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  SOLO PRACTICE AUTOMATION READINESS CHECKLIST
  by The Automated Solo (theautomatedsolo.com)
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Score your firm across five core categories. For each statement, 
mark YES if you have it fully handled, or NO if it is still manual 
or nonexistent. Count your YES answers at the end.

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CATEGORY 1: CLIENT INTAKE (5 questions)
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[ ] 1. New leads can submit their information through an online form 
      (not just phone or email).

[ ] 2. Form submissions automatically create a contact record in 
      your case management software (Clio, MyCase, PracticePanther, etc.).

[ ] 3. You have duplicate detection in place so the same client 
      does not get entered twice.

[ ] 4. New leads receive an automatic confirmation email or text 
      within 5 minutes of submitting their inquiry.

[ ] 5. Your intake form uses conditional logic to route different 
      practice areas to different workflows.

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CATEGORY 2: SCHEDULING & CALENDAR (5 questions)
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[ ] 6. Clients can book consultations directly from your website 
      without calling or emailing your office.

[ ] 7. Your booking tool automatically sends calendar invites with 
      meeting details (Zoom link, office address, etc.).

[ ] 8. Clients receive automated reminders 24 hours and 1 hour 
      before their appointment.

[ ] 9. No-shows automatically trigger a follow-up email or text 
      offering to reschedule.

[ ] 10. Your calendar blocks off prep time before and after 
       consultations automatically.

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CATEGORY 3: DOCUMENT DRAFTING & EMAIL (5 questions)
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[ ] 11. You use text expansion or templates for emails you send 
       more than twice a week (status updates, confirmations, etc.).

[ ] 12. Engagement letters and retainer agreements are generated 
       from templates with client data auto-filled.

[ ] 13. You have saved reply templates for your five most common 
       client questions.

[ ] 14. Court filing cover sheets or routine correspondence 
       pull from client data without manual copy-pasting.

[ ] 15. Your email signature, disclaimers, and disclosures are 
       standardized across all outgoing communication.

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CATEGORY 4: CLIENT COMMUNICATION & NURTURING (5 questions)
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[ ] 16. Past clients receive at least one follow-up email from 
       you within 90 days of case closure.

[ ] 17. You have an automated drip sequence (2-3 emails) for 
       past client nurturing and referral generation.

[ ] 18. Your firm sends a regular newsletter or legal update 
       to your contact list (monthly or quarterly minimum).

[ ] 19. You have a system to collect Google reviews or 
       testimonials after successful case resolution.

[ ] 20. Referral sources are tracked so you know which past 
       clients are generating new business.

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CATEGORY 5: BILLING & FINANCIAL OPERATIONS (5 questions)
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[ ] 21. Time entries are captured in real time (not reconstructed 
       from memory at the end of the day).

[ ] 22. Invoices are generated and sent automatically on a 
       set schedule (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly).

[ ] 23. Clients can pay invoices online through a link in the 
       invoice email.

[ ] 24. Overdue invoices trigger an automatic reminder sequence 
       before you have to make an awkward phone call.

[ ] 25. Trust account reconciliation reports run automatically 
       or with a single click.

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SCORING
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Count your YES answers:

  21-25 YES: Advanced. Your firm is highly automated. Focus on 
             optimization and AI integration next.

  15-20 YES: Intermediate. Strong foundation, but you have clear 
             gaps that are costing you hours every week. Target 
             the weakest category first.

  8-14 YES:  Early stage. You are leaving significant revenue on 
             the table. Start with intake and scheduling, as those 
             have the highest immediate payoff.

  0-7 YES:   Manual operation. Nearly everything in your practice 
             could benefit from automation. The good news: you have 
             the most to gain. Start with a single playbook and 
             build from there.

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NEXT STEPS BY CATEGORY
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Low score in INTAKE?
  -> Read: "The Zero-Touch Client Intake System" playbook
     theautomatedsolo.com/playbooks/automate-client-intake

Low score in SCHEDULING?
  -> Review: TidyCal (lifetime scheduling tool)
     theautomatedsolo.com/tools/tidycal

Low score in DRAFTING & EMAIL?
  -> Review: Typedesk (lifetime text expansion tool)
     theautomatedsolo.com/tools/typedesk

Low score in CLIENT NURTURING?
  -> Read: "The Autopilot Referral Engine" playbook
     theautomatedsolo.com/playbooks/autopilot-referral-engine
  -> Review: SendFox (lifetime email marketing tool)
     theautomatedsolo.com/tools/sendfox

Low score in BILLING?
  -> Coming soon. We are currently stress-testing billing 
     automation tools for solo practices.

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  Calculate your exact annual savings:
  theautomatedsolo.com/calculator
================================================================

  This checklist is free to distribute. If you found it valuable, 
  share it with a colleague.

  theautomatedsolo.com
  james@theautomatedsolo.com