered and checked the same details repeatedly.
Potential conflicts required a search and a decision
Before confirming a booking, the administrator searched the firm’s database for potential conflicts of interest involving the mediator and the parties named in the case.
If a potential conflict required review, she sent the relevant details to the mediator to decide whether the booking could proceed.
Other requests also needed approval. A half-day session involving a larger number of parties, for example, required a mediator to confirm whether the allotted time was appropriate.
Each review created an outstanding item to track until someone made a decision.
Held dates required repeated follow-up
Clients sometimes asked the firm to hold a date while they confirmed availability with the other parties.
The administrator followed up by email every few days. She tracked responses, kept the booking status current, and made sure a held date did not remain unavailable indefinitely.
If the firm declined a request, she notified the client and reopened the date in the booking software.
Confirming a booking started another checklist
After approval, the administrator prepared and sent the confirmation letter, QuickBooks invoice, W-9, and mediation rules.
She then added the session to Outlook, created a Drive folder, collected the parties’ names and email addresses, and completed the docket.
Missing attendee details created further correspondence. Every case needed the same attention to keep documents, calendars, and records consistent.
The objective
Handle routine booking administration using AI, carry case information between systems, and bring decisions to the people responsible for making them.
The firm needed a workflow that followed its existing process, including its approval requirements and filing conventions.
AI needed to work within the firm’s daily operations, with access to the information and connected tools required to move each booking forward.
What we built
We connected booking review, follow-up, confirmation, and case setup across the firm’s existing tools using AI.
The solution combines AI with integrations that carry out actions in the firm’s software. Together, they support the administrative process from the initial request through to an organized case file.
| Workflow | Trigger | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Booking review | A client submits a request | The request enters review with the case and party details |
| Conflict review support | A potential conflict requires attention | Relevant records and case details automatically come together for a mediator’s decision |
| Held booking follow-up | A date goes on hold | The workflow tracks the outstanding confirmation and sends follow-ups |
| Declined booking | The firm declines a request | The client receives a notification and the date becomes available again |
| Confirmation | The firm approves a booking | Confirmation materials and the QuickBooks invoice move through the sending process |
| Calendar and case setup | A booking is confirmed | The workflow creates the Outlook event and organizes the Drive case folder |
| Party information and docket | Attendee details arrive or remain incomplete | The workflow requests missing information and populates the docket |
Booking review and conflicts of interest
The workflow keeps the booking request, review status, and supporting information connected.
For potential conflicts of interest, it brings the relevant database records and case details together for review. The mediator decides whether the booking can proceed. If additional information is needed, the workflow tracks that request while the booking remains on hold.
Bookings that require approval because of party count or session length also reach the appropriate reviewer. Once the reviewer decides, the workflow carries out the next steps.
Held and declined bookings
Held bookings follow a tracked process with follow-up communication. The team can see which dates await confirmation and which requests need attention.
For declined bookings, the workflow sends the client notification and releases the date in the booking system.
Confirmation and invoicing
Approval starts the confirmation workflow.
The system uses the booking details to prepare the confirmation letter, generate the QuickBooks invoice, and coordinate delivery of the confirmation package, including the W-9 and mediation rules.
Those details also carry into the calendar event and case file setup.
Case folders and docket creation
The workflow creates case folders using the firm’s naming convention: a sequential case number, mediator initials, session duration, and case name.
It organizes the confirmation materials, invoices, correspondence, and important documents within the case structure.
Party information feeds into the docket. When names or email addresses are missing, the workflow requests them and tracks what remains outstanding.
The impact
The supplied estimate is approximately 30 hours of administrative work eliminated each week. That reduction largely removes the need for dedicated administrative assistance for the mediation workflow.
| Measure | Before | With the connected workflow |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative effort | One person coordinated the process manually | Approximately 30 hours of work eliminated per week |
| Booking information | Reentered across documents and systems | Carried through connected steps |
| Held dates | Follow-up emails tracked manually | Follow-ups run through the workflow |
| Attorney Coordination | Staff managed repeated email exchanges | Automated routine follow-ups and outstanding information tracked through the workflow |
| Declined requests | Separate client email and availability update | Notification and date release follow the decision |
| Confirmation | Documents, invoices, and emails prepared separately | Approval starts the confirmation process |
| Calendar setup | Session entered manually in Outlook | Calendar event created from booking information |
| Case setup | Folder naming and organization handled manually | Files follow the firm’s established structure |
| Docket preparation | Party details collected and entered manually | Collected information populates the docket |
| Conflict decisions | Administrator coordinates review by email | Supporting information reaches the mediator for a decision |
The time saving comes from repeated steps across the booking process. Each confirmation, reminder, calendar entry, and folder setup contributes to the weekly workload.
Connecting those steps gives the firm capacity to process bookings with substantially less administrative involvement. Staff still review exceptions and make decisions, with the workflow handling the communication and updates that follow.
What comes next
The next opportunities sit around preparation, payments, and closing.
Before mediation, the firm collects submissions, sends meeting invitations and Zoom details, tracks cancellation deadlines, and follows up on outstanding invoices. Mediators gather the docket and case documents to prepare.
After the session, signed agreements and closing documents need to be collected and filed. Unpaid balances may require further follow-up.
The booking and case setup workflows provide a foundation for connecting those stages, using the same case information throughout the mediation process.