Want the Business To Follow Your Legal Process? Build AI Intake They’ll Use

Sixty percent of in-house legal work still lands through email and chat—and 30–40% arrives without the basics you need to start. That’s not bad behavior; it’s a broken path.

If you want adoption, build the path of least resistance. With AI intake and triage, you can meet the business where they work, capture the right data, and route decisions in minutes—not days. The result: faster cycle times, cleaner risk decisions, and a knowledge base that gets smarter with every request.

Make Intake the Path of Least Resistance

Email chains, ad‑hoc forms, and “can you take a quick look?” DMs force legal to be a human router. Instead, create a single, obvious front door that’s easier than sending an email.

What that looks like with Sandstone:

- One shareable link (and Slack/Teams shortcut) that launches a short, smart form.

- AI extracts details from the requester’s message or attached doc—counterparty, type, dates—so they don’t have to retype.

- CRM and procurement integrations prefill context (stage, owner, spend), reducing back-and-forth.

Form essentials to capture on day one:

- What is it? NDA, SaaS, marketing review, policy question. Keep the list short and obvious.

- Who’s involved? Counterparty, internal owner, deal amount (if any).

- When is it due? Accept real deadlines, not “ASAP.”

- Risk flags. Data, indemnities, IP, regulated regions—checkboxes only.

The business submits in under a minute. You start with the right info every time.

Triage, Not Triage Theater

Ticket systems without brains create a different bottleneck: queues that sit and SLA dashboards that don’t move. Triage should be a decision layer, not a parking lot.

With Sandstone’s AI agents:

- Classify by risk and type based on the description and document content.

- Auto-route to the right playbook—NDA auto-approve, low-risk SaaS fast-track, high-risk terms escalate.

- Suggest an SLA by risk tier and stakeholder commitments, then track it.

- Send smart acknowledgments with next steps (“We’re fast-tracking this NDA. Expect signature in 2 hours.”).

- Surface status in Slack/Teams so sales and procurement don’t chase legal for updates.

Each outcome updates your positions and playbooks, so future requests are handled faster and more consistently. Knowledge compounds instead of disappearing in inboxes.

Ship in Weeks, Not Quarters

You don’t need a massive CLM overhaul to get value. Start thin, win quickly, then layer.

A pragmatic rollout plan:

- Pick five request types that drive 80% of volume: NDAs, vendor SaaS, DPAs, marketing reviews, policy questions.

- Map each to a lightweight playbook: required fields, approval matrix, fallback positions, signature path.

- Connect the essentials: Slack/Teams intake, CRM or intake portal, eSignature, file storage.

- Set default SLAs by risk tier; keep them visible to requesters.

- Publish a single “front door” link everywhere sales and procurement live.

You’ll reduce cycle times in the first month and build the case for deeper automation—like clause swaps, approval triggers, and redline assistance—when and where it matters.

For a deeper comparison of lightweight intake vs. heavy platforms, see [Why Legal Teams Are Choosing CLM‑Lite Over Legacy CLM Platforms](/blog/clm-lite-vs-legacy-clm) and our [glossary primer on CLM](/glossary/clm).

When Legacy Still Fits

There are moments when a heavyweight system earns its keep:

- Complex obligation tracking across hundreds of MSAs.

- Highly bespoke workflows with strict audit requirements.

- Deep integrations with ERP for renewals and revenue recognition.

Even then, pair it with a modern intake layer. Let AI handle capture, triage, and requester comms, while your legacy system handles the record of obligation. Adoption goes up, risk stays governed, and nobody is forced into a tool they won’t use.

Your Two‑Week Pilot Plan (Actionable)

You can stand up a credible intake and triage pilot in 10 business days.

Week 1

- Inventory top five request types and current approval owners.

- Draft one‑page playbooks with fallback positions and SLA targets.

- Connect Sandstone to Slack/Teams and eSignature; enable AI classification.

- Build a 6–8 field intake form with autofill from CRM/procurement.

Week 2

- Pilot with one sales pod and procurement lead; route two request types to start (NDA, low‑risk SaaS).

- Track three KPIs: time to first response, time to decision, percent auto‑approved.

- Publish a status view for requesters; send weekly digest to stakeholders.

- Retrospective: tighten fields, adjust SLAs, add one more request type.

Practical next step: use this pilot to capture before/after metrics. Most teams see 30–50% faster cycle time on low‑risk matters and a sharp drop in “what’s the status?” pings within two weeks.

The Takeaway

Adoption follows the easiest path. When intake is fast, triage is smart, and decisions are visible, your team moves from reactive inbox work to a proactive operating system for the business.

That’s what Sandstone is built for: strength through layers, crafted precision, and natural integration with how your teams already work. Each intake, triage, and decision strengthens your legal foundation—so knowledge compounds, risk is intentional, and growth stays on track.

Ready to turn AI intake into measurable speed and trust? [See how it works](/product/intake).