Canadian Lawyer

w w w . c a n a d i a n l a w y e r m a g . c o m A P R I L 2 0 1 9 29 Get to know Contract Express Contract Express is a Thomson Reuters enterprise, web-based solution that automates legal document assembly. Trusted by the world's leading law fi rms and corporations, Contract Express gives users the ability to automate creation of their preferred legal documents, reduce and eliminate delays, costs, bottlenecks, and the risks inherent with manual drafting. The result is faster, more effi cient, and compliant legal services and products. thomsonreuters.ca/contract-express © 2019 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited 00255NA-94916-NP 3. Single-sided solutions. Many software solutions serve a single purpose, which begs the question, why invest? Thomson Reuters solutions integrate nicely – Contract Express integrates with Practical Law Canada and Drafting Assistant. Lawyers using Practical Law Canada can access automated templates in Contract Express and get even more functionality using Drafting Assistant to enhance their document drafting. 4. Unidentifi able forms. Forms developed by the knowledge management team become tailored to the needs of practice groups – resulting in multiple versions that are unrecognizable from the original. Contract Express enables authorship in tandem with knowledge management to help standardize forms and templates. 5. Gap in technology innovation. There are many law fi rms that still have a ways to go in fi lling the technology gap. This also means core support teams may not have the opportunity to learn new skills that help position the fi rm competitively. Document automation is part of the legal framework now, and Contract Express is an intuitive automation tool with many ways for lawyers and the administrative team to learn the basics of document automation. 6. Practice group web page ineffi ciency. Practice group web pages used for internal training, access to document repositories, and approved forms and templates require updating on a regular basis. When fi rms use Contract Express, there is the opportunity to hyperlink forms and make them accessible from anywhere, get links to tutorials, add requests for forms assistance, and request help updating forms for fast turnaround. 7. Lack of interest in document automation or fear it won't work. Traditionally, the legal industry is slow to adopt technology, which hinders growth and workfl ow effi ciency. When partners and knowledge management take the leap and experience Contract Express, document automation becomes increasingly popular and the number of projects grow. A vault of forms that are consistently automated ensure practice groups work effi ciently and productively. Contract Express becomes the solution that inspires thinking and conversation around project improvements on behalf of clients. 8. Contextual learning confusion. Those who develop and write forms know the context and word choice they're using. However, junior associates do not have that context, making it diffi cult for them to understand. Contract Express provides guidance, with preview and note options that are excellent training resources for associates and other lawyers not as familiar with the legal documents in question. Contract Express enables authors to develop forms at whatever level is most comfortable, regardless of the context of the wording. 9. More partner ownership of forms. Manual form maintenance can become tedious for lawyers when they invest valuable time and specialty expertise. With Contract Express, the knowledge management team can work closely with the lawyer to assist in updating his or her forms. Document automation makes the process less complex, and the lawyer gets more assistance from the support team, making this a win-win for the fi rm. 10. Less subtle thinking about quality work products. Contract Express is a trigger for knowledge management to raise the bar with practice groups to create high-quality documents that are more centralized to the entire fi rm. Knowledge management can interact with lawyers and help direct work product that streamlines workfl ow using Contract Express features and benefi ts.

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