Technology

What’s Your Stage Of Contract Lifecycle Management? 

Hint: There are three.

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In our latest installment of the Above the Law Legal Technology Non-Event, we explore the critical legal operations topic of contract lifecycle management. 

And in the accompanying episode of the Non-Eventcast, host Jared Correia is joined by Jerry Levine of ContractPodAi, who answers Luddite-friendly questions like, “What the heck is ‘contract lifecycle management’?” Listen to their full conversation here, and read on for insights on its three stages.

Phase 1 — Operational 

If you’re trying to get your contracts into a repository so you know where they are, you’re probably in the operational stage. 

For many in-house attorneys, Jerry notes, just determining where documents are can consume large amounts of time. Shoring up this function with top contract lifecycle software has an obvious value proposition. 

“On a very basic level, you’re speeding things up,” Jerry says. 

Phase 2 — Tactical 

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While Jerry notes the lines between the phases can be “blurry,” you are likely in the tactical stage if you have organized your documents and are just starting to figure out how to optimize related processes.

“Tactical is kind of that midpoint, where you’re trying to get out of the operational stage of just knowing where your contracts are, but you’re not quite at the stage of doing deep analysis, or deep extraction,” Jerry says.

For outside counsel at law firms, familiarity with varied contract lifecycle management software can be key for working with clients that have their own established systems. 

“You have to know what’s out there,” Jerry says. “You have to come up with a way to manage it. Because ultimately your clients are coming to you and saying, ‘I’m going to send you a contract or a system and I’d like you to work in there. I don’t want you to just send me emails back and forth.’”

“So having a working knowledge of the technology, as far as that’s concerned, I think is the key thing.”

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Phase 3 — Strategic

Are you using machine learning to gather and analyze information from hundreds of thousands of documents to gain actionable insights about your business? 

If so, congratulations! You are officially in the strategic phase of contract lifecycle management. 

For corporate lawyers, implementing a regime that reaches this phase has a very clear value proposition, Jerry notes. 

“You’re speeding up your sales cycle, generating revenue, knowing what’s in your documents faster, and knowing where they are,” he says. 

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