The Agile Attorney Podcast 093. Legal Document Automation: Building Productized Legal Services with Laura Patton
Oct 28, 2025
Laura Patton, a California estate planning attorney and founder of ScholarShield, shares her journey of creating affordable legal solutions after a personal emergency with her son. She discusses the transformative power of document automation through tools like Docassemble, which streamlines the creation of estate documents. Laura emphasizes how to maintain human connections in a digital world and educates users through interactive online interviews. Her innovative approach aims to expand access to legal services while keeping costs low and preserving client relationships.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Automate Conditional Trust Clauses
- Try using document automation (e.g., Docassemble) to assemble contingent trust and estate clauses efficiently.
- Automate decision trees so templates output correct pluralization and conditional clauses without manual edits.
Replace Admin Work With Scheduling Tools
- Use online schedulers (Acuity/Calendly) with automated reminders to reduce no-shows and pre-call work.
- Leverage reminder sequences to free up time and replace part-time administrative labor.
Personal Problems Reveal Product Opportunities
- A personal problem can reveal a scalable legal product that increases access to services.
- Solving your own client-facing pain often uncovers wider unmet needs in the community.