Year-end is one of the most valuable times for family law firms to step back and evaluate their internal processes — especially the workflows tied to client data and document collection, mandatory disclosures, state-specific financial statements, and asset distribution.

A short, structured audit now can help your team eliminate bottlenecks, reduce duplicate work, and prepare for the inevitable January surge in new matters.

This guide walks you through a simple 45-minute workflow audit designed specifically for family law professionals. It’s practical, fast, and often surprisingly revealing — especially for teams who have “always done it this way” and may not realize how much inefficiency has become normalized.

Step 1: Assemble a Small Workflow Team (10 Minutes)

Gather a small group of 2–4 people who directly participate in your firm’s client data and disclosure process. This may include:

• A paralegal
• A case manager
• An attorney
• Your intake specialist
• An admin or operations manager
• Anyone who regularly communicates with clients about data and documents

Explain that the purpose of this session is not to redesign systems on the spot. It is simply to document how the workflow currently functions and identify obstacles, friction points, and inefficiencies.

In many firms, processes are handled informally or distributed across multiple roles. When teams walk through the full journey together, they often discover the “real” workflow is very different from what each person assumed. 

Step 2: Map the Client Journey from Start to Finish (20 Minutes)

Using a whiteboard, shared screen, sticky notes, or a diagramming tool, map the entire client journey — from the moment a prospect becomes a client through the completion of financial disclosures.

Break it into clear stages, such as:

1. When / Where / How They Hire

• Does the client typically hire during the consultation?
• Do they convert afterward?
• Is the initial consultation online or in person?
• What CRM captures their initial information?

2. New Client Packet

• How do you generate and deliver the retainer agreement, homework list, and initial forms?
• Is this digital, emailed, PDF-based, or part of a client portal?

3. Collecting Client Data

• How do you gather detailed financial data for your state’s financial disclosures?
• Paper forms? Static PDFs? Forms in editable PDFs, Word, or Excel? Online forms?
• How do clients give you the completed forms… in person, as email attachments, or uploaded to a client portal?
• How do clients ask questions?
• How do you track their progress?
• How do you follow up or remind clients?
• What happens when clients do not complete tasks on time?

4. Creating Your State’s Court Financial Statement 

• Does this require transcription into a software tool or form?
• Which parts are manual vs. automated?

5. Child Support Calculations

• How do you build “what-if” scenarios for parenting time, variable income, or alimony amounts?
• Do you have to re-enter the client data somewhere in another tool?
• Can you compare scenarios side-by-side?

6. Asset Distribution & Property Division

• Do you use an application or an Excel template?
  
• Can you quickly create multiple “what if” property division scenarios?
• Do you wait until late in the case to run scenarios because values must be updated?
• Are end reports in Excel with visible formulas?

7. Updating Client Data Throughout the Case

• How do you gather updated valuations and account balances after appraisals from clients?
• How do you merge updated data collected from clients into forms, worksheets, or spreadsheets?

8. Collecting Client Documents

• How do clients provide the required documents?

• Email attachments? Portal uploads?

• How do you communicate what documents are required and how they should be submitted to you?
• How do you answer document-related questions?
• Do you have document naming standards?
• How do you ensure consistency?

9. Document Organization & Submission

• How do you categorize documents into required disclosure groups?
• Who renames files and how?
• Do you prepare a detailed disclosure statement?
• How is that statement generated?

For each stage, capture:

• Who is responsible
• What steps occur
• Which tools/templates are used
• What communication is sent to the client
• Where delays commonly occur

Even firms with strong systems discover redundant steps, outdated tools, or processes that depend heavily on manual transcription or excessive client chasing.

This step is often where “invisible” inefficiencies come into view for the first time.

Step 3: Identify Pain Points and Inefficiencies (15 Minutes)

With the full workflow mapped, ask your team to identify areas that consistently create friction, confusion, or wasted time.

Use questions such as:

• Where do clients get confused or fail to provide complete information?
• Which tasks repeatedly slow cases down?
• Where do staff members duplicate work?
• What steps rely on manual data transcription?
• Where does communication break down or require too much follow-up?
• Which steps tend to create errors?
• Where is visibility of status limited for attorneys or paralegals?
• Where is visibility of options (e.g. parenting time, property division) limited for clients?
• Which steps create avoidable stress for staff or clients?

Ask team members to mark each pain point visually. Document and prioritize your improvement list for 2025.

What’s Next: Compare Your Findings to Industry Trends

Once you’ve documented your internal workflow and identified pain points, the next step is understanding how your firm’s challenges compare to what other family law professionals commonly report.

In the next article in this series, we’ll cover:

• The five most common workflow inefficiencies in family law practices
• Why they happen
• How high-performing firms address them
• Which improvements deliver the biggest impact

This comparison will help you prioritize what to tackle first so you can enter the new year with clearer processes, reduced workload, and a more efficient disclosure pipeline.