As
every
lawyer
knows,
time
is
money.
It’s
especially
crucial
for
corporate
legal
departments
to
maximize
efficiency
when
there
aren’t
enough
people
to
go
around.
Still,
countless
billable
hours
are
spent
on
tedious
tasks
like
data
entry
during
intake.
Then
associates
or
paralegals
spend
hours
reading
30,
40,
50
pages
to
review
new
contracts
according
to
the
most
basic
criteria.
Besides
taking
up
time,
such
repetitive
tasks
inevitably
lead
to
human
error
that
lets
things
fall
through
the
cracks.
For
years,
CobbleStone
Software
has
offered
contract
lifecycle
management
systems
to
help
firms
streamline
their
intake
and
review
process,
and
the
company
was
an
early
adopter
of
AI
technologies.
But
in
the
last
year,
CobbleStone
has
made
updates
that
make
its
software
more
powerful
than
ever.
Thanks
to
partnerships
with
Microsoft
and
OpenAI,
the
company
behind
ChatGPT,
CobbleStone
has
added
generative
AI
functionality
that
improves
efficiency,
mitigates
risk
of
human
error,
and
provides
a
bird’s-eye
view
of
how
valuable
time
is
being
spent.
Just
as
helpful,
it
offers
help
with
initial
redlining,
highlights
potentially
problematic
clauses,
and
automatically
suggests
ways
to
negotiate
contracts
based
on
a
configurable
bank
of
saved
clauses.
Besides
helping
with
contract
review,
the
system
also
helps
write
new
contracts
such
as
NDAs
or
licensing
agreements
based
on
the
firm’s
previous
work.
Essentially,
the
software
ushers
sensitive
client
documents
through
the
full
spectrum
of
your
workflow,
and
customizable
reports
make
it
easy
to
see
what
has
happened
along
the
way.
Here,
we
get
an
inside
look
at
CobbleStone,
guided
by
Sales
Manager
Michael
Gormley.
Getting
Started
Incorporating
new
systems
into
an
existing
practice
is
rarely
easy,
but
CobbleStone’s
intuitive
interface
is
simple
to
implement.
Every
user
starts
on
the
Dashboard
page,
which
provides
a
snapshot
of
all
contracts
that
are
in
system,
whether
they
are
pending,
active
or
expired.
Uses
can
choose
between
two
different
views,
one
that
provides
an
executive-level
summary
or
another
that
allows
for
more
interactivity.
What
appears
on
the
dashboard
can
be
refined
by
date
range,
quarter,
year,
etc.,
with
the
data
loading
within
seconds.
Dashboards
can
be
personalized
for
each
individual
to
streamline
insight
into
the
system.
From
the
Dashboard,
users
can
export
charts
and
other
data
to
facilitate
PowerPoints
and
executive
summaries
within
minutes,
rather
than
the
hours
it
once
took
to
compile
a
report.
And
lawyers
and
paralegals
can
easily
see
their
pending
tasks
that
have
been
assigned
to
them
by
others
on
the
team.
VISDOM
AI
Saves
Time
and
Mitigates
Risk
With
their
proprietary
VISDOM
AI
tool,
CobbleStone
makes
manual
data
entry
a
thing
of
the
past.
The
software
automates
the
initial
review
process,
extracting
key
metadata
including
titles,
counterparties,
contract
amounts,
critical
dates
and
deliverables
that
may
be
tied
to
the
agreement.
It
then
populates
all
that
information
into
fields
within
the
system.
As
it
extracts
data,
it
converts
the
document
to
a
searchable
file
and
performs
an
automatic
review.
The
system
identifies
any
high-risk
clauses
and
nonstandard
language
in
the
contract,
flagging
them
for
review
in
the
Findings
Overview.
Lawyers
can
then
dismiss,
approve
or
edit
these
findings,
all
while
viewing
detailed
explanations
of
the
risks
involved.
The
system
works
off
a
configurable
bank
of
clauses
compiled
from
standard
language
and
compares
it
with
what
is
in
the
contract.
Users
can
also
select
a
role
to
have
the
software
perform
a
risk
analysis
based
on
which
party
you
are
representing.
Mr.
Gormley
offered
the
example
of
reviewing
a
contract
for
a
client
who
is
doing
business
with
a
company.
A
lawyer
can
select
a
setting
to
provide
risk
analysis
based
on
what
is
best
for
their
client,
with
a
rating
of
positive,
negative
or
neutral.
They
can
then
switch
to
the
perspective
of
the
company
to
see
what
language
favors
its
desired
goals.
The
system
determines
the
relative
positivity
by
combining
OpenAI’s
machine-learning
capability
with
a
firm’s
internal
processes.
What
used
to
take
hours
now
can
be
performed
in
three
to
five
minutes.
Edit
and
Negotiate
a
Contract
Right
in
the
System
Negotiation
and
redlining
are
often
the
most
time-intensive
parts
of
contract
management.
CobbleStone’s
Auto
Redline
feature
streamlines
this
process
by
comparing
third-party
clauses
to
the
organization’s
clause
library.
When
nonstandard
language
is
detected,
the
software
automatically
suggests
preapproved
terms,
and
a
comment
is
appended
to
explain
the
change.
There
are
two
options
for
making
edits,
which
the
user
can
choose
according
to
what
makes
them
more
comfortable.
The
software
integrates
seamlessly
with
Microsoft
products,
so
those
who
prefer
to
work
in
Word
documents
can
continue
to
do
so.
But
CobbleStone
also
includes
an
inline
web
editor
as
part
of
the
platform.
Both
methods
allow
users
to
edit,
insert
clauses
and
track
changes
seamlessly,
catering
to
lawyers
who
prefer
their
current
workflow
as
well
as
those
ready
to
embrace
web-based
solutions.
When
anyone
modifies
a
contract,
a
record
is
created
and
filed
in
the
Attachments
section,
which
has
capacity
for
an
unlimited
amount
of
contract
versions
for
every
client.
Should
an
audit
be
necessary,
the
revision
history
is
easily
accessible.
Once
a
revision
is
saved,
it
automatically
notifies
the
next
person
in
the
workflow
that
they
have
a
task
to
complete.
Configurable
workflows
can
trigger
tasks
based
on
contract
type,
value
or
other
parameters,
ensuring
that
the
right
stakeholders
are
looped
in
at
the
right
time.
Assigned
tasks
will
never
again
get
lost
in
the
shuffle
of
a
hundred
Slack
messages
or
accidentally
sent
to
the
wrong
email.
With
the
system’s
real-time
status
updates
and
reporting
on
bottlenecks,
lawyers
can
gain
insight
into
their
operations
to
ensure
accountability
across
departments.
Another
module
offered
—
electronic
approvals
—
allows
collaboration
on
a
document
with
external
parties
in
a
separate
negotiation
portal.
People
outside
your
organization
can
make
suggestions
electronically
without
having
access
to
your
systems.
Over
time,
the
system
learns
which
clauses
are
the
most
contested.
If
for
instance,
a
clause
is
disputed
50
percent
of
the
time,
that
alerts
the
firm
that
it
could
create
a
bottleneck
in
future
negotiations.
A
Better
Way
of
Drafting
Contracts
and
Updating
Templates
Every
lawyer
has
a
horror
story
about
using
an
outdated
contract
template,
but
it’s
a
common
complaint
how
difficult
it
is
to
keep
them
current
with
the
latest
language.
CobbleStone
streamlines
template
updates
so
that
one
change
can
be
applied
to
many
templates
at
once,
reducing
the
risk
of
outdated
terms
slipping
into
new
agreements.
Creating
templates
requires
a
small
amount
of
upfront
work,
but
the
system’s
clause
library
speeds
up
the
process.
Instead
of
drafting
agreements
from
scratch,
lawyers
can
automate
contract
creation
based
on
predefined
rules.
For
instance,
a
user
inputting
a
consulting
agreement
over
$10,000
will
automatically
generate
a
document
populated
with
the
appropriate
clauses.
The
clause
library
ensures
consistency
by
pulling
in
the
latest
approved
language.
Easier
Search
and
Better
Reporting
Because
contracts
can
span
hundreds
of
pages
with
dozens
of
clauses,
an
effective
search
tool
is
essential.
CobbleStone’s
platform
includes
a
quick
search
bar
as
well
as
advanced
filtering
options.
Users
can
search
metadata,
files
or
both,
with
results
highlighting
where
specific
terms
appear
within
a
document
and
even
in
attachments.
Ad
hoc
reporting
further
enhances
efficiency,
allowing
users
to
create
custom
reports
on
metrics
like
contract
expirations,
high-value
agreements
or
department-specific
KPIs.
The
reports
can
be
configured
to
be
as
specific
as,
say,
consulting
agreements
over
$25,000
in
the
administration
department
expiring
in
the
next
120
days.
The
reports
can
be
pinned
to
dashboards
or
scheduled
for
automatic
distribution,
reducing
the
administrative
burden
on
the
team.
A
Built-In
Legal
Assistant
CobbleStone’s
new
AI-powered
chatbot,
VISDOM+
Assist,
works
like
an
extra
pair
of
hands.
Besides
offering
help
navigating
the
system,
producing
reports
or
other
basic
tasks,
it
can
also
help
draft
agreements.
It
can
suggest
clauses,
for
example,
for
software
agreement
warranty.
It
can
summarize
clauses
in
a
few
words,
and
it
can
add
clauses
you
want
to
reuse
to
the
system
library.
The
chatbot
is
the
latest
innovation
in
a
suite
of
tools
that
makes
CobbleStone’s
legal
contract
lifecycle
management
software
(CLM)
indispensable.
Not
only
will
it
save
time,
and
therefore
money,
it
enhances
opportunities
for
collaboration
and
accountability
within
the
team.
It
boosts
efficiency,
and
it
mitigates
risk.
It’s
not
just
about
managing
contracts
—
it’s
about
mastering
them.