The manual drafting process is no longer the most efficient or reliable way to draft an agreement.
Family lawyers who rely on manual drafting processes on average spend 6-8 hours per separation agreement: copying precedents, searching for clauses, and essentially starting from scratch each time. While this traditional approach may feel like proper legal work, manual agreement drafting may be silently undermining law firms' profitability and growth potential.
In the 2024 Thomson Reuters State of the Canadian Law Firm Market Report, the top priority among the law firms surveyed was improving internal efficiency, with 35% of respondents ranking this as their top goal. Automation is the perfect solution to meet this goal.
Thomson Reuters, State of the Canadian Law Firm Market, 2024.
But first, what is automation?
In the age of evolving tech speak, it's easy to get lost in all the hype. For the purposes of understanding automation in family law and how it differs from AI, it's good to revisit our understanding of each tool.
Automation
Technology that follows a predefined set of rules or workflows, executing tasks exactly as programmed. It's fixed and predictable.
Artificial intelligence (AI)
Software that uses machine learning and pattern recognition to adapt, predict, and improve based on data. Unlike automation, AI can generate new outputs and adjust to situations it wasn't explicitly programmed for.
The current burden of admin on family lawyers
The 2024 Thomson Reuters report also shows that 81% of lawyers surveyed reported that their top challenge was spending too much time on administrative tasks and not enough time practicing law. Automation can allow lawyers to spend more time with their clients and less time on the administrative tedium that keeps lawyers from spending time where it matters most.
The survey also shows that 35% of lawyers somewhat or completely agree that a barrier to change or improvement at their firms is outdated technology. A lack of willingness to try new technology can impede firm efficiency and improvement.
The hidden costs of manual drafting
Competitive costs: getting behind in an automated world
Lawyers may feel they're supposed to manually draft an agreement each time, because that's how it's always been done, but not utilizing legal tech and automation is likely costing law firms much more than they think.
If a family lawyer spends 6-8 hours manually drafting each agreement, they're competing against automated family law software users who complete the same work in a fraction of the time.
This efficiency gap creates cascading problems, including longer client turnaround times while competitors deliver a faster, more efficient and streamlined service. Competitors can then shift to a flat fee billing model so they can charge for value and expertise delivered rather than how many 6 minute increments they spent.
Today, it would be rare to find a family lawyer who manually calculates child and spousal support, and it would be considered quite antiquated if they did. It could soon be considered just as outdated to manually draft separation agreements.
Bars show the upper end of each range. *On average for Divii users.
Opportunity cost: the clients you're not serving
If 81% of lawyers feel they spend too much time on administrative tasks and not enough time practicing law, there is drastic room for process improvement. Today's automated tools can take over a large majority of your administrative tasks. The process-consistent part of drafting an agreement is one of the tasks that can be taken over by an automated agreement software like Divii for Lawyers.
Reputation costs: inconsistencies and risk exposure
With manual drafting, lawyers have an increased risk of human error in templates, clauses, outdated legal language, formatting, or knowledge of family law updates. This leaves room for a risk of appearing unprofessional, as well as a potential for non-compliance with new legislation or court standards.
The myth of "personal touch" in manual work
The belief that manual drafting provides superior personalization is an outdated concept. The reality is that a large majority of agreement content is process-consistent and follows standard, repetitive patterns.
A lot of people fear losing a "personal touch" or that feeling of having drafted a client's agreement from scratch. However, it's important to recognize that family lawyers aren't really drafting the majority of an agreement or creating unique legal concepts. Most of the time they are essentially copying, pasting, and reformatting existing precedents.
By automating 90% of legal drafting, a family lawyer can focus the remaining time adding their personal touch to unique circumstances that require their expertise. Manual drafting is only necessary in unique circumstances and for tailored clauses.
Clients value speed and clarity
Most clients value fast turnaround times and clear, readable agreements. Clients don't like to wait weeks (or even months) to get their agreement. Why not provide better service to clients with automation that allows for efficient response rates, clear and professionally formatted agreements, consistent communication throughout the process, and transparent pricing with predictable timelines?
The agreement automation advantage
Built-in legal logic and compliance: With automated tools like Divii you have up-to-date legal clauses, legislative changes, and jurisdictional nuances already embedded. A tool that stays updated for you.
Scalable service, not scattered workflows: You can streamline separation agreements, parenting plans, and property distribution all in one place, while avoiding duplication and re-entry across platforms.
Professionalism without the pressure: Cleaner documents, standardized formatting, and error checks, leaving more time for complex legal strategy and client relationships.
Maximized efficiency: It makes much more sense to spend around 1-2* hours per agreement, versus 6-8 hours.
*On average for Divii users.
What does automation mean in the context of separation agreements?
It can be hard to know where to start when there are multiple legal tech options that include document automation on their platform. Divii was designed specifically for family law, which means you don't have to program your own clauses or precedents, and everything is already set up to help create a strong Separation Agreement. Divii is built on automation, and also gives the option to use AI enhanced tools to help you draft tailored legal clauses specific to your client's circumstances.
Software designed for family law means a separation agreement is already pre-programmed for you: an agreement that is automated, or generated based off your inputs. Divii takes this to the next level when your inputs produce a parenting time schedule to attach to the agreement and a property distribution calculator that automatically calculates the equalization payment owing based off the property agreements made.
Rather than copying and pasting old precedents, your inputs are automatically creating the agreement and schedules you need for your client. Seems too simple, right? That's what automation in family law does. It simplifies over-complicated, repetitive processes and creates an easily adaptable system for family lawyers and their practice.
The bottom line: agreement automation is the competitive edge
Every hour spent manually formatting a template is a lost revenue opportunity, and in the age of legal tech, a waste of time. Automation doesn't replace family lawyers. It frees them to spend less time on tedium and more time doing real legal work.
