Clause libraries are a great way to reduce risk as an organization. When I was first tasked with guiding a legal department through the process of building a clause library, I was a Project Manager helping a overwhelmed – albeit grateful – general counsel. Creating standardized clauses doesn’t always happen automatically. While some organizations already have fairly standard language across contracts, others have naturally diverse obligations and the task of creating standard clause options is nothing less than daunting. Our GC and her small but feisty team were on the “daunted” side of this spectrum. Regardless, the creation of a clause library helps out both small and large legal teams tremendously, and below, you’ll find 3 reasons your future self will thank you for creating one:
1. Save time creating contract documents.
No one disputes that having standard contract templates save you time. The challenge is making sure that your templates are consistent across the company regardless of which team member drafts them. That’s where a clause library provides much needed efficiency. Having a library of pre-approved language for the clauses necessary in all contracts means that all templates will have a consistently worded indemnity or other important terms.
2. Standardize your organization’s obligations.
We all know what it’s like to have obligations change based on who’s writing a contract. Using consistent, pre-approved fall back positions means your obligations won’t vary based on your team members. Reducing your risk and helps your team be more productive. Clause libraries help you to track and fulfill your obligations more easily, and to know when you’re negotiating outside the standard framework.
3. Update the right templates with new and updated clauses, all at the same time.
Updating the standard terms when there is a change in regulation or company position can be a huge time suck when you need to add it across multiple templates. Digging out the right copy of your template, updating it with the correct language, and making sure that anyone on your team uses the right copy when creating a new contract can drive any in-house lawyer crazy. Through ALOE’s clause library, when you add a new standard clause or change the language of an existing clause, you can update the language on all templates with ease.
With a clause library, your contract process, from draft to revisions, is more consistent and efficient. And, you can sleep easier at night knowing your team’s using the right language every time.
