We’ve got smart phones and smart houses.  The way we live and work has become immeasurably more interesting and efficient because of our technology.  The same is true for contract negotiations and the future is looking even smarter.  With emerging technology like Blockchain, contract lifecycle management (CLM) can be further revolutionized through self-execution, transparency, and mass collaboration.

Nothing can strike fear into the hearts of attorneys or businesses like “breach of contract.” Contract negotiations are tedious, exhausting and overwhelming. When a hard fought executed contract is found to be non-compliant, the results can be devastating to all parties involved. While a simple verbal contract, which meets minimal criteria can be legally binding. For business transactions memorialized in writing, contract compliance is significantly more rigid and complex.

Most general counsel and procurement officers would probably agree that collaboration in contract negotiations is a challenge even when all parties are in the same room. So what happens in our virtual world where the new normal is that people are spread across multiple locations and time zones? What does virtual collaboration look like?

There is a trend we’ve seen building over the last few years, and we think it’s one whose time has come. It’s the rise of operations within in-house legal departments. It’s an understanding that applying sound business practices to legal operations not only increases efficiency, it helps the company’s bottom line.

If you have some concerns about your business’ contracting practices, you are not alone. Huron Consulting Group, conducted a survey with legal technology professionals, and more than half (57%) of the respondents said they are concerned about their company’s contract management procedures.

Most general counsel and procurement officers would probably agree that collaboration in contract negotiations is a challenge even when all parties are in the same room. So what happens in our virtual world where the new normal is that people are spread across multiple locations and time zones? What does virtual collaboration look like?

At ContractRoom, our mission is to make contracting easy and efficient. I recently came across an article by Cindy Cox in Inside Counsel about making the contracting process more efficient. The article, Contracting efficiency for your legal department in 3 easy steps, is a good read. And Cox’s advice dovetails perfectly with what ContractRoom offers.

Compliance simply isn’t fun for most people. Time consuming, tedious, confusing? YES… Fun? NO.

Have you ever uttered the words painless – or better yet, happy – and contracting in the same sentence? Probably not, and you wouldn’t be alone. Even the savviest business and legal minds know that getting to a signed contract is a tedious, friction-oriented process. Additionally, the legal landscape is constantly evolving, meaning that business owners, corporate execs and their legal counsel (GCs) need stay current with the regulatory environment as well as staying on top of current industry trends and emerging technologies. Sound painful?… Doesn’t have to be.

Collaborative editing tools for agreements/contracts (also, referred to as “redlining”) have been used for decades by contract negotiators (both attorneys and business people). The question is, are the current tools really suitable? Redlining has all the appearances of a wonderful collaboration tool, letting people see exactly what changes the other party is proposing and accepting or rejecting them. Therefore, on the surface, the answer may be, “Yes”. However, looks can be deceiving… and after reading on, you’ll probably quickly change your answer to, “No Way”.