The End of the Contract Management by Spreadsheet Era

Thanks to a highly manual review process supported by tools like email, spreadsheets, word processing software and shared drives, an incredible amount of time is spent on administrative work that has nothing to do with actually getting the contract negotiated. In fact, surveys suggest that lawyers spend as much as 25% of their time — more than one day out of each week — responding to requests for updates, tracking down emails to respond to questions and preparing reports on work in process.

With most law departments facing dwindling budgets and personnel, coupled with the rise in workload and client expectations, how can productivity and quality be maintained?

Contract Management with Flint and Steel

Every action counts. Every process must be examined.

Quick question: Which tool would you use to light a candle?
A. Flint and steel
B. Match

Both tools accomplish the task — one way or another, your candle gets lit. However, you would only choose flint and steel if a match were unavailable.

Similarly, email, spreadsheets, and word processing were the tools of choice simply because they were available, needed no IT support and were familiar to the users. Now, as transaction volumes increase and demand for faster turnaround times from the business become the norm, these tools simply do not have the capability of doing the job well.

Corporate law departments—and the business units they support—are simply unable to effectively manage the review, approval and management of contracts with tools such as Outlook and Excel. The business demands and processes now far exceed the capability of these tools to get work done in an efficient, collaborative manner. Law departments need more than what these tools can offer in order to meet the expectations of the business units they support.

Contract Management Made Easy with Apps

Since the advent of smart phones such as the iPhone or Android devices, Apps have proven especially popular with consumers due to their ability to simply and capably solve a specific problem. These highly focused software programs are easy to install, easy to use and give you the information you need quickly.

An App can easily furnish you with what you need now. And, Apps are crossing from the consumer world into the business environment. Read our white paper “The End of an Era: Evolving Beyond Email and Spreadsheets to Manage Your Law Department” to learn more about improving contract management and contract review processes.