AI Studio · Law firms
Contract review automation for law firms
Corporate and commercial teams review the same kinds of agreements every week: NDAs, vendor contracts, leases, shareholder agreements. Much of the first pass is mechanical. Someone reads every clause, compares it with the firm's preferred position and notes what is missing. Finaley AI Studio does that first pass the way your associates do it, using your own playbook and precedents, and hands a marked-up draft to an advocate who makes every legal call.
The first read is where associate hours disappear
A typical commercial contract arrives as a Word file or a scanned PDF from the other side. Before anyone can advise, an associate has to locate the indemnity, limitation of liability, termination, governing law and dispute resolution clauses, compare each one with the client's standard terms, and check defined terms for consistency. On a busy day this queue grows faster than it shrinks. Senior lawyers then spend review time catching formatting slips and missed cross-references instead of the commercial points that need their judgement.
How the automation runs
- 1
Receive the draft
AI agentContracts sent to the matter inbox or uploaded to your document management system are picked up and linked to the correct client and matter.
- 2
Break it into clauses
AI agentThe agent identifies each clause, schedule and defined term, including in scanned copies, and builds a clause map your team can scan quickly.
- 3
Compare with your playbook
AI agentEvery key clause is compared with the fallback positions in your firm's playbook or the client's standard terms, and departures are listed with the exact wording.
- 4
Flag gaps and inconsistencies
AI agentIt notes missing clauses, undefined terms, wrong cross-references, stamp duty and execution details, and dates or amounts that do not agree across the document.
- 5
Prepare a marked-up copy
AI agentIt produces a tracked-changes draft and an issues list using your precedent language, ready for review rather than for sending.
- 6
Advocate decides
Professional checkAn advocate reads the issues list, accepts, edits or rejects each suggestion, and alone decides what goes back to the client or the other side.
Uses the documents and systems your team already keeps
The automation works with Word, your email and whatever document store you use, whether that is SharePoint, Google Drive, NetDocuments or a shared folder. It learns your preferred positions from the playbook, past marked-up contracts and a walkthrough with the lawyer who reviews them today. Nothing about your filing structure or templates has to change.
Legal judgement stays with your lawyers
The automation does not give legal advice and never sends a contract out on its own. Each run ends with an advocate from your firm reviewing the marked-up copy. Clauses it has not seen before, unusual governing law or anything outside the playbook are flagged as such rather than guessed at.
What you get
- First-pass reviews ready when the lawyer sits down
- Deviations from the playbook listed clause by clause
- Consistent mark-ups across associates and matters
- A record of each suggestion and the advocate's decision on it
Questions
What kinds of contracts can it review?
Any agreement your team reviews regularly against a known position, such as NDAs, service agreements, supply contracts, leases, employment agreements and loan documents. We start with the contract types that take most of your associates' time and add others once results on your past files match your lawyers' reviews.
Do we need a written playbook first?
It helps but is not required. Many firms keep their positions in senior lawyers' heads and in old mark-ups. We build the playbook with you from past reviewed contracts and a call with the reviewing lawyer, and you approve it before the automation uses it.
Does it replace the reviewing lawyer?
No. It handles the reading, comparing and drafting of a first mark-up. An advocate still reviews every contract, decides which points matter commercially and approves what goes out. The aim is that their time goes on judgement rather than on finding clauses.
How is client confidentiality handled?
Contracts are processed only for your firm, inside the tools and storage you already control wherever possible. Access is limited to the people you approve, and every run is recorded, so you can see which documents were opened, when and by whom.
How do we know the review is reliable?
Before it goes live, we run the automation on contracts your team has already reviewed and compare its issues lists with your lawyers' mark-ups. It switches on only when the results match, and anything outside the playbook is always flagged for a person rather than resolved.
More automations for Law firms
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- Client intake automation for law firms: conflicts, KYC and matter openingFrom web forms, calls and referrals to conflict checks, client KYC, engagement letters and matter opening, with a partner approving each new matter.Read more ›
In the tools you use
- Compliance calendar automation in ExcelFinaley keeps your legal compliance tracker in Excel current: it tracks filing deadlines and contract renewals, reminds owners and flags overdue items.Read more ›
- Legal client intake automation in GmailFinaley sorts new client emails in Gmail, collects documents, runs conflict checks and drafts the intake note, with an advocate reviewing every new matter.Read more ›
- Case status updates on WhatsApp for law firmsFinaley tracks hearing dates and case status for your matters and sends clients clear WhatsApp updates, reviewed by an advocate before they go out.Read more ›
Show us how your team does it.
Send a screen recording or book a call. We build it, test it on your past work, and only switch it on when the results match your team's.