Pitfall #3: ‘What’s the perfect clause?’

At most law firms, each section uses its own models. So there is no uniformity in the company style and there can be quite a bit of discussion about which version of a clause should be used by the whole office. These kinds of discussions are good for the quality of the documents, but can get a lot of momentum out of the process.

2 tips to avoid this:

1. Start internal
Many offices associate document automation with a portal where clients can access their documents. In such a case, the risk of detriment is enormous if there is a wrong or poorly formulated clause somewhere. Our advice is therefore to start internally and only when there is sufficient internal trust a first group of loyal customers can be given access. Then the last step can be to open a client portal.

2. Are you stuck? Offer a choice of different versions.
When there are two versions of a clause that are both approved, they can both be entered into the system and the user can choose which version to use. It is not ideal for reasons of efficiency, but it does offer a way out when discussions about clauses stand in the way of your automation progress.