If you’re looking for a contracts technology that’s at the opposite end of the enthusiasm spectrum from AI, I nominate contract automation, also known as document assembly. But it offers the only way for us to escape copy-and-paste heck. In this post, I explain why and how. The Challenges Contract automation allows you to create a contract by completing an … Read More
It’s not particularly elegant, but the notion of eating your own dog food is a recognized metaphor in the tech world. Here’s how Wikipedia describes it: Above is part of a post on Contract-Automation Clearinghouse. To see the rest, go here. Contract-Automation Clearinghouse is where I now put my posts on contract automation and related topics.
Last week I noticed this post on Dewey B Strategic about Bloomberg BNA’s new product “Bloomberg Law: Corporate Transactions. (Gotta love the colon, which gives it an action-movie-sequel vibe.) For Bloomberg BNA’s own announcement, go here. Above is part of a post on Contract-Automation Clearinghouse. To see the rest, go here. Contract-Automation Clearinghouse is where I now put my posts on contract automation … Read More
It’s clear what’s required to improve the contract-creation side of a company’s contract process: adopt a style guide for contract language, most likely by means of a “statement of style” (here) train your personnel in drafting and reviewing contracts consistent with the style guide overhaul your templates consistent with the style guide automate your templates, to the extent that deal … Read More
If you think of yourself as a committed member of the digerati, The Glass Cage: Automation and Us, by Nicholas Carr, might give you pause. Carr shows that as much as automation enriches our lives, it can also impoverish. For example, he describes how all-encompassing flight automation appears to have resulted in a “deskilling” of pilots, leading to a new type of aviation … Read More
The contract process divides neatly into two parts: stuff that happens before a contract is signed, and stuff that happens after. I never get involved with what happens after signing, unless it has to do with amending a contract. But I try to keep informed, which is why I’ve sniffed around contract-lifecycle-management (CLM) software. See for example this 2007 post. The big … Read More
A lot of discussion about how smaller law firms can use document assembly—see for example this article—isn’t particularly exciting. You might be left with the impression that it’s nothing more than mail merge on steroids. I’ll now try to explain why that’s not the case. Above is part of a post on Contract-Automation Clearinghouse. To see the rest, go here. Contract-Automation Clearinghouse is where I … Read More
In this post on his LawSites blog, Bob Ambrogi (@bobambrogi) lists what he considers the ten most important legal technology developments of 2014. It makes for interesting reading, but of course the first thing I looked for was any mention of contract automation. As I would have expected, there was none. Above is part of a post on Contract-Automation Clearinghouse. To see the … Read More
Over the weekend @bickmark sent the following tweet my way: .@KonciseD Does the quote regarding questionnaire-based automation ring true? Has BigLaw automated the M&A agreement? http://t.co/Ok1R2ZZMhO — bickmark (@bickmark) December 28, 2014 Here’s my transcription of the relevant bit of that Marketplace radio segment: This post is on Contract-Automation Clearinghouse. To see the rest, go here. Contract-Automation Clearinghouse is where I … Read More
Change is facilitated by economies of scale: implementing a document-assembly system for contract drafting becomes more feasible if the aim is to serve many users, not one. That’s why I’ve long thought that it would make sense to have trade groups build document-assembly systems for use by their members. To be more specific, a plausible candidate for automated contract creation … Read More
