Exploring the Latest in Legal Tech: CLM
According to a recent Forbes article, the latest area of the legal tech landscape to experience a boom is Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM). This sector includes tools that can assist throughout the entirety of the contract lifecycle. Some providers offer an end-to-end solution, while others focus on a specific stage or stages crucial to the process. Key milestones in the lifecycle include contract creation, review, approval and execution.
So it’s a software system designed to help lawyers and companies manage legal contracts. CLM is about data management, machine learning and keeping track of past transactions.
Data
The rapid expanse in the use of data has led to an increased need for data management. Without some semblance of structure, data can quickly grow overwhelming. Data management solutions can assist law firms, for example, as they administer the numerous types and amounts of data they generate.
Data management can help firms in both the practice and business of law. Access to a database of successful contracts can assist with precedent research, and automating tedious non-billable work can help maximize efficiencies, freeing up time and resources that might be better deployed on client relationship building, for example.
With respect to CLM, data management can be seen as synonymous with document management. The data in this situation is the content of deal documents and other agreements. The use of a data management solution for CLM allows law firms to easily view, organize and compare transactions, even down to the clause level.
Machine Learning
Many CLM providers integrate machine learning to drive intelligent process automation. These AI-powered solutions can extract and manage previously unstructured data from transactional documents across various deal types, including M&A, real estate, credit and intellectual property, among others. Legal professionals and those who support them can use these CLM tools to review deal documents quickly and efficiently and compare their internally-generated documents against market standards.
As with any machine learning-based solution, the models supporting these tools are not built in a vacuum. Rather, experts are needed at the outset to categorize and tag data as well as provide input over each iteration, improving the precision and accuracy each time.
Past Issues
While companies certainly value the experience and expertise of a seasoned attorney working on their legal matters, there are benefits to maintaining a record of previous issues that have arisen and been overcome. CLM solutions are therefore valuable because drafters can analyze past transactions to help inform their present analysis.
The article says that CLM solutions are truly having a moment in legal tech. And while the tools to manage disputes may be getting more advanced, it’s still a business of people disagreeing and isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Disputes are EVERYWHERE! And when those things negatively impact YOU and/or YOUR business including bankruptcies, landlord/tenant matters including unlawful detainers, contract issues, nuisance ADA claims and even collections, call in your good guy business litigator, Dean Sperling to resolve YOUR matter with YOUR best interests in mind!
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