In-house legal professionals spend lots of time speaking about contract effectivity. We run RFPs for CLM instruments, benchmark turnaround instances, construct clause libraries, and discover AI-powered evaluation platforms. However there’s one factor we don’t speak about sufficient, despite the fact that it is perhaps crucial a part of making contracts work higher.
That factor is communication.
In a latest episode of Notes to My (Legal) Self, authorized marketing consultant Jeffery Kruse shared a perspective each in-house staff ought to hear. Authorized operations, he mentioned, is much less about instruments and extra about how we talk. And in the case of bettering contracts, that message issues greater than ever.
Watch the total interview right here:
Contracts Aren’t Authorized Artifacts. They’re Enterprise Messages.
Kruse believes authorized groups usually lose sight of the true goal of contracts. Too usually, contracts are handled as formal authorized paperwork as a substitute of sensible enterprise instruments. We fill them with legalese, protect outdated formatting, and concentrate on danger over usability. However the individuals studying and utilizing these contracts — gross sales reps, finance leads, procurement groups == are often not legal professionals.
When contracts are exhausting to know, they decelerate the enterprise. Individuals hesitate to maneuver ahead. Questions pile up. Authorized turns into the translator, and within the course of, the notion grows that authorized is a bottleneck moderately than a accomplice.
What We Say Versus What They Hear
To assist authorized groups reset their method, Kruse makes use of a framework referred to as SEE. It stands for Easy, Simple, and Efficient.
“Easy” means utilizing clear, on a regular basis language that your viewers understands. “Simple” refers to construction and move, ensuring the contract is logically organized and never overwhelming. “Efficient” means the contract does what it’s presupposed to do — it helps the reader take motion, builds alignment, or delivers readability.
Many contracts fall brief. A contract is perhaps technically correct, but when a enterprise stakeholder can not rapidly perceive what it means or what they’re agreeing to, it’s not helpful. It could even be dangerous if it creates confusion or delay.
What This Means For In-Home Authorized Groups
Earlier than leaping into expertise options or restructuring workflows, Kruse recommends that authorized groups ask a number of elementary questions. Who’s studying this contract? What do they should perceive? Is the doc written in a method that helps clear enterprise choices? Can somebody with no legislation diploma comply with what’s being mentioned?
Kruse shared an instance of a time he did not get buy-in from IT and finance for a authorized tech venture. He realized afterward that he had offered the issue in authorized language, not enterprise phrases. These departments had been keen to assist, however solely as soon as he discovered to talk in a method that made sense to them.
Make Contract Usability A Core Metric
If we agree that contracts are communication instruments, then we want new methods to judge them. As an alternative of simply monitoring authorized danger or evaluation time, authorized groups ought to think about metrics like how usually contracts require clarification after they’re signed, how lengthy it takes for a nonlegal consumer to know key phrases, or how a lot confidence different groups have within the contract course of.
Kruse encourages testing your communication earlier than rollout. Share your draft with one or two trusted enterprise colleagues and ask for his or her suggestions. Is it straightforward to know? Can they clarify the phrases to another person? These small steps can forestall misalignment and enhance how authorized helps the enterprise.
What To Do Subsequent
For authorized leaders, the takeaway is that this. Contracts will not be nearly authorized safety. They’re instruments that assist the enterprise transfer ahead. Their effectiveness relies upon not solely on what’s written, however on how clearly the message is delivered.
Earlier than launching a brand new playbook, tech platform, or contract template, take a second to ask whether or not the doc is evident. Is the language easy? Is the construction straightforward to navigate? Will it truly assist somebody do their job?
As a result of when individuals perceive their contracts, they’re extra more likely to belief them. And that’s what will get offers achieved.
Olga V. Mack is the CEO of TermScout, an AI-powered contract certification platform that accelerates income and eliminates friction by certifying contracts as truthful, balanced, and market-ready. A serial CEO and authorized tech govt, she beforehand led an organization via a profitable acquisition by LexisNexis. Olga can be a Fellow at CodeX, The Stanford Center for Legal Informatics, and the Generative AI Editor at legislation.MIT. She is a visionary govt reshaping how we legislation—how authorized methods are constructed, skilled, and trusted. Olga teaches at Berkeley Law, lectures extensively, and advises firms of all sizes, in addition to boards and establishments. An award-winning basic counsel turned builder, she additionally leads early-stage ventures together with Virtual Gabby (Better Parenting Plan), Product Law Hub, ESI Flow, and Notes to My (Legal) Self, every rethinking the apply and enterprise of legislation via expertise, information, and human-centered design. She has authored The Rise of Product Lawyers, Legal Operations in the Age of AI and Data, Blockchain Value, and Get on Board, with Visible IQ for Legal professionals (ABA) forthcoming. Olga is a 6x TEDx speaker and has been acknowledged as a Silicon Valley Lady of Affect and an ABA Lady in Authorized Tech. Her work reimagines individuals’s relationship with legislation—making it extra accessible, inclusive, data-driven, and aligned with how the world truly works. She can be the host of the Notes to My (Authorized) Self podcast (streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube), and her insights commonly seem in Forbes, Bloomberg Legislation, Newsweek, VentureBeat, ACC Docket, and Above the Legislation. She earned her B.A. and J.D. from UC Berkeley. Observe her on LinkedIn and X @olgavmack.
