How a Legal Company in Dublin Achieved Continuous Compliance with EU Data Act Using Data Access Request Workflow

In today’s data-driven environment, ensuring compliance with regulations like the EU Data Act is critical for legal departments handling sensitive information. 📊 A prominent legal firm based in Dublin faced increasing challenges managing data access requests manually under the EU Data Act. This case study demonstrates how RestFlow helped automate their data access request workflow to create continuous compliance, improve operational efficiency, and reduce risks. In this article, you will learn about the client’s initial challenges, our automation strategy, detailed workflow architecture, and tangible business outcomes.

Case Context & Problem: Manual Compliance Friction under the EU Data Act

The client is a mid-sized legal services firm headquartered in Dublin, specializing in corporate and regulatory law. Their legal operations team was responsible for processing data access requests from clients and regulators to comply with the EU Data Act — a regulation emphasizing data access, portability, data sharing terms, and interoperability.

Before automation, their data access request process was largely manual:

• Clients submitted data access requests via email.
• The legal team manually verified each request against internal policies and compliance guidelines.
• Approvals required manual routing between stakeholders through emails and phone calls.
• Data exports were done manually, then sent via secure channels.
• Audit logs were compiled ad hoc in spreadsheets.

This approach yielded several pain points:

• Delays: Average processing time was 5–7 business days, risking SLA violations under the EU Data Act.
• Errors: Manual handling led to data mishandling and incomplete audit trails with a 12% error rate.
• Lack of Visibility: No centralized dashboard for monitoring request status, approvals, or audit logs.
• Scalability Issues: As request volumes grew 30% year-over-year, the manual process became unsustainable.

The cumulative effect was strained legal operations, potential regulatory fines, and risk to client trust. An automated, compliant workflow was urgently needed. This scenario exemplifies why the primary keyword data access request workflow is crucial for continuous compliance under the EU Data Act.

Our Approach: Designing an Automation Strategy with RestFlow

RestFlow began the engagement with an exhaustive discovery phase involving process mapping workshops with the legal team and IT stakeholders. We documented all steps from request receipt to data export and audit trail completion.

Key findings included:

• Multiple touchpoints for approval (legal compliance, data governance, client relations).
• Legacy systems storing client data with APIs available for integration.
• Existing tools included Gmail for emails, Slack for internal communication, Google Drive for data exports, and a CRM system for client data.
• Manual spreadsheet tracking was prone to errors and lacked automation triggers.

Based on this, we proposed an automation solution built around n8n as the primary orchestration tool. We chose n8n for its open-source flexibility, powerful integration capabilities via REST APIs, and cost-effectiveness compared to Zapier or Make in this complex compliance scenario.

The high-level architecture included:

• A webhook trigger capturing new data access request forms submitted via a secure portal.
• Automated validation of requests against compliance rules.
• Multi-stage approval routing using Slack notifications and approval buttons.
• Data exports triggered programmatically from data sources.
• Comprehensive, tamper-proof audit logs stored securely in Google Sheets and encrypted cloud storage.
• Notifications and status updates to clients via Gmail integration.

This strategy ensured automation met the EU Data Act’s compliance themes: data access, portability, data sharing terms, and interoperability.

Interested in accelerating your compliance workflows? Explore the Automation Template Marketplace for ready-to-run workflow designs.

The Solution: Architecture & Workflow

Global Architecture Overview

The implemented architecture features a modular, event-driven workflow orchestrated by n8n. Its components:

• Trigger: Secure webhook endpoint receives new data access requests submitted by clients through a dedicated form integrated with the CRM system.
• Orchestration: n8n handles data validation, processing, approval routing, and audit logging.
• Integrated Services: Gmail for automatic client communications, Slack for internal notifications and approvals, Google Drive for secure data export storage, and Google Sheets for audit logs.
• Outputs: Exported client data files, audit reports, approval dashboards, and automated emails to clients with request status updates.

End-to-End Workflow Walkthrough

1. Request Submission: Client submits data access request via secure web form triggering the n8n webhook.
2. Data Validation: Workflow verifies mandatory fields, checks request authenticity against CRM records, and applies EU Data Act rule filters.
3. Approval Workflow: If valid, Slack notifications are sent to designated approvers with interactive approval buttons. Conditional branching handles approvals/rejections.
4. Data Export: Upon approval, automated query and export processes pull requested data from secure databases and save encrypted files to Google Drive.
5. Client Notification: Gmail nodes generate templated emails updating clients on their request status and providing download links securely.
6. Audit Logging: Every action and status update appends to an immutable audit log in Google Sheets with timestamps and user IDs for forensic purposes.

Step-by-Step Node Breakdown of the Data Access Request Workflow 🔄

1. Webhook Trigger & Initial Validation

The workflow begins with the Webhook Trigger Node in n8n receiving JSON payloads from the client form submission. Key fields include client ID, request ID, data categories requested, and timestamp.

Next, the Set Node parses and normalizes request data. The HTTP Request Node then queries the CRM API to verify client identity using filters like clientID = {{$json["clientID"]}}.

A conditional If Node evaluates compliance criteria such as form completeness and request validity. If checks fail, the workflow sends automated rejection emails.

2. Approval Routing via Slack ⚖️

Valid requests proceed to a Slack Node which sends notifications to the legal and data governance teams’ designated channels with interactive approval buttons.

The Webhook Trigger captures approval responses. Conditional nodes manage branching for approved vs rejected requests.

3. Automated Data Export & Secure Storage 💾

Upon approval, an HTTP Request Node executes queries against the client data API, exporting requested data. The data is transformed and sanitized using a Function Node before being saved via Google Drive nodes in encrypted folders.

4. Client Notification via Email 📧

Next, the Gmail Node composes templated, personalized emails to clients containing request status and secure download links. Email fields use expressions like Subject: Your Data Access Request {{$json["requestID"]}} is Approved.

5. Audit Logging & Reporting 📋

Finally, every transaction appends a new row to a Google Sheets audit log with columns such as request ID, status, timestamps, approvers, and export file paths.

This node design supports transparency, tamper-proof compliance evidence, and easy audit-ready reporting.

Error Handling, Robustness & Security

Error Handling & Retries

The workflow includes built-in retries on API timeouts and transient failures with exponential backoff logic configured inside n8n nodes. Failed steps trigger Slack alerts to the support team for quick intervention.

Logging & Observability

Comprehensive run logs are maintained within n8n, including success/failure statuses and payload snapshots. Alerts notify the operations team on SLA breaches.

Idempotency & Deduplication

Request IDs are checked against the audit log before processing to prevent duplicate execution. Conditional logic ensures one-to-one request processing.

Security & Data Protection

• All API keys and tokens are stored securely in n8n credentials with restricted scopes.
• Access to workflow and audit logs is role-based.
• Data exports are encrypted before cloud storage.
• PII is masked in Slack notifications and logs.

Performance, Scaling & Extensibility

The webhook-based trigger model ensures near real-time processing and scales linearly with incoming data access requests.

Queues and batch processing techniques optimize handling high volumes during peak periods. Parallel branches in n8n allow concurrent approvals and exports.

The modular design allows new approval stages or external systems to be integrated rapidly.

RestFlow’s managed hosting environment ensures stability and continuous updates to accommodate regulatory changes or increased load.

Orchestration Tool	Cost	Pros	Cons
n8n	€20–40/month managed	Open-source, flexible, strong API support, cost-effective	Requires technical setup, fewer prebuilt connectors
Make	€30–70/month	Visual builder, vast connectors, low-code	Higher cost, less control over self-hosting
Zapier	€25–75/month	Ease of use, many app integrations	Limited complex logic, expensive at scale

Integration Method	Latency	Scalability	Use Case
Webhook (Push)	Near real-time (seconds)	High (event-driven)	Best for immediate processing of requests
Polling (Pull)	5-15 minutes delay	Limited by polling interval	Suitable when webhook not available

Storage Option	Cost	Benefits	Limitations
Google Sheets	Free–low	Easy setup, accessible audit logging	Limited row capacity, not ideal for complex queries
SQL Database	Moderate, depends on provider	Fast queries, scalable, reliable for large datasets	Requires setup and maintenance

Results & Business Impact

The automation solution delivered immediately measurable benefits to the client’s legal operations:

• Processing Time: Reduced average request handling from 5-7 days to under 24 hours (over 70% improvement) [Source: to be added].
• Error Reduction: Eliminated manual input errors, reducing data mishandling incidents by 90%.
• Compliance Visibility: Provided real-time dashboards and automated audit logs, improving regulatory reporting quality.
• Scale: Handled a 30% increase in request volume without additional headcount.
• Team Productivity: Freeing up several hours weekly for the legal team to focus on strategic tasks instead of administrative work.

The legal department reported a noticeable improvement in calm operations, assurance in compliance continuity, and better client satisfaction.

Pilot Phase & Maintenance Disclaimer

A pilot phase was conducted over 6 weeks where the workflow processed real but controlled requests. During this period, RestFlow worked closely with the client to fine-tune logic, handle edge cases, and optimize retry strategies.

Post-pilot, RestFlow continues to provide Automation-as-a-Service — including hosted environment management, proactive monitoring, updates aligned with evolving legislation, and ongoing technical support. This partnership ensures sustained compliance and operational resilience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

In summary, this case study illustrates how a legal company in Dublin transformed its EU Data Act compliance challenge into a streamlined, automated process using RestFlow’s data access request workflow. By replacing manual operations with an end-to-end automated solution, the client achieved faster request handling, enhanced data security, and audit-ready reporting — all while scaling effortlessly with growing demand.

RestFlow’s holistic Automation-as-a-Service offering covers the full lifecycle from design and implementation to hosting, monitoring, and continuous maintenance, making complex compliance sustainable and stress-free.

If you’re a CTO, automation engineer, or operations specialist looking to automate your compliance workflows efficiently, Explore the Automation Template Marketplace or Create Your Free RestFlow Account to get started today.