How Dooley Noted reduced triage times by 75%

Company overview

Dooley Noted is a Texas-based law firm operating across multiple states in the US, with attorneys licensed in six different jurisdictions. Their team handles a high volume of emails every day, including client questions, case updates, admin tasks, and internal coordination.

Some messages need a quick reply. Others just need to be reviewed or flagged for follow-up. With so many different types of emails coming in, optimizing efficiency and staying organized became increasingly important as the firm grew.

Daniel Lindsey, the firm’s Director of Operations, oversees the day-to-day workflow and ensures that internal systems continually support responsive and efficient client service.

The Challenge: Enhancing efficiency to match growth

Before implementing Hiver, Dooley Noted handled all client communication through a Shared Inbox. This approach worked well at a smaller scale, but as the firm expanded, the team sought a more structured way to track which emails had been responded to and to ensure streamlined ownership, tracking, and prioritization.

Need for clearer task ownership

Team members relied on the “read/unread” status of messages to determine what needed action. As volume increased, it became more difficult to immediately confirm who was responsible for each message or whether a reply had already been sent.

Opportunity to improve coordination

Every day, the team managed a mix of incoming tasks: new client inquiries, case updates, document reviews, and internal follow-ups. The firm recognized an opportunity to adopt a structured workflow to assign and track these responsibilities, ensuring prompt attention and consistent service.

Time spent on manual coordination

Team members spent considerable time reviewing incoming client messages, determining who should respond, and tracking what needed attention. This process worked but required significant manual effort—something the team knew could be streamlined for even greater efficiency.

The Solution: Streamlined email operations with Hiver

When Daniel Lindsey and his team began searching for a better way to manage their support workflow, they evaluated several platforms, including full-scale CRM systems. However, most options felt overly complex, costly, or difficult to implement within their fast-moving legal environment.

They needed a solution that:
● felt intuitive,
● fit seamlessly into their workflows, and
● could support a high-volume operation involving multiple team members handling different inquiries.

Hiver checked all the boxes, providing the structure of a helpdesk without the complexity, and the flexibility to adapt to their day-to-day needs.

With Hiver, Dooley Noted:

● Replaced their Gmail Shared Inbox with Hiver’s organized, department-specific Shared Inboxes, making it easier to route and manage incoming inquiries and client messages based on responsibilities like intake coordination, case updates, or administrative tasks.

● Introduced smart routing rules and automation to sort messages by type or sender and assign them to the right team member, providing faster triage and clear ownership from the start.

● Used Notes to add internal context, assign follow-ups, and clarify next steps—eliminating the need for back-and-forth in external tools or status meetings.

● Tracked progress using Hiver’s “closed” status, giving the team a reliable, visible way to confirm that every email had been addressed.

● Used Tags to categorize emails by type or urgency—such as “Intake,” “Follow-up Needed,” or “Admin Review”—helping the team quickly identify priorities and route messages to the right person.

The Results: Time saved, accountability gained, and teamwork improved

Dooley Noted saw immediate operational improvements after adopting Hiver:

● Reduced manual email triage by 75%, saving 20 hours per week
With automated, rule-based assignments, the team drastically reduced the time spent sorting emails, freeing up hours for more strategic work.

● 100% email accountability
Every message is now assigned manually or automatically, eliminating the few unaddressed emails that could occur in the past.

● 50% faster support workflow organization
By moving from one shared inbox to multiple purpose-driven inboxes—and layering in tags and automated routing—the team cut sorting and triage time from 2 hours to under 1 hour per day.

● Saved an estimated 5–7 hours per week through streamlined internal collaboration
By using Hiver’s built-in Notes to assign follow-ups and share context directly within email threads, the team avoided external chats and unnecessary check-ins—resulting in clearer handoffs and faster coordination.

Future growth plans: Leveraging analytics for continuous improvement

With Hiver now powering their daily communication, Dooley Noted is preparing to expand its use of its analytics features. The team plans to track response times more closely, implement SLA monitoring, and use these insights to fine-tune workflows as the firm grows.

Conclusion: Transforming operations while focusing on legal excellence

By implementing Hiver, Dooley Noted replaced a manual and informal email process with a structured, efficient system built for growth. With automated assignments, clear accountability, and seamless internal collaboration, the firm has improved response times, reduced operational overhead, and ensured every client message receives the attention it deserves.