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Streamline Document Generation with Hivelight’s New SmarterDrafter Integration

Streamline Document Generation with Hivelight’s New SmarterDrafter Integration

Legal workflow automation just got smarter. We’re excited to announce our enhanced integration with SmarterDrafter, bringing seamless document automation directly into your Hivelight workflows. This powerful combination transforms how firms delegate work, generate documents, and track completion—all without leaving the Hivelight platform.

A Work Delegation Machine Meets Document Automation

At its core, Hivelight is a work delegation machine that helps firms manage tasks efficiently, whether ad hoc or through structured workflows. Now, with SmarterDrafter’s Deep Links and Webhooks functionality, your team can trigger document generation at any point in a workflow, automatically track completion, and maintain a complete audit trail—all while training staff at scale.

How It Works: Simple Yet Powerful

The integration leverages SmarterDrafter’s Deep Links technology to embed document automation directly into Hivelight tasks. Here’s the workflow in action:

  1. Create or assign a task in Hivelight that requires document generation
  2. Click the embedded Deep Link to launch the specific SmarterDrafter form
  3. Generate the document with pre-filled client and matter information
  4. Automatic updates flow back to Hivelight, confirming completion with a direct link to the generated document

Watch the video, see it in action.

Key Features That Set This Integration Apart

Smart Variable Mapping

Hivelight’s variables functionality automatically passes critical information like Matter IDs and Task IDs to SmarterDrafter. This means:

  • Documents are always associated with the correct matter and task
  • Client information auto-populates
  • Generated documents automatically file to the right location in your PMS or DMS

Real-Time Status Updates

Thanks to SmarterDrafter’s webhook capabilities, Hivelight instantly knows when a document has been generated. Your team sees:

  • Automatic task completion notifications
  • Direct links to view generated documents
  • Complete audit trails for compliance and quality control

Flexible Implementation

Whether you’re creating ad hoc tasks or building comprehensive workflows, Deep Links work seamlessly at every level:

  • Ad hoc tasks: Simply paste a Deep Link when creating any document generation task
  • Workflow templates: Embed Deep Links in workflow templates for consistent, repeatable processes
  • Milestone-based projects: Break complex document sets into manageable stages with automatic progression

Real-World Impact: Beyond Basic Integration

This isn’t just about connecting two systems—it’s about transforming how legal work gets done. Consider these scenarios:

New Client Onboarding: Create a workflow that guides staff through generating engagement letters, NDAs, and initial disclosure documents, with each document automatically filed and tracked.

Transaction Management: Build milestone-based workflows where document generation triggers at key stages—from initial term sheets through to closing documents—with automatic matter association and filing.

Compliance Documentation: Ensure consistency across the firm with templated workflows that include the exact documents needed for regulatory compliance, complete with automatic tracking and reporting.

Setting Up Is Surprisingly Simple

One of the most impressive aspects of this integration is how easy it is to implement:

  1. Copy a Deep Link from SmarterDrafter (formatted with your document template and system preferences)
  2. Paste it into a Hivelight task (either ad hoc or within a workflow template)
  3. Add Hivelight variables for dynamic matter and task association
  4. Configure the webhook in your automation platform of choice (we used Zapier in our demo, but any webhook-capable platform works)

That’s it. No complex API development. No lengthy implementation projects. Most firms can be up and running in under an hour.

Integration That Scales With Your Firm

What makes this integration particularly valuable is its flexibility. Start simple with a few key documents in your most common workflows, then expand as you see the benefits:

  • Begin with high-volume, low-complexity documents
  • Add more sophisticated document types as teams become comfortable
  • Build increasingly complex workflows with conditional logic and multiple document types
  • Integrate with multiple practice management and document management systems simultaneously

The Technical Details (For Those Who Want Them)

The integration uses a straightforward approach:

Deep Links carry encoded information including:

  • Document template alias
  • Matter ID (dynamically inserted by Hivelight)
  • System preferences (PMS/DMS targets)
  • Task and matter IDs for return communication

Webhooks return:

  • Document generation confirmation
  • File location and access links
  • Task and matter IDs for proper association
  • Any error messages for troubleshooting

Variable Support includes:

  • {matter.id} – Automatically pulls the associated matter ID
  • {task.id} – Identifies the specific task for updates
  • {matter.[app].id} – Specifies which integrated system to use
  • Custom variables as needed for your firm’s workflow

What do deeplinks look like?

Here’s what a SmaterDrafter Deeplink looks like when combined with Hivelight Variables: 

https://app.rulestar.com/forms/1pagenda?matterId={{matter.clio.id}}&source=clio&sendDocument=true&externalId={{task.id}}:{{matter.id}}

Note: The parts in the curly brackets are Hivelight variables. They make the Deeplinks super flexible, allowing you to use the same link to generate a document from any matter in Hivelight without having to change any of the content.

Explanation:

  • 1pagenda – This is the document alias. You can copy this from SmarterDrafter. It tells SmaterDrafter which document you want to generate.
  • matterId – This tells SmaterDrafter the matter to assocate the documetn with in your practice management or document management system.
  • {{matter.[source].id}} – This is a Hivelight variable. When you associate other systems with a Hivelight matter, Hivelight can store the relevant matter id from that system. When this variable is used it will convert to the matter id for the associated system (in the above example, it converts to the Clio matter id associated with the Hivelight matter the link is used in). Variables make deeplinks simple, flexible, and powerful.
  • source – This tells SmarterDrafter which platform to save the document to, and which platform the matter id is for.
  • sendDocument – This tells SmarterDrafter to automatically save the document to the selected platform.
  • externalId – This allows you to tell SmaterDrafter which matter and task the document is associated with. After the document is created SmaterDrafter will fire a webhook and send this infromation back so that an update can be posted to the relevant matter and task. Here we combine it with two Hivelight variables {{task.id}}:{{matter.id}}. When used in a Hivelight matter, these will convert to the Hivelight task id and matter id.

What This Means for Your Firm

The Hivelight + SmarterDrafter integration addresses several critical challenges facing modern law firms:

Efficiency: Eliminate the time spent switching between systems, manually updating task statuses, and hunting for generated documents.

Consistency: Ensure every team member follows the same process and generates documents from approved templates.

Visibility: Track document generation in real-time, identify bottlenecks, and maintain complete audit trails.

Scalability: Train new staff faster with guided workflows that include document generation at precisely the right moments.

Flexibility: Work with your existing tech stack—this integration plays nicely with Clio, iManage, and other popular legal platforms.

Getting Started

Ready to transform your document workflows? Here’s how to begin:

  1. Ensure you have SmarterDrafter Pro with Deep Links and Webhooks enabled
  2. Set up the webhook connection using Zapier or PowerAutomate, or contact the Hivelight or SmarterDrafter team to set this up for you (Note: deeplinks will work without this, this just allows you to pass updates back to Hivelight or any other system once a document has been created).
  3. Create your first Deep Link in SmarterDrafter
  4. Add it to a Hivelight task or workflow and test the integration
  5. Roll out to your team with training on the new streamlined process

Looking Ahead

This integration represents just the beginning of what’s possible when innovative legal tech platforms work together. We’re committed to continuing our partnership with SmarterDrafter and exploring new ways to eliminate friction in legal workflows.

As firms increasingly adopt integrated tech stacks, the ability to seamlessly connect best-in-class tools becomes crucial. The Hivelight + SmarterDrafter integration demonstrates that powerful automation doesn’t require complex development—just thoughtful integration of the right tools.

See It in Action

Want to see how the Hivelight + SmarterDrafter integration could transform your firm’s document workflows? Schedule a demo with our team, or watch the demo video above.

Ready to get started?

Request a demo