Category: Digital

Contracts and AI

‘The shared goals of lawyers and business are that contracts work legally and operationally‘ (Helena Haapio at World CC Summit 2023). Contracts should: make things happen prevent causes of unnecessary problems drive strategic business objectives and ESG goals. The purpose of contracts We need to make sure that contracts are

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Benefits of AI for deals

In 2023 there was a huge buzz about ChatGPT, a new type of generative AI tool. Other tools swiftly followed. Most of the contract professionals, contract writers and lawyers were testing its capability, including asking it to write contracts… but there were glitches in the outputs. Although many of those

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Future of warranties

If we look behind the tick-box approach to collateral warranties, do we need to think again about taking a process approach to these largely ineffective agreements? Purpose of a warranty The core purpose of a warranty is to create an additional contractual link, providing a smooth avenue for a stakeholder

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Contracting in the technology age

Contracting needs to be customer-centric, technology-friendly and process-conscious to succeed in the current tech age. Customer-centric Customer-centric contracts are ones which are simple to read, understand and use, and provided as part of a simple, clear process to convert a prospect into a raving fan! We all know the frustrations

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Frictionless contracting

Studies estimate that the vast majority – 70% – of friction points occur before your contract is signed (Deloitte article)… assuming it is ever signed! Why does this matter? It means a company is losing money, losing customers, and burdened with unnecessary admin during the contracting process. Streamlining contracting can

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Techno-contracting

What do you think the next decade holds in terms of how we write, create, review, negotiate and sign business deals (or contracts)? In my 2020 survey, the three most likely items to impact contracting as a process were: Machine learning (ML) ie giving computers ‘the ability to learn without

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How to implement digital contracting

Do we set small comfortable objectives in relation to our contracting process and then execute them in a small way? Are you more excited by contract evolution than contract revolution? If you want to stay small, or avoid failure, then don’t start a contract lifecycle management (CLM) process. But if

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Beyond a simple contract

Although I am a fervent advocate for simpler contracts [see better contracts by design, or steps to simplification], for many businesses a simple document in MS Word is no longer enough. In 2017, I helped The Federation of Master Builders move from complex text documents to adobe forms (an editable

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Extremely difficult to apply

On the front flap of A New Approach to the Standard Form of Building Contract (which refers to the 1963 RIBA form), the publishers say: By the nature of its legal terminology and complex provisions, [the form] is extremely difficult to apply in everyday practice without constant advice The book

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Smart contracts and trust

As you know, I believe one of the key things missing from contractual relationships is trust. The prevailing view is that smart contracts will assist with that. But is that really true? Trust in digital In my digital-first survey, trust with contracting partners was most closely associated with companies the

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