Law departments institute many practices to handle the torrent of contract review, drafting and negotiation. In the past 18 months or so, this blog has cited nearly two dozen practices that deserve consideration.
For several references I have cited the company that was the source of the practice (See my post of Sept. 21, 2009: use offshore staff to keep contracts in order; Jan. 7, 2010: have clients request contracts through a portal (Catholic Healthcare West); Jan. 10, 2010: use a contract assembly database; March 16, 2010: observe nine rules for contract drafting; April 20, 2010: run software that matches contract terms against the other party’s terms; July 15, 2010: treat contracts differently than purchase orders; Aug. 10, 2010: employ contract specialists (Discover Financial Services); Aug. 17, 2010: reduce the number of forms of contracts (Microsoft); Aug. 22, 2010: LG Electronics and solid steps for contract management; Sept. 4, 2010: agree to three priority levels for contracts handled by law departments; Sept. 6, 2010: adeptly use contract management software; Sept. 9, 2010: set up global delivery centers for contracts (IBM); Oct. 28, 2010: clarify approvals and obtain electronic signatures (Cisco); Nov. 17, 2010: reduce the number of form contracts, but with client assent; Nov. 27, 2010: deploy a contract management system (Royal FrieslandCampina); Nov. 29, 2010: set and record limits on negotiation rights; Nov. 29, 2010: focus on five key provisions that need legal review if changed; Dec. 19, 2010: obtain services from law firms for a fixed fee (Bell Canada); Dec. 28, 2010 #2: have a lawyer review every contract; Jan. 24, 2011: understand a framework in which to group your contracts; April 11, 2011: automate linkage between contracts and email; May 25, 2011: maintain a contracting and negotiating guide (Aerojet); and May 31, 2011: require contract request form and procurement’s involvement (eBay).).
In a later post I hope to mine the previous metaposts for more practices (See my post of May 5, 2006: contracts with 15 references; and Sept. 2, 2009: contracts with 48 references.).