Have you used AI for a first-pass contract review against your own playbook?

Tools like Spellbook, LegalOn or Copilot in Word compare a contract with your standard positions and suggest redlines. A lawyer still reviews and decides every change.

Can the business send your standard NDA without going through legal?

A pre-approved NDA set up as an e-signature template lets anyone send it as-is. Legal only sees it when the other side wants changes.

How to automate it

How to automate “review NDAs and other standard agreements”

Here are 2 ways to spend less time on this, best first. Each comes with steps you can follow today and, for AI fixes, a prompt to copy.

30 min

typically, every day

60%

of the time can be automated

Easy

to set up

Fix 1 of 2

Process fixBest fix

Let the business send the standard NDA themselves

A pre-approved NDA the business can send through e-signature without legal means you only see the ones where the other side wants changes.

Typically saves about 60% of the time2 h to set up

1Approve one mutual NDA template (and a one-way version if needed).
2Set it up as a self-serve template in DocuSign, Ironclad, Juro or your CLM with fixed text and fill-in fields.
3Publish clear rules: send as-is; any change comes to legal.
4Use AI first-pass review for counterparty paper.

Tools: DocuSign templates · Ironclad · Juro · SpotDraft

Fix 2 of 2

Have AI do a first pass against your playbook, then a lawyer decides

Contract AI (Spellbook, LegalOn, Ironclad AI, Harvey, Legora, Copilot in Word) flags clauses that differ from your positions and suggests redlines. A qualified reviewer accepts or rejects every change; use only tools approved for confidential documents.

Typically saves about 40% of the time2 h to set up

1Write your playbook: for the 10 to 15 clauses that matter, your standard position, acceptable fallback and walk-away.
2Use a contract AI tool or an enterprise AI account your company has approved for client and counterparty data.
3Run the contract with the prompt below (or load the playbook into the tool).
4Review every flag and suggested redline yourself; do not send AI redlines unread.
5Add new positions to the playbook as you negotiate.

Prompt to copy

You are assisting an in-house lawyer. Review the attached [CONTRACT TYPE] from the perspective of [OUR COMPANY] as [CUSTOMER / VENDOR]. Compare it against our playbook below. For each clause that differs, give: clause reference, what it says, our position, risk level (high/medium/low), and a suggested redline in tracked-change style. Then list any missing clauses we normally require. Do not give a final recommendation to sign; quote the contract exactly.

Playbook:
[PASTE POSITIONS]

Tools: Spellbook · LegalOn · Ironclad AI · Harvey · Legora · Microsoft Copilot in Word · Enterprise ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Microsoft Copilot (approved for confidential data)

Quick wins

Have you tried…

Have you used AI for a first-pass contract review against your own playbook?: Tools like Spellbook, LegalOn or Copilot in Word compare a contract with your standard positions and suggest redlines. A lawyer still reviews and decides every change.
Can the business send your standard NDA without going through legal?: A pre-approved NDA set up as an e-signature template lets anyone send it as-is. Legal only sees it when the other side wants changes.

Who does this task

Roles in our library that list this as one of their common tasks. Each guide covers the rest of that role’s week.

In-house counsel Contract manager Paralegal / legal operations

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