How One Solo Lawyer Scaled Her Practice with AI

From burnout to breakthrough — Jessica Hart’s journey from scattered systems to a smarter legal practice.

The Lawyer and the Chaos

Jessica Hart didn’t set out to become a tech-savvy lawyer. She just wanted to serve families.

After five years of working at a mid-sized law firm in Ohio, she decided to open her own solo family law practice in Columbus. Like many lawyers who go solo, she dreamed of more flexibility, more control, and closer relationships with her clients.

But the reality hit hard — fast.

“I had no systems. Just a laptop, a few templates, and a lot of Post-it notes,” she says with a laugh now, but back then, it was anything but funny.

Jessica was spending most of her time on admin — not law. Each day began with a mountain of unread emails and ended with her manually entering data into spreadsheets and trying to remember if she’d followed up with that one client who still hadn’t signed the retainer.

• She was drafting the same court documents again and again

• Manually onboarding every client, one email at a time

• Managing hearings, client updates, and document deadlines out of her head

• Forgetting to follow up on late payments

• Feeling constant pressure to grow her practice — but no time to even think strategically

By the end of her first year, she was close to burning out.

The Scroll That Changed Everything

One night, after another long day in court followed by an even longer night at her desk, Jessica was doomscrolling LinkedIn.

That’s when a post caught her eye:“AI for Lawyers: How Automation Helped Me Reclaim My Week.”

It wasn’t another sales pitch. It was a story — from another solo attorney who had implemented AI-powered workflows through a company called Adnah Law.

“I didn’t think something like AI was for me,” Jessica admitted. “I thought that was for big firms with big budgets.”

But she clicked. And then she booked a call.

The Discovery Call (and a Breath of Fresh Air)

Jessica expected jargon. She got empathy.

In her discovery call with Adnah Law, the team didn’t talk about “transformative AI systems” or “leveraging machine learning.” They asked real questions:

• Where are you losing the most time?

• What do you hate doing repeatedly?

• What tasks do you procrastinate even though you know they matter?

By the end of that call, Jessica had a roadmap of how she could run her practice with less effort, less chaos, and more confidence — all without hiring anyone.

Building the System (Without Coding a Line)

Jessica signed on with Adnah Law the very next day.

Here’s what her transformation looked like, step by step:

AI-Powered Client Intake

We created a branded intake form that collected everything upfront: contact info, case details, timelines, and key documents. Clients could fill it from their phone. The moment it was submitted, it automatically synced into her case tracker.

No more email back-and-forth. No more copy-pasting into a Word doc.

Smart Document Templates

Jessica’s most-used documents — retainer agreements, petitions, affidavits — were turned into AI-assisted templates.

She simply selected the document, chose the client from a dropdown, and clicked "Generate." The AI filled in the rest using data from her intake forms.

“That alone saved me hours each week,” she says. “And I didn’t have to double-check for missed fields anymore.”

Automated Client Follow-Ups

Next, we automated reminders for:

• Signature requests

• Invoice follow-ups

• Upcoming hearings

• Document deadlines

Everything was personalized, scheduled, and sent via email or SMS. Jessica didn’t have to think twice.

“Clients started calling me more responsive — even though I wasn’t the one hitting send,” she laughs.

Custom Legal Dashboard

We built Jessica a centralized dashboard — showing:

• Open matters

• Court deadlines

• Outstanding tasks

• Payment statuses

• And a priority view of what needed attention each day

This gave her clarity. And more importantly — peace of mind.

“For the first time, I felt like I was running a real firm — not just reacting to fires.”

The Results (And the Ripple Effect)

Within six weeks, Jessica’s entire practice had changed.

Here’s what she achieved in just the first 3 months:

Metric	Before	After
Time to draft docs	30–45 mins	3–5 mins
Client onboarding	Manual	Automated
Case updates	Mostly email	Client portal + SMS
Missed follow-ups	Often	Near zero
Active caseload	18 clients	25+ clients
Admin hours/week	20+	Under 7

But beyond the numbers, the real transformation was in how Jessica felt:

• In control of her day

• More responsive to clients

• Able to take a weekend off (guilt-free!)

• And for the first time, thinking ahead about her firm’s growth

A Message for Other Solos

“AI didn’t replace me. It replaced the chaos around me.”

Jessica now refers other solo lawyers to Adnah Law regularly — not because she’s a tech enthusiast, but because she knows what it feels like to be drowning in admin when your heart just wants to help people.

Her advice to others?

“You don’t need to become a tech wizard. You just need a partner who gets law and knows how to simplify things with tech. That’s what Adnah was for me.”

Ready to Build Your Own Smart Practice?

If you’re a solo or small firm lawyer stuck doing everything — we can help.

Adnah Law is designed for lawyers, not coders. We specialize in building:

• Custom legal workflows

• AI-assisted document systems

• Intake, CRM, and portal tools

• Internal dashboards for clarity and control

You don't need a developer. You just need a 30-minute call.