First-pass contract review
Routine contracts turned round in half the time. The lawyer opens the file to an issues list built from your own playbook, not a blank page.
Hours back
5
hours a week back, typically
How it runs
What we build, step by step.
This is the usual shape. Yours gets built around how your team actually does the job.
- 01
Your playbook written down
What you accept, what you push back on and your fallback wording, for each contract type in scope.
- 02
Contracts sorted as they arrive
Incoming agreements are saved to the matter and labelled by type and which side you act for.
- 03
Clause-by-clause comparison
Each clause is checked against the playbook. Missing protections, unusual liability caps and odd governing law are listed with the exact wording.
- 04
Issues ranked for the lawyer
What needs a decision first, what's routine, and what's fine as drafted.
- 05
Suggested mark-ups drafted
Tracked changes in your preferred wording, saved as a draft for the lawyer to accept, change or bin.
Shown with software we see a lot. If your team uses something else, we build it into that instead.
Built for your business
Same job, different business. We build yours.
Two firms in the same trade rarely run a job the same way. Different software, different steps, different people signing off. We build it for your business, around how your team actually does the job.
Your steps
Built around the order your team already works in, odd exceptions included.
Your software
Runs inside the tools you already pay for, set up the way you use them.
Your rules
Your wording, your limits, your sign-offs. Nothing generic goes out in your name.
You sign off
Your team keeps the final say.
A lawyer reads the contract, decides every point and sends every mark-up. The build never tells a client a contract is fine to sign.
What it's worth
What those hours add up to.
5 hours a week, over 46 working weeks, is 230 hours a year. At $50 an hour, that’s
$11,500
back in the business, every year.
Typical, not promised.
Before and after
The job, before and after.
How it runs today
A client sends their fifth NDA of the month, or a supplier's standard terms. A junior reads it line by line against what the firm normally accepts, notes the problems and drafts mark-ups. It's an hour or two each time, often on a fixed fee, so the margin goes the moment it runs long.
What we build
- Your playbook written down
- Contracts sorted as they arrive
- Clause-by-clause comparison
- Issues ranked for the lawyer
- Suggested mark-ups drafted
A month in
Standard contracts come back in hours instead of days, fixed fees stay profitable, and juniors learn the firm's positions from the playbook instead of by osmosis.
Start with the boring contracts
NDAs, standard supply terms and simple service agreements are where this pays back. They arrive often, the firm's position is settled, and a missed point is easy to catch on review.
Bespoke deals and anything contentious stay with the lawyer from the first read. The playbook only grows when a partner decides a position is settled enough to write down.
FAQ
Will first-pass contract review miss something?
It can, which is why it's a first pass and a lawyer decides every point. The review works from your playbook and lists what it checked, so the lawyer can see what was and wasn't covered.
Does it work on the other side's paper?
Yes. First-pass review is built for contracts you didn't draft, and which side you act for changes what gets flagged.
More for law firms
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Bring this one to a free live build.
Thirty minutes on first-pass contract review. We build its elf with you, live, and you keep it.