diff --git a/.github/workflows/README.md b/.github/workflows/README.md
index 3a24a13308978..c2924516003a6 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/README.md
+++ b/.github/workflows/README.md
@@ -46,11 +46,11 @@
 
 ## Deployment
 
-| workflow file                            | action                                                                             |
-| ---------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
-| .github/workflows/release-pypi.yml       | Publish a release to PyPI.                                                         |
-| .github/workflows/release-docker.yml     | Build Docker images from dockers/\*/Dockerfile and publish them on hub.docker.com. |
-| .github/workflows/legacy-checkpoints.yml | App on request generate legacy checkpoints and upload them to AWS S3.              |
+| workflow file                              | action                                                                             |
+| ------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
+| .github/workflows/release-pypi.yml         | Publish a release to PyPI.                                                         |
+| .github/workflows/release-docker.yml       | Build Docker images from dockers/\*/Dockerfile and publish them on hub.docker.com. |
+| .github/workflows/\_legacy-checkpoints.yml | App on request generate legacy checkpoints and upload them to AWS S3.              |
 
 ## Bots
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/legacy-checkpoints.yml b/.github/workflows/_legacy-checkpoints.yml
similarity index 85%
rename from .github/workflows/legacy-checkpoints.yml
rename to .github/workflows/_legacy-checkpoints.yml
index aa543a5729ca1..e29e896101708 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/legacy-checkpoints.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/_legacy-checkpoints.yml
@@ -35,7 +35,9 @@ on:
         default: false
         required: false
         type: boolean
-    secrets: inherit
+
+env:
+  legacy_dir: tests/legacy
 
 defaults:
   run:
@@ -46,9 +48,6 @@ jobs:
     runs-on: ubuntu-20.04
     outputs:
       pl-version: ${{ steps.decide-version.outputs.pl-version }}
-    defaults:
-      run:
-        working-directory: tests/legacy
     steps:
     - uses: actions/checkout@v3
 
@@ -65,7 +64,6 @@ jobs:
         aws-region: us-east-1
 
     - name: Install PL from source
-      working-directory: ./
       env:
         PACKAGE_NAME: pytorch
         FREEZE_REQUIREMENTS: 1
@@ -81,8 +79,15 @@ jobs:
         pip list
       if: inputs.pl_version != ''
 
+    - name: Adjust tests -> PL
+      if: ${{ matrix.pkg-name != 'lightning' }}
+      run: |
+        pip install -q -r .actions/requirements.txt
+        python .actions/assistant.py copy_replace_imports --source_dir="./tests" \
+          --source_import="lightning.fabric,lightning.pytorch" \
+          --target_import="lightning_fabric,pytorch_lightning"
+
     - name: Pull legacy checkpoints
-      working-directory: ./
       run: bash .actions/pull_legacy_checkpoints.sh
 
     - name: Decide PL version to create a PR with
@@ -91,6 +96,7 @@ jobs:
         python -c "import pytorch_lightning as pl; print(f'pl-version={pl.__version__}')" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT || echo pl-version='' >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
 
     - name: Generate checkpoints
+      working-directory: ${{ env.legacy_dir }}
       run: |
         bash generate_checkpoints.sh ${{ inputs.pl_version }}
 
@@ -98,22 +104,24 @@ jobs:
       uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
       with:
         name: checkpoints-${{ github.sha }}
-        path: tests/legacy/checkpoints/
+        path: ${{ env.legacy_dir }}/checkpoints/
 
     - name: Upload checkpoints to S3 (dryrun)
+      working-directory: ${{ env.legacy_dir }}
       run: |
         aws s3 sync --dryrun checkpoints/ s3://pl-public-data/legacy/checkpoints/
         zip -r checkpoints.zip checkpoints
         aws s3 cp --dryrun checkpoints.zip s3://pl-public-data/legacy/ --acl public-read
 
     - name: Upload checkpoints to S3
+      working-directory: ${{ env.legacy_dir }}
       run: |
         aws s3 sync checkpoints/ s3://pl-public-data/legacy/checkpoints/
         zip -r checkpoints.zip checkpoints
         aws s3 cp checkpoints.zip s3://pl-public-data/legacy/ --acl public-read
       if: inputs.push_to_s3
 
-  adding-ckpt-test:
+  add-ckpt-test:
     runs-on: ubuntu-20.04
     if: inputs.create_pr
     needs: create-legacy-ckpts
@@ -123,7 +131,7 @@ jobs:
         ref: master
 
     - name: Append a new version to legacy checkpoint list
-      run: echo ${{ needs.create-legacy-ckpts.outputs.pl-version }} >> tests/legacy/back-compatible-versions.txt
+      run: echo ${{ needs.create-legacy-ckpts.outputs.pl-version }} >> ${{ env.legacy_dir }}/back-compatible-versions.txt
 
     - name: Create Pull Request
       uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v4
diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci-checkpoints.yml b/.github/workflows/ci-checkpoints.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..71a4fe007c3a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci-checkpoints.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+name: Validate legacy ckpts
+
+on:
+  push:
+    branches: [master, "release/*"]
+  pull_request:
+    branches: [master, "release/*"]
+    types: [opened, reopened, ready_for_review, synchronize]  # added `ready_for_review` since draft is skipped
+    paths:
+      - ".github/workflows/ci-checkpoints.yml"
+      - ".github/workflows/_legacy-checkpoints.yml.yml"
+
+jobs:
+
+  try-legacy-checkpoints:
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/_legacy-checkpoints.yml
+    with:
+      push_to_s3: false
+      create_pr: false
+    secrets: inherit
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-pypi.yml b/.github/workflows/release-pypi.yml
index 0a9a69aae5571..3529e687cd72f 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-pypi.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-pypi.yml
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ jobs:
 
   legacy-checkpoints:
     needs: [build-packages]
-    uses: ./.github/workflows/legacy-checkpoints.yml
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/_legacy-checkpoints.yml
     with:
       push_to_s3: ${{ startsWith(github.event.ref, 'refs/tags') || github.event_name == 'release' }}
       create_pr: ${{ startsWith(github.event.ref, 'refs/tags') || github.event_name == 'release' }}