Canadian Lawyer InHouse

Offer a dynamic and patented questionnaire. This questionnaire for corporate business units and law firm clients captures details for each repetitive contract, like NDAs. Errors are reduced, risk is mitigated, and you invite clients and customers to participate in their legal services. Reduce bottlenecks in every department and position. As Contract Express is automated document assembly with built-in questionnaires and resulting templates, the process from start to finish is reduced by hours for any document. When you look at the comparison between using document automation over manual drafting, hands down, Contract Express is the better option. Save time. Reducing bottlenecks from manual document drafting can free up time for every department and legal team. This is a critical benefit of Contract Express that contributes to lawyers' ability to dedicate more time to more in-depth negotiations and matters. Reduce legal spend. An advantage of a corporate legal department bringing document drafting and assembly in-house with Corporate Express is a reduction in legal spend time for that service. When corporate counsel work less on document drafting, not only do they find more time, they also find more budget for other issues and concerns. Consider alternative fee arrangements. Law firms continuously seek ways to improve relationships with corporate counsel, and one way is to create alternative fee arrangements. By giving clients access to a Contract Express portal with its automatic questionnaire and contract drafting template, lawyers are in standby mode to help clients on an as-needed basis. Clients add details up front while a lawyer reviews the end product for accuracy. Innovation gap With all this discussion about technology innovation to evolve the practice of law, a study from Deloitte 1 , surveying the Canadian legal landscape in 2017, suggests that "technology is arguably the biggest enabler of achieving best-in-class status, [but] it is largely under-exploited by both in-house legal departments and law firms." The study found that within the next five years, most firms surveyed, while understanding that technology can help innovation, are uncertain of which types of technology to adopt. This uncertainty provides an exciting opportunity for firms and legal departments to collaborate and define "innovation" and determine which technology will best suit their intentions. With these partnerships, technology like Contract Express, which not only enhances productivity, reduces costs, and improves workflow efficiency but also provides a means of greater collaboration between firms and legal departments, should be looked at as a tool for innovation in the Canadian market. © 2019 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited 00255NA-95362-NP About Contract Express Contract Express is a Thomson Reuters web-based solution, trusted by the world's leading law firms and corporations for automation of legal document assembly. Learn more at thomsonreuters.ca/contract-express 1 Deloitte. Canadian Legal Landscape 2017. Retrieved from Deloitte website: https://www2.deloitte.com/ca/en/pages/finance/articles/canadian-legal- landscape.html

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