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The Federal Administrative Court is the largest court in Switzerland. In 2007, the court pioneered the development of an automated case allocation software and has used it since. This study considers the question of how software-based case allocation functions in practice. It is based on an empirical analysis of all substantive judgments between 2008 and 2018, in which the log data of the case allocation software was linked with around 50,000 machine-read court judgments. The interdisciplinary study concludes that in 45 % of cases, at least one member of the panel was not assigned automatically but through manual intervention. In particular, the study analyses the reasons and responsibilities for these interventions and derives generally applicable findings for the automated assignment of judges to court panels.