Before You Pilot AI, Fix Intake: Cut Cycle Time With A Playbook

Before You Pilot AI, Fix Intake: Cut Cycle Time With A Playbook

If your team still fields requests through email, Slack, and hallway drive-bys, you’re likely spending more time reconstructing context than delivering advice. The fastest way to unlock speed isn’t a new model—it’s a clean first mile. Fix intake and triage, then let AI carry the load where it’s repeatable.

Fix Intake Before You Pilot AI

Start with one governed front door. Point business users to a simple intake form that captures only what you need to route and start work.

- Standard fields: requester, business unit, request type, counterparty, urgency, due date, attachments/links.

- Context prompts: template used (Y/N), revenue/contract value, data processed (PII? payments?), region.

- Required choices over free text: make it easy to classify and route.

Set routing rules by request type and risk band, and publish service levels (e.g., “NDA same day; vendor review 3 business days to first response”). Redirect email/DMs to the form—consistently. Intake discipline removes ambiguity, accelerates triage, and gives you the data spine that future automation needs.

In Sandstone, this looks like a lightweight intake surface mapped to modular workflows. Each submission generates a matter with structured fields, a playbook attached, and an owner assigned—no swivel-chairing between tools.

Instrument The Workflow

You can’t optimize what you can’t see. Instrument the journey from request to resolution and capture the signals that explain cycle time.

- Stages: received → triaged → in review → waiting on business → external counsel → closed.

- Timers: time to first response, active review time, waiting time, total cycle time.

- Reasons: triage reason codes (missing info, unclear scope, wrong template, out of policy), exception tags (data residency, high-risk terms).

- Capacity: work in progress per attorney, queue aging, handoffs.

Build a minimal dashboard: top request types, SLA adherence, bottlenecks by stage, and exception rate by playbook. Aim for directional clarity over perfect precision. Once you see where time leaks occur (e.g., “waiting on business” dominates), you can target fixes—like better templates, mandatory fields, or a pre-checklist for requesters.

Define Decision Rights & Guardrails

Automation without governance is risk by another name. Document decision rights—who can approve, at what thresholds, and based on which positions.

- Decision rights: who accepts intake, who routes, who approves exceptions by value/risk.

- Guardrails: positions and fallbacks (e.g., “Data processing addendum required if PII; escalate cross-border transfers to privacy lead”).

- Playbooks: clause-by-clause guidance for common agreements with acceptable alternatives.

- Escalation paths: when an exception trips, where does it go, and what evidence is needed?

Keep it pragmatic: one page per request type, maintained in the same system where work happens. In Sandstone, playbooks, positions, and thresholds are part of the living matter record. Every decision contributes to the knowledge layer, so the next similar request routes smarter, not just faster.

Automate The First Mile With AI Agents

Once intake is standardized and guardrails are clear, deploy AI agents to do the work humans shouldn’t.

- Pre-triage: auto-classify request type from form + attachments; flag missing fields; request clarifications.

- Policy check: compare request facts against playbook positions; mark in-policy vs. exception.

- Drafting: generate first-pass NDAs, clause swaps, or intake acknowledgments using your templates.

- Routing: assign to the right owner based on type, risk, and load; set and track SLAs.

- Knowledge surfacing: surface similar closed matters, approved clauses, and prior decisions in-line.

Agents should act transparently: show their rationale, cite the rules they applied, and log actions. Sandstone’s agents are constrained by your positions and decision rights, augmenting attorneys while preserving accountability. The result: fewer back-and-forths, cleaner handoffs, and a measurable drop in “missing context” delays.

Start Small: A 30-Day Play

You don’t need a big-bang rollout. Prove value in one high-volume stream and expand.

- Week 1: Map your top 10 request types. Pick one (e.g., NDAs or vendor reviews). Draft a one-page playbook with decision rights and SLAs.

- Week 2: Launch a two-minute intake form and redirect all requests to it. Add routing rules and a standard acknowledgment message.

- Week 3: Instrument your workflow and stand up a simple dashboard (time to first response; active vs. waiting time; exception rate).

- Week 4: Turn on an AI agent for pre-triage and acknowledgment. Add first-pass drafting if governed by a stable template. Review logs weekly and refine rules.

Success signals within 30 days: faster time to first response, fewer backtracks for missing info, and lower exception escalations. When the metrics move, repeat for the next request type.

This Week’s Actionable Next Step

Stand up a single intake form for one request type and publish a clear SLA. Route submissions automatically and send a templated acknowledgment. Instrument time to first response and review it after two weeks; adjust fields or rules based on what you learn.

Build A Foundation For Speed, Alignment, And Trust

When intake, guardrails, and metrics come first, AI compounds your gains instead of amplifying chaos. That’s the Sandstone approach: layered data, modular workflows, and a living knowledge layer where every intake, triage, and decision strengthens the system. Do the fundamentals well, then automate confidently. The payoff is durable—legal moves at the pace of the business with clarity, consistency, and credibility.