01 — The constraint
A solo practice where every assembly hour was an hour not spent on client development or legal work.
O-1A packets took 14 to 16 hours to assemble, capping volume at roughly four petitions a month.
Hiring a paralegal meant a four to six month ramp and a fixed cost the practice could not yet carry.
02 — What they changed
Started on Google Drive folder watching rather than a case management system.
Used the O-1A and EB-1A criteria packs to structure evidence gathering from the first client call.
Adopted the missing-criterion alert as a client document-chasing checklist.
03 — What happened
Monthly petition volume rose 2.1× over six months with no payroll increase.
Roughly 38 hours a month reclaimed from mechanical assembly.
Client document chasing moved earlier in the matter because gaps surface at intake rather than at filing.
