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Automation v. AI

AI is teaching computers to think like humans. Automation is delegating tasks to computers they are already better at, so your humans are freed for work they do best.

AI gets a lot of buzz for what it can potentially do, but automation already does exactly what computers were always meant to do, logic.

Automation is if/then logic. It is very concrete. Code is the language we use to speak to computers, giving them the same if/then instructions you would teach an assistant.

For example,

If client pays, enter my appearance.

If District case, use this template. If Circuit case, use that template.

If we are representing the client in all citations, file into all related matters.

If we are representing the client on the lead citation only, file into that citation only.

These are programmable tasks. You only teach a robot assistant one time.

AI has been around for decades. It underwent a successful rebranding with the release and adoption of ChatGPT.

Automation is under-utilized. People that can automate administrative tasks (software engineers) have not been exposed to them and people that perform administrative tasks may not have exposure to software development.

37% of administrative work in the legal industry can be automated (McKinsey).

If you value efficiency, morale, attention to detail, work/life balance, and the optimization of process, profit, and talent, your workforce will grow into part robot and part human.

Make sure each team member is responsible for tasks for which they are best suited.

What tasks can I automate?

Digital: Tasks performed on a computer. Opening mail is repetitive and mindless, but I cannot build a bot (software) to perform physical tasks for you. Robots (hardware) coming soon... not by us... I'm surprised they're not out yet.
Integration capable: So many automation-ready tasks are simply moving data from one software to another. Example: Moving case search data to a document in Word, moving the Word Doc to Dropbox and MDEC. Another example: copying payroll data from Quickbooks to a .pdf, then uploading the .pdf to a website in order to satisfy a government mandated reporting requirement. This interactive process between two softwares mean they need to be able to speak to each other on the backend, without a human clicking the buttons telling the software what to do.

We accomplish this with an Application Programming Interface (API). Amazon Web Services explains, "An API can be thought of as a contract of service between two applications. This contract defines how the two communicate with each other using requests and responses." Modern, sophisticated, visionary software like Google, Dropbox, and Clio provide their users with free, robust, well-documented APIs so companies like Auto Admin can come along and use the API to write custom software to solve problems, creating even more value for their users. Developers use code, the language of computers, to write the same if/then instructions you would teach an assistant. Recall: If client pays through LawPay, draft Appearance with Word, and file it in Dropbox and MDEC. Good APIs make custom software easier, faster, and less expensive to develop and contribute to a fast, reliable product.

What tasks should I automate?

Repetitive: If you're completing a unique task one time, even if it is possible to automate it, you will spend more time and money hiring an engineer to create software to do it than paying administrative staff to do it. However, if your staff is performing the same task many times per day or per week, it is probably cost effective to pay an engineer full-time for a few weeks to create custom automate software to offload the task, freeing your team for higher level work.
High volume: Automation adds more value at scale.