Best Legal Workflow Automation Tools for Enterprise Legal Departments

If you’re exploring workflow automation solutions for your legal department, chances are you’re looking to work more efficiently, increase visibility, and manage growing demand in a better way.

So, whether you’re replacing an old system, moving away from manual processes, or scaling operations, it’s important to find a platform that works well for you.

Here are five of the best legal workflow automation tools for enterprise legal departments. These platforms are designed to support high-volume, high-impact legal teams, each offering a different strength, from AI-powered intake and matter management to contract automation and cross-functional integration.

1. Checkbox

Checkbox is an in-house legal software solution that helps enterprise legal teams gain control of their work by bringing all legal requests, tasks, and matters into one place. 

If you’re currently managing intake through emails, chats, or spreadsheets, Checkbox streamlines that with a smarter, automated system. It uses AI to handle requests, assign work to the right team members, and keep everything organized in real time.

Another perk of Checkbox is that you don’t need coding skills to build, adjust, or update automations. Checkbox’s legal workflow automation software offers no-code capabilities which lets you build custom workflows that match how your team operates with intuitive drag-and-drop tools. 

Once your system is set up, you can easily see what your team is working on, how busy everyone is, and where things might be getting stuck. For enterprise legal departments that need structure, visibility, and better reporting, Checkbox makes it easier to stay on top of work and show the value legal brings to the business.

2. Ironclad 

Ironclad is a contract lifecycle management (CLM) software built to help legal teams manage contracts from start to finish. Instead of juggling documents, email threads, and shared drives, Ironclad gives you a central platform where contracts can be created, reviewed, approved, and signed.

It’s especially useful for enterprise legal teams that deal with high contract volume and want to speed up the process. You can automate routine steps like sending drafts for review or collecting signatures, which helps reduce delays and keep deals moving. 

If your legal team is focused on tightening up contract workflows and collaborating more easily with sales or procurement, Ironclad is a strong choice.

3. Onit 

Onit is a software platform designed to handle the complex needs of large legal departments. It combines matter management, legal spend tracking, and workflow automation into one system, making it easier to manage high volumes of work across multiple teams and functions.

For legal teams that need more than just intake or contract tools, Onit offers deep functionality and flexibility. It’s well-suited for departments with custom processes, a high volume of outside counsel spend, and a need for tight integration with finance or procurement systems.

However, it is important to note that it may require more setup and ongoing management than more modern systems like Checkbox.

4. LegalOps by ServiceNow

LegalOps by ServiceNow is a good option for enterprise legal teams that want to align more closely with other departments like IT, HR, and Finance. Built on the ServiceNow platform, it helps legal teams manage requests, assign tasks, and track matters using the same workflow tools the rest of the business already uses.

Because it’s part of a broader enterprise ecosystem, LegalOps by ServiceNow makes it easier to integrate legal into company-wide processes. This can be especially useful for legal teams looking to standardize how the business interacts with them and reduce friction across departments.

However, depending on your departmental structure, it may require extensive support from internal IT teams to customize and maintain.

5. SimpleLegal

SimpleLegal helps legal teams automate key operational workflows, especially around spend tracking and vendor invoicing. It’s a good fit for teams that want to reduce manual tasks without the complexity of a full enterprise platform.

With built-in automation for invoice approvals, budget alerts, and matter updates, SimpleLegal makes it easier to manage high volumes of legal work and outside counsel spend. It’s especially useful for legal ops professionals looking to scale processes and improve reporting with minimal overhead.

Key Takeaways

Choosing the right legal workflow automation tool comes down to what your team needs most. Some platforms specialize in contracts, others in spend, and some offer broad legal ops capabilities. But for enterprise legal departments looking to centralize intake, streamline matter management, and track performance in real time, Checkbox stands out as the top pick.

Checkbox is built specifically for in-house legal teams who need to scale their operations, reduce manual work, and prove their value to the business.

Curious how Checkbox could work for your team? Schedule a demo to see how you can streamline legal workflows from intake to resolution with one platform built for in-house legal.