Introducing SmartParse: Intelligent contract review and triage

Many in-house lawyers are familiar with the scenario: a stack of legal requests with accompanying contracts to review, making it daunting even to know where to begin. With some requests requiring an extensive review and others more straightforward, the challenge for legal professionals is efficiently sorting and prioritizing these tasks. Reviewing contracts is a time-consuming process that can stall business processes and delay critical agreements. How can in-house counsel swiftly triage legal requests to identify which ones are more complex — requiring more time and effort for reviews and approvals — without spending hours on each one? 

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Introducing Streamline AI’s SmartParse

Streamline AI’s new offering, SmartParse, powered by Clearlaw, fast-tracks the contract review and triage process by leveraging advanced AI technology. SmartParse efficiently analyzes contracts in seconds and quickly identifies the requests that require the most attention. By pinpointing potential issues early in the process, SmartParse enables counsel to proactively kick off necessary reviews and approvals, streamlining the contract review process.

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Rapid issue identification

Legal counsel can set primary and fallback strike zone positions for key clauses in Streamline AI’s software. Once these positions are defined in Streamline AI’s tool, counsel can upload contract files for SmartParse analysis. SmartParse identifies and assesses key contract clauses against those primary and fallback strike zone positions to identify whether they fall within the strike zone, meet fallback positions, or are outside of the strike zones.  Users can access a summary of the evaluation results, significantly reducing initial review time.

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For instance, if a company’s standard indemnification clause limits liability to direct damages only, but a contract under review includes a clause that allows for consequential damages, SmartParse would flag this as being outside the strike zone. The legal team can then quickly assess the potential risks associated with this deviation and determine the appropriate course of action.

SmartParse goes beyond traditional word-by-word comparison methods by examining the nuances and meaning behind contract clauses and subclauses. This more sophisticated approach accounts for the unique drafting styles of legal professionals, ensuring a more effective and thorough analysis against form contracts and playbooks.

Do you need to dig in deeper to understand what specific text changes were made to the form contracts? With a single click, legal teams can access a redline to compare current clause text against standard playbook provisions. 

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Connect strike zones with workflows

SmartParse can be configured to automatically route legal requests for approvals based on preset strike zone roles, ensuring that contracts receive the appropriate level review. When a clause falls outside the acceptable range, SmartParse flags it and automatically involves the right contacts in the review process. 

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For example, let’s say a company’s standard payment terms are net 30 with a fallback position of net 45, but a key sales contract with significant revenue impact includes a clause for net 60 payment terms. SmartParse would flag this clause as being outside the primary and secondary (fallback) strike zones and automatically route the contract to the finance team for additional review. The finance team can then assess the potential impact of the longer payment terms and determine whether the revenue justifies the deviation from the company’s standard terms.

This AI-powered workflow automation guarantees that no approval is delayed, as Streamline’s system intelligently determines which clauses require additional attention and routes them to the appropriate team members. By streamlining the review process with AI and involving the right people at the right time, SmartParse helps legal teams work more efficiently and effectively.

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Elevate your contract review process with SmartParse

With SmartParse, what used to take hours now takes minutes. It provides an almost instant snapshot of the contract’s alignment with your company's standards, allowing legal professionals to prioritize their workload more effectively. Streamline AI helps legal teams reduce the time spent on contract reviews. Schedule a demo with the Streamline AI team to see SmartParse live and learn how your team can work more effectively.