Legal Contract Automation Software for Attorneys

Automating Contracts and Agreements

Creation

What does it mean to automate a contract?

Automating contracts refers to the process of using software or technology to create and manage legal contracts and agreements. You can use automation technology to:

Automatically draft the contract language and insert or remove provisions based on the matter
Pipe information from other systems into an existing contract by integrating Clio, Zapier or your practice management system (e.g., client name, matter number, etc.)
Generate custom contracts with a click of a button

Why automate contracts and agreements?

By automating contracts, with a contract generation software like Gavel, legal professionals can save time, reduce errors, and ensure consistency and 100% accuracy when drafting.

Gavel is an all-in-one contract building software which replaces the need for one-dimensional legal template software.

Lawyers can set up a second revenue stream in providing automated contracts to clients through a client portal, giving them lighter-touch guidance in preparing their own legal documents.

Overall, automation can help to improve the quality of legal services while reducing costs and increasing productivity.

Completion and Execution

Once a contract or set of contracts is set up in Gavel, you, your staff or your clients can generate and execute those contracts with Gavel.

Lawyers and staff

After you set up your contracts in Gavel’s dashboard, you or your team can automatically generate contracts or contract sets that you created with the Gavel workflow builder. See how Gavel helps lawyers generate accurate contracts more efficiently every time through its legal workflow software.

Clients

By logging into Gavel’s client portal, your clients can access the specific contracts you assign to them to complete and execute. Using Gavel as client intake software is a great way to improve the client experience in completing contracts or other forms (like a legal intake form).

Managing Contracts

Whatever stage a contract is in — mid-draft, drafted, partially completed by client, completed/executed - Gavel stores the progress and work product in the Data Manager feature. Lawyers can then decide what to do with the contract at a later time (i.e., send to another party for counter signature, transfer to other systems, etc.), knowing that the contract is complete, secure, and easily accessible.

Automating Contracts With vs. Without Gavel

Drafting a Contract

Without Gavel

Attorney pulls a template or prior like-example (if it exists) from firm database
Attorney reviews template, modifies it, and replaces with relevant terms for the matter at hand
Attorney duplicates research and effort if attorney cannot remember which clauses are up-to-date
Must be completed one by one
May result in error as the intake responses cannot be limited to certain characters (e.g., DOB needs to be a calendar response, SSN needs to have 9 characters)

With Gavel

Attorney sets up the workflow once upfront:

Creates a questionnaire to capture the information necessary for the contract
Uses information bubbles to help attorneys remember special scenarios, trade-offs in drafting, and status of the law (like an automated checklist)
Creates various reusable provision choices depending on the type of contract (i.e., entity signatory v. individual signatory)

Thereafter, contracts are generated in seconds after attorney, paralegal or client (via intake) enters relevant client information:

The contract or contract set is automatically populated with the accurate provisions with a click of a button
Reduced document review time, because:
o    Gavel reduces input error by limiting the type of response accepted
o    Data entry is easy because only the relevant questions are shown to the user
o    Logic and calculations allow any special language to be generated in document based on attorney-created rules

Why Gavel?

#1 most powerful document automation software

Drag and drop user interface makes it easy for anyone to set up

Client-facing features, so your clients can answer and complete client intake questionnaires

Free training and customer support via phone, live screenshare, or email

Many integrations, including Clio, Zapier, Microsoft Word, and a public API

Access to template-building automators (“Gavel Experts”) who can create your workflows

Highest level of data security and compliance

Embed videos and images into your workflows to educate your clients

Case Studies

Several users have already automated their contracts on Gavel.

Emessay

Emessay, created by the lawyers at Matchstick Legal, allows paid subscribers to create and customize several key contracts by answering a handful of easy-to-understand questions.

Those contracts are then immediately downloadable by the client and ready for use in their Gavel client portal. To learn more about Emessay leveraging Gavel, click here.

DossDocs

Created by the attorneys at Doss Law, DossDocs is a complementary business model that allows consumers to pay a flat fee to generate their own mortgage docs.

This allows Doss Law to capitalize on individuals who may not want to commit to a lawyer, but need guidance in drafting their own documents.

jusTech

jusTech created an automated contract drafter to assist small and medium sized Canadian businesses with data breach compliance.

What Else Can I Automate?

General

Engagement Letters
Retainer agreements
Declarations
Points and Authority Memorandums
Affidavits
Judicial Council Forms
Notary Forms
Meet and Confer Letters
Discovery propounding documents
Discovery responding documents

Corporate

Share Purchase Agreements
Operating Agreements
Articles of Incorporations
Bylaws
Series A Fundraising Documents
Series Seed Fundraising Documents
NVCA documents
Subscription documents
Non-disclosure agreements
Equity Incentive Plans

Real Estate

Deeds
Title Documents
Purchase Agreements
Lease Agreements
Assignments
PCORs
Mortgage and other financing documents

Family Law

Child Custody Agreements
Prenuptial/postnuptial agreements
Marital Agreements
Adoption Papers

Immigration

Visa Applications
Green Card Applications
Employment Authorization Applications
Asylum Applications
Citizenship Applications
Petition for Family Members

Mortgage and Loan Law

Construction loans
Business purpose loans
Consumer bridge loans
Forbearance agreements
Modification or extension agreements
Pre-negotiation agreements
Residential docs corrections
Loan default letters
Broker investor packages
Buyer closing docs
Seller closing docs
Lease agreements

Legal Aid

Restraining orders
Fee waivers
Name changes

Estate Planning

Wills
Power of Attorneys
Marital Agreements
Health Care Directives
Trusts for couple
Trusts for single
Property Assignments
Beneficiary Designations

Franchise Law

Franchise agreements
Franchise disclosure documents
Joint Venture Agreements
Purchase Agreements

Mortgage and Loan Law

Offer Letters
Employee handbooks
Independent contractor agreements
Consulting agreements
Advisor agreements
Separation agreements
Stock option agreements
Covid-19 Related Policies
ICHRA
ERISA
FMLA policy creators
NCR compliance
Confidentiality Agreements

FAQs

I already use a firm template to draft my contracts and agreements. Why should I automate my documents instead of using CTRL+F and replacing terms in an existing template?

I want to incorporate a contract automation into my practice, but I don’t want to build one. Where can I find premade contracts?

I want to automate my contracts and agreements, but I don’t have time. Can I hire someone to build it for me?

Does Gavel offer help throughout the building process?

Do I need any technical background to build on Gavel?

How much does it cost?

How secure is Gavel?

Testimonials

[Gavel] Has Made My Dream Project Possible
…

‍Pros: This software is very easy to use. The coding is simple and intuitive - it's actually fun! I was able to turn a complex contract into a simple and easy to use questionnaire. The technical support is terrific, and I was really empowered to create the form I needed to populate my contract correctly.

Cons: There are no cons. This is some of the easiest software I've used. If learning Excel is a 7 in terms of difficulty, learning [Gavel] is a 1.

Susan S., Attorney - (read more here)

Powerful app that is constantly impressing us"

Overall: The experience has been great and the support is fabulous!
…
This is a very powerful software that has allowed us to automate very length sales contracts that used to take us hours and now takes 15 minutes to generate. Every week or two there is a new feature that adds more value to our workflows and enables better integration and data analysis.

They haven't increased the price either, even with all these new features. I would pay so much more for this functionality (but don't tell them ;-) ).

Verified Reviewer, Sr. Salesforce Engineer (read more here)

"Very powerful tool for complex document automation"

Overall: Before we started using [Gavel], we were manually drafting documents with MS Word, which wasted thousands of hours of employee time. If you need a robust document automation or document assembly tool, [Gavel] may be what you've been looking for.

Pros: Our company uses [Gavel] to generate a variety of contract sets. Because no coding knowledge is required, we were able to set it up very quickly. It allows for quite a bit of complexity in formatting your documents, adding conditional logic, and setting up complex calculations. The system passed our high privacy and data security requirements, and they set every user up on a dedicated instance, which is crucial when you're dealing with sensitive legal information.

Cons: We love [Gavel], and it's hard to think of any cons. Whenever we have had any "wish list" items, they've been quick to add features. The customer service is excellent.

Verified Reviewer (read more here)

"Well worth the price"
…
Love this software. Take the 7-day free trial and you'll see how easy it is to set up. You may need to have a round of layoffs because of how much time it saves.
…
Has saved us a fortune in administration time. We have all of our (very lengthy) contracts and contract packets set up in the interview builder. Anytime someone in the company wants to initiate a contract, they run the interview from the link. So much faster than spending half the day modifying a document.

Hilary W., Associate (read more here)

“Easy to use. Powerful automation for contracts.”

Gavel User, Financial Services Consulting

Legal Contract Automation Software for Attorneys

Automating Contracts and Agreements

Creation