Document automation can be challenging if not thoroughly planned and executed. Successful legal automation requires a solid foundation of groundwork, which may not always seem glamorous but is essential for a smooth deployment of automated content, increased engagement, and utilisation of technologies like #GenAI, the acceleration of which is increasingly creating both opportunities and challenges.
In the following three-part blog series, echo.legal's team of document automation experts and self-confessed "fun geeks" offer insights on legal technology and document automation, for legal teams and law firms who are just setting out to those who are well underway with their digital transformation.
This first piece covers the crucial role of document styles and selecting the “right” templates for automation.
The crucial role of document styles
Styles play a crucial role in how a document is presented, especially in the legal industry where documents are important deliverables. They reflect the organisation's brand and quality. Consistency is key in automation, and defining and using styles correctly is essential. It's important to have consistent styles that convey professionalism and brand identity.
Correctly defined styles should:
restart numbering automatically in the sections you need to
use correct, consistent indentation
have nested or outline numbering that is not only automatic, but also indented and aligned at the correct heading levels.
Applying a consistent style to documents is not only important for maintaining brand consistency and quality design, but also essential for efficient automation. It ensures a seamless integration of templates into suites and enhances the overall appearance of the documents. Consistent application of styles also facilitates easier edits of the agreements and any restyling exercises that affect the templates in the future.
It is important to regularly update and ensure that your styles are appropriate for their intended use. Consider hiring an outsourced styles agent if you do not have a style team.
Selecting Automation-Ready Templates
The right kind of templates are the finalised kind!
It goes without saying that your precedents or form documents need to be ready. When you start with automation, you need documents where the content is agreed and finalised and you are not going to tweak at every phase of the automation or that still need to be passed through several committees for sign off.
You need automation-ready templates...
Automation can potentially begin at this point, but to be fully prepared for automation, take time to ensure your documents contain content for all desired options and in all necessary locations to support those options.
Make sure that:
all clauses follow the same strategy or scope: if the parties areas cater for multiple parties or party types, make sure the whole document does
any riders are updated to align with the scope in the main documents
you understand which areas will be affected by loops or repetitions e.g. shareholders or share classes – this will help build a good automation architecture upfront.
Certain clauses can be written in a manner that allows for flexibility the automation can take advantage of e.g. by carefully choosing defined terms or using gender-neutral language.
At echo.legal, we help law firms and legal teams identify when one or more of these foundational elements are not in place and advise on the best way forward.
Our next blog will focus on executing your document automation strategy.
echo.legal is an expert team of highly experienced software implementers and practising lawyers, delivering the perfect mix of legal and product knowledge. If you need document automation support for your law firm or legal team, contact julie.saliba@echo.legal or will.sumners@echo.legal.
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