case profitability with PLAAS
of fees recovered from not needing to refer out
monthly demand output
Passalacqua & Associates is a New York pre-litigation and litigation personal injury firm founded by Managing Director and Principal, Nick Passalacqua.
Before EvenUp, the firm’s workflows relied on manual effort rather than standardized case workflows. The sheer volume of medical records created a persistent bottleneck. Staff spent weeks manually organizing chronologies, often overlooking critical treatment gaps, forcing the team into a reactive scramble whenever adjusters identified missing records. This resulted in stalled case momentum which impacted the firm’s time-on-desk metrics and cash flow.
Passalacqua & Associates turned to EvenUp’s Proactive Personal Injury AI Platform™ and Pre-Lit as a Service (PLAAS™), to move cases more efficiently at every stage. What began as a search for a better demand workflow has since become a partnership that has reshaped how the firm operates across its entire personal injury practice.
For Passalacqua & Associates, the primary barrier to growth was staffing constraints. Because of the small market in upstate New York, finding case managers with the right experience and skillset was difficult. Even more so was keeping them. Which made investing in onboarding and training feel like time wasted.
The staffing shortage meant case managers at the firm were frequently hitting case capacity with the number of cases assigned to them. Cases that typically take less time such as, soft-tissue motor vehicle accident (MVA) cases were not prioritized and saw an increase in time on desk and decrease in regular check-ins with clients. To keep clients happy and their cases moving forward, the firm would need to refer out their cases to external attorneys. And while this was beneficial to the client, the firm lost 66% or more in potential fees.
As an existing EvenUp customer, Passalacqua turned to PLAAS™, to manage case volume and eliminate the need to refer out their cases. Instead of spending months recruiting case managers, the firm leveraged EvenUp’s case managers to take on their soft tissue MVA cases so their internal team could focus exclusively on higher policy limit and litigation cases.
The integration of PLAAS™ within the firm was immediate and seamless. PLAAS™ case managers work from the firm’s CMS and interact directly with clients. During the first two month ramp period, Passalacqua expected roughly two demands to go out each week, but the PLAAS™ case manager was able to do 11 demands in a week. Now, the firm is now increasing their number of PLAAS™ cases within the year without adding additional headcount.
We like to have a more aggressive approach and we wanted a case manager that would embody that and move cases forward quickly. Our PLAAS™ case manager is exceeding what we were doing internally. They have taken what we were doing and compounded that.
Nick Passalacqua
Passalacqua maintains a strict baseline requirement that every case on his desk must generate at least $800 per month to be considered profitable. The PLAAS™ cases are hitting policy limits and exceeding $5,000 per month. This is 4x the case’s profitability.
The firm is also keeping all their cases in-house, rather than referring them out. Rather than losing the 66% fee, they maintain 100% of the attorney fees. Most importantly, PLAAS™ has allowed Passalacqua and his senior trial attorneys to return to their true passion: high-value litigation. With their desks cleared of pre-litigation backlogs, the internal team now has the bandwidth to aggressively work up catastrophic files, fast-track depositions, and keep defense counsel permanently on their heels.
I trust the PLAAS™ team to work these files effectively, thinking outside the box to expedite records and move demands. It’s allowed my team to stop bogging down on low-value cases and focus entirely on our high-value litigation.
Nick Passalacqua
Before partnering with EvenUp, identifying gaps in treatment or missing documents was a grueling manual process. Passalacqua & Associates often had to assign a paralegal or intern to go page-by-page through the case, a task that could consume weeks on larger cases with thousands of pages. The cost of an error was also high. If the firm missed 60 days of medical records, it meant scrambling to retrieve and re-deliver documents while the adjuster reset their review clock, effectively halting the case’s momentum.
By integrating EvenUp’s Medical Management™, the firm has moved towards a proactive approach. Instead of waiting for an adjuster to flag a problem, the team uses the Care Timeline and Missing Doc Check to identify and close treatment and record gaps while the case is still being built or the client is still treating. Staff are now able to focus on providing better client services and advocacy.
Nothing’s worse than scrambling to request records and wait for them to arrive, while the adjuster demands an exorbitant amount of time to reset their review. EvenUp flags those gaps for us as we’re building the case, which has been huge in reducing those delays and streamlining our timeline incredibly.
Nick Passalacqua
Before partnering with EvenUp, Passalacqua & Associates faced challenges with inconsistent demand packages that varied based on the attorney. The lack of firm uniformity made it difficult to build a steady reputation with adjusters.
Using EvenUp’s Demands™ and Express Demands™, all demand packages that leave the firm’s office now follow the same structure and consistency in quality. This uniformity serves as a strategic advantage and has decreased turnaround times. Adjusters are receiving a complete and compelling demand that gets them the best results for their clients.
Before EvenUp, stepping into an adjuster call required either having the file near-memorized or navigating a dense digital record set under pressure. That changed with EvenUp’s Companion™. Now, during live adjuster calls, the firm’s attorneys can search within Companion™ in real time, surfacing specific treatment records the second an adjuster questions them.
The firm’s lead personal injury attorney pairs institutional knowledge with Companion™ giving the team a meaningful edge in every negotiation. By turning a “static” file into comprehensive case-wide insights, the firm has eliminated the information gap that adjusters often exploit to devalue claims.
Even if we don't have the information top of mind when on the phone with an adjuster, if they mention something, we can search it in real time and find that treatment. It sounds like we have this entire case memorized. It puts the adjusters on their heels a lot of times.
Nick Passalacqua
The efficiencies gained from PLAAS™ also encouraged Passalacqua & Associates to use EvenUp for litigation strategies. Historically, reviewing and sorting through thousands of pages of dense medical records to build chronologies was one of the most time-consuming, administrative bottlenecks for senior trial attorneys. And when medical malpractice cases were referred out to specialized attorneys, the firm would have to ship boxes or send large files with thousands of pages of medical records. Referral partners would take weeks to review the case prior to making a decision.
For medical malpractice and other complex litigation referrals, the firm provides organized data to the referring practice. The medical summary gives the referring firm a summary package that they can audit the value of case weeks faster than before.
Passalacqua & Associates is now using AI Drafts™ to build airtight medical chronologies, review discovery responses, and compile demand packages. The firm can now speed up depositions, schedule hearings faster, and consistently keep opposition insurance adjusters and defense council on their heels.
To take the paralegal away from drafting a full complaint saves hours. It puts them onto more high-value tasks to move the case quicker. Instead of being bogged down in the paperwork of litigation, my team is focusing on the strategy required to win it.
Nick Passalacqua
For Passalacqua & Associates, the partnership with EvenUp has reoriented how the firm thinks about case workflow, staffing, and client service.
Without time-sensitive demand statutes that exist in other states, speed is the only lever attorneys have to maximize case value. EvenUp shortens that timeline. Cases that once took six to nine months are closing faster, reducing financial and emotional strain on people who have already been through enough.
The partnership between Passalacqua & Associates and EvenUp continues to grow. What began as a workflow solution for personal injury demands has become the operating backbone of the firm’s PI practice.
EvenUp has exceeded my expectations in terms of ROI. We've doubled the amount of demands per month that we're able to get out without increasing our staff size at all. We're bringing justice to people faster because of EvenUp.
Nick Passalacqua
