Canadian Lawyer InHouse

33 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE JULY 2016 software, there's a cost," Fischer says. "But if you don't have it, are you re- ally saving anything in a situation like that?" In summary, you should consider imple- menting contract management software if your organization has experienced any of the situations mentioned above. Now, should you decide to install a con- tract management system, experts in this area have some tips to help you run the soft- ware smoothly. BEST PRACTICES Make sure your team is willing to use the software. "You could have the best software in the world, but if people are not using it, it will fail," says Fischer. He recalls how one general counsel avoided that pitfall. The executive wanted to convince his team that a contract management system would help them work more effi ciently. Rather than explain the benefi ts of the software to his department staff, the general counsel decided to let the product speak for itself. "He said, 'I don't want to see the product. Show it to my team. They will decide,'" Fischer says. "He wanted them to be part of the decision." That company did become a Legal Suite contract management software customer. Users at the client-organization largely em- braced the system, exhibiting far less resis- tance than users in other companies have, Fischer says. He believes the high accep- tance level is linked to upper management's decision to prioritize staff buy-in. Get ready to rethink your business pro- cesses. Moyse knows that some companies fall out of love with their contract management software. Discontent could stem from the fact that not every contract management system is created equally and certain pro- grams have more features or are easier to use. But it's more likely that people think contract management software is plug-and- play: Turn it on and all your contract man- agement woes will disappear. That's unrealistic. "You don't just push a button and everything works," Moyse says. "There is some operator know-how required, We stored and archived everything in a secure manner, but it had become this giant, disconnected, and unmanageable warehouse of information. RICHARD GUTTMAN, PointClickCare ware hasn't provided the return on investment they expected. PARTNER WITH YOUR IT DEPARTMENT Fischer recommends assigning two project managers to the con- tract software selection and i m p l e m e nt a - tion process: someone from legal and some- one from IT. The legal lead knows what the company requires; the IT lead knows how to assess the programs accord- ing to the legal representative's specs, and how to roll the technology out across the organization. Guttman from PointClickCare agrees. "Lawyers are generally not good at technol- ogy project management," he says. But it's usually best not to let IT have too much control. Fischer remembers one com- pany that blindly followed advice from an overly confi dent technology manager who said a contract management system could be developed in-house. "Two or three years later, having spent $200,000 to $300,000, they stopped the project and came to us. Trial and error? We've done that. And we know what works." At the end of the day, good contract management doesn't just help in-house lawyers fi nd information or meet require- ments. It also helps lawyers transform their departments from necessary cost centres into knowledge hubs that other parts of an organization will fi nd valuable. "The legal department controls that information," says Milstone from Axiom Cognition. "It's in an opportune position to extract, fi lter, and analyze the data, and offer it to the business to provide value in a way that the legal de- partment is always looking to do." IH which is reasonable when you think about the volume of insight you're trying to extract. You still need to have process around it." You should consider a number of ques- tions. For instance, what information should you derive from your contracts? What data would benefi t which departments? What's the best way to share that information? Who should have access to the contract management platform? If the software helps you stay on top of renewal windows, who's responsible for followups? Address ques- tions like those to develop a framework for using the software day-to-day. Here's a process question a lot of com- panies never ask: What is our upgrade road map for the software? After all, you'll likely use only basic features in the beginning as you and your staff become familiar with the system. But you shouldn't stop there. "It is hardly worth it to get [contract management software] just for deadline tracking," Moyse says. "There's a lot of value in the more ad- vanced features." Moyse recommends a managed-services approach, which is no surprise. That's the sort of service his company and others offer: Elevate and fi rms like them are more than happy to monitor and optimize the software once it's up and running — for a fee — to make sure customers are making the best use of the program's features and capabili- ties. It's worth noting that Moyse has seen companies insist they can do that for them- selves, only to complain later that the soft-

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