Automation Overview

FluentCase Automations allow you to create automated workflows that trigger actions when specific conditions are met, saving time and ensuring consistency across your practice.

What are Automations?

Automations are rules that automatically create tasks or events when activities are created with specific tags or description patterns.

Benefits

• Save Time - Eliminate repetitive manual tasks
• Ensure Consistency - Never forget important follow-up tasks
• Improve Efficiency - Standardize workflows across your firm
• Reduce Errors - Automated tasks are created correctly every time
• Track Progress - Monitor automation execution and results

How Automations Work

Basic Flow

1. Trigger - An activity is created with a specific tag or description
2. Match - FluentCase checks if any automations match the trigger
3. Execute - Matching automations create tasks or events
4. Log - Execution is logged for audit trail

Example

Scenario: When a “Settlement Demand” activity is created, automatically create follow-up tasks.

Automation:

• Trigger: Activity tagged with “Settlement Demand”
• Actions:
  • Create task: “Follow up on settlement demand” (due in 7 days)
  • Create task: “Prepare for settlement conference” (due in 14 days)
  • Create event: “Settlement conference” (30 days out)

Result: When you create an activity and tag it “Settlement Demand”, three items are automatically created.

Automation Components

Triggers

Triggers define when an automation runs. Two types:

Tag-Based Triggers

Automation runs when an activity is tagged with a specific tag.

Example:

• Tag: “Medical Records Received”
• Action: Create task to review medical records

Description-Based Triggers

Automation runs when an activity description contains specific text.

Example:

• Description contains: “deposition scheduled”
• Action: Create task to prepare deposition outline

Actions

Actions define what happens when a trigger matches. Two types:

Create Task

Automatically create a task with:

• Title - Task name
• Description - Task details
• Due Date - Offset from trigger date (e.g., +7 days)
• Assigned To - User or role
• Tags - Task tags

Example:

• Title: “Review medical records”
• Description: “Review and summarize new medical records”
• Due: 3 days from now
• Assigned to: Paralegal Handling
• Tags: “Medical”, “Review”

Create Event

Automatically create a calendar event with:

• Title - Event name
• Description - Event details
• Start Date - Offset from trigger date (e.g., +30 days)
• Start Time - Time of day
• Duration - Length in minutes
• Calendar Category - Category of event
• Attendees - Users to invite
• Tags - Event tags

Example:

• Title: “Settlement conference”
• Description: “Attend settlement conference”
• Start: 30 days from now at 10:00 AM
• Duration: 120 minutes
• Calendar Category: “Court Appearance”
• Attendees: Attorney Responsible
• Tags: “Settlement”, “Court”

Automation Scope

Firm-Wide Automations

• Created by firm administrators
• Apply to all matters in the firm
• Ensure consistency across the practice

Matter-Type Specific

Automations can be limited to specific matter types:

• Workers’ Compensation only
• Personal Injury only
• Employment Law only
• All matter types

Recursion Prevention

FluentCase prevents infinite loops:

• Automation-Created Activities - Activities created by automations don’t trigger other automations
• Execution Tracking - Each automation execution is logged
• Safety Limits - Maximum actions per automation

This prevents scenarios where an automation creates an activity that triggers another automation, which creates another activity, etc.

Automation Status

Active vs. Inactive

• Active - Automation is running and will execute when triggered
• Inactive - Automation is disabled and won’t execute

Toggle status to temporarily disable automations without deleting them.

Execution Logs

View automation execution history:

1. Go to Settings → Automations
2. Click on an automation
3. View Execution Log tab
4. See:
   • When automation ran
   • What activity triggered it
   • What tasks/events were created
   • Success or failure status
   • Error messages (if any)

Common Use Cases

New Matter Intake

Trigger: Activity tagged “New Client Intake”

Actions:

• Create task: “Send engagement letter” (due in 1 day)
• Create task: “Request medical records” (due in 3 days)
• Create task: “Schedule initial consultation” (due in 5 days)
• Create event: “Initial consultation” (7 days out)

Medical Records Received

Trigger: Activity tagged “Medical Records Received”

Actions:

• Create task: “Review medical records” (due in 2 days)
• Create task: “Summarize medical records” (due in 5 days)
• Create task: “Update demand letter” (due in 7 days)

Deposition Scheduled

Trigger: Description contains “deposition scheduled”

Actions:

• Create task: “Prepare deposition outline” (due 7 days before deposition)
• Create task: “Send deposition notice” (due 10 days before deposition)
• Create task: “Prepare client for deposition” (due 3 days before deposition)
• Create event: “Deposition” (on deposition date)

Settlement Demand Sent

Trigger: Activity tagged “Settlement Demand Sent”

Actions:

• Create task: “Follow up on settlement demand” (due in 14 days)
• Create task: “Prepare for settlement conference” (due in 21 days)
• Create event: “Settlement conference” (30 days out)

Discovery Deadline

Trigger: Activity tagged “Discovery Cutoff”

Actions:

• Create task: “Finalize discovery requests” (due 30 days before cutoff)
• Create task: “Review discovery responses” (due 15 days before cutoff)
• Create task: “File motion to compel if needed” (due 10 days before cutoff)

Permissions

Who Can Create Automations

• Firm Administrators - Can create firm-wide automations
• General Managers - Can create firm-wide automations
• Matter Admins - Can create automations for their matters

Who Can Edit Automations

• Creator - User who created the automation
• Firm Administrators - Can edit any automation
• General Managers - Can edit any automation

Who Can Delete Automations

• Creator - Can delete their own automations
• Firm Administrators - Can delete any automation
• General Managers - Can delete any automation

Best Practices

Naming

• Use descriptive names: “WC - Medical Records Received - Create Review Tasks”
• Include matter type if applicable
• Indicate trigger and action

Organization

• Group related automations
• Use consistent naming conventions
• Document automation purpose

Testing

• Test automations before activating
• Create test activities to verify behavior
• Review execution logs

Maintenance

• Review automations quarterly
• Deactivate unused automations
• Update as workflows change

Communication

• Document automations for your team
• Train staff on how automations work
• Notify team when creating new automations

Limitations

Maximum Actions

• Maximum actions per automation: 10
• Maximum automations per firm: 100

Trigger Limitations

• Tag triggers: Must use existing tags
• Description triggers: Case-insensitive substring match
• No complex logic: Can’t combine multiple conditions with AND/OR

Action Limitations

• Task assignment: Can assign to user or role, not both
• Event attendees: Maximum 10 attendees per event
• Date offsets: Maximum 365 days in the future

Troubleshooting

Automation Not Triggering

Possible causes:

1. Automation is inactive
2. Trigger doesn’t match
3. Activity was created by another automation
4. Permissions issue

Solutions:

1. Check automation status (active/inactive)
2. Verify trigger conditions match exactly
3. Check execution logs for errors
4. Verify user has permission to create tasks/events

Tasks/Events Not Created

Possible causes:

1. Action configuration error
2. Assigned user doesn’t exist
3. Matter doesn’t allow task/event creation
4. System error

Solutions:

1. Review action configuration
2. Verify assigned user is active
3. Check matter permissions
4. Review execution logs for error messages

Too Many Tasks Created

Possible causes:

1. Multiple automations triggered
2. Automation triggered multiple times
3. Incorrect trigger configuration

Solutions:

1. Review all active automations
2. Check execution logs
3. Refine trigger conditions
4. Deactivate duplicate automations