In-house authorized groups are below strain like by no means earlier than. Budgets are tight. Headcount is frozen. Enterprise companions anticipate sooner turnaround. And management needs Authorized to ship all of this whereas “doing extra with much less.”
So, the place do many groups search for reduction? Authorized tech. Generative AI. Automation. However right here’s the catch: most authorized tech rollouts stall. Not as a result of the instruments don’t work, however as a result of the folks implementing them are underwater, and the programs they’re attempting to repair weren’t designed for readability within the first place.
As Maryam Salehijam defined in a latest episode of “Notes to My (Authorized) Self,” “You actually can not speak about AI and authorized know-how to an in-house authorized group that’s already burning out.” She’s proper. And one of many largest sources of that burnout? Contracting.
Watch the complete interview right here:
The Actual Blocker Isn’t The Tech — It’s The Contracts
Should you’ve ever tried to implement CLM, launch a brand new playbook, or standardize templates, this firsthand. Contracts aren’t simply authorized paperwork. They’re programs. And most of these programs are messy, over-customized, and inconsistent. You possibly can’t repair that with software program alone.
In truth, attempting to automate a damaged contract course of is like paving over a pothole-ridden highway. It seems to be good at first, but it surely doesn’t maintain up. “Begin small,” Maryam suggested within the interview. “Most authorized groups don’t even have the essential operational features optimized.” Earlier than including tech, you must perceive what’s damaged and whether or not your folks even have the bandwidth to deal with it.
The Case For An Alliance: ALSPs, Authorized Ops, And Tech
Right here’s the place issues get attention-grabbing. Maryam doesn’t simply advocate for authorized know-how. She champions the facility of ALSPs (different authorized service suppliers) as a strategic bridge. Not simply to cut back price, however to allow progress. “ALSPs and authorized tech must be greatest pals,” she mentioned. “We are able to are available, take over the work that’s protecting attorneys actually busy, to allow them to be taught to make use of the instruments and actually optimize themselves.”
It is a perspective we don’t hear sufficient. Tech will not be the hero; alignment is. When ALSPs present capability, authorized ops lead course of design, and authorized tech powers automation, that’s when change takes root.
However this type of collaboration doesn’t occur by chance. It begins with intentional planning and brutally trustworthy scoping. Who’s doing what? The place does human judgment nonetheless matter? How will success be measured? With out that readability, change efforts collapse below their very own weight.
What In-Home Groups Can Do Proper Now
Should you’re staring down a contract transformation or attempting to recuperate from one which’s gone sideways, there’s a greater path ahead.
Begin along with your group’s present capability. Who’s doing contract work right now? What sort of work is it? Is it negotiable? Is it repetitive? Is it aligned to threat? From there, have a look at the place the work is getting caught. Is it a authorized assessment? Redlines? Enterprise confusion? Every of those ache factors suggests a distinct answer and a distinct function for tech, ops, or exterior assist.
Then, discuss to your ALSPs. Not while you’re in panic mode, however earlier than. “Have espresso chats,” Maryam steered. “Say, I’ve no wants, I simply wish to be taught.” These conversations construct belief, floor new options, and assist authorized leaders see what’s working for others.
Lastly, set your group up for fast wins. In case your contracts are filled with inconsistencies, don’t roll out a contract AI device on Day One. Begin by simplifying templates. Make clear fallback positions. Create a course of that works for people, not only for software program. As Maryam put it, “Suppose massive. Begin small.”
The Backside Line
Authorized groups don’t fail as a result of they resist change. They fail as a result of the assist they get is fragmented. Tech needs adoption. ALSPs need tasks. Ops needs scalability. However the contracting course of wants all three: aligned, trustworthy, and targeted on outcomes.
The excellent news? That alliance is already forming. And authorized departments that embrace it are discovering one thing highly effective: readability is a aggressive benefit.
Contracting doesn’t need to be the bottleneck. With the best companions, it turns into a catalyst.
Watch the complete interview with Maryam Salehijam here.
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 by means of a profitable acquisition by LexisNexis. Olga can also 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 programs are constructed, skilled, and trusted. Olga teaches at Berkeley Law, lectures broadly, and advises firms of all sizes, in addition to boards and establishments. An award-winning common 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 by means of know-how, knowledge, 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 folks’s relationship with legislation—making it extra accessible, inclusive, data-driven, and aligned with how the world truly works. She can also 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.
