CPM Savings Debut with LawGood
Drafting contracts is labor-intensive and time-consuming work. It often requires reference to practice resources that can be expensive. As a result, it can be really difficult for lawyers to service cost-conscious clients without significantly discounting their rates or losing money.
As part of our new CPM Savings program, we are piloting an extended trial with Lawgood, a legal tech company that makes it faster and easier for lawyers to draft market-driven contracts.
Lawgood was founded by two lawyers, Gina Pak and Liam Moriarty, who wanted to build a product that was intuitive for lawyers to use. They also wanted to make quality practice resources widely available. When they left their jobs at big law firms and academic institutions, they quickly realized that most practice resources were inaccessible to them. This made their work incredibly challenging. For the products that were accessible, they were difficult to use and built by non-lawyers.
“There wasn’t a drafting tool that was built for solo and boutique firm practices,” Liam said. “The drafting products that I tried required me to upload precedents that I didn’t have, and then learn a confusing process just to get started.”
Lawgood takes a completely different approach. When drafting with Lawgood’s Contract Workbench, a lawyer starts with a draft that is already tailored to her client’s position. No need for a precedent or a template.
The tool then makes it easy for the lawyer to edit the contract. For commonly negotiated clauses (e.g., indemnification), the lawyer can adjust the clause language with just a push of a button. This allows the lawyer to use her expertise without wasting time digging through precedents for sample language.
Once the lawyer is finished making edits, the contract is downloaded directly into Microsoft Word. “We wanted to keep it as easy as possible,” Liam explained.
In addition to making it easier for lawyers to do the substantive work of drafting, Lawgood provides lawyers with hard-to-access data on market standards, industry trends, and best practices.
“An understanding of market standards for particular industries and locations increases the value a lawyer can provide to her clients,” Gina said. Lawgood provides lawyers with insight on how other contracts in similar positions have drafted or negotiated important clauses. That insight can then be used to strategize, negotiate, and advise clients.
As part of our CPM Savings program pilot partnership with Lawgood they are offering a limited number of NCBA members 6-months free access to Contract Workbench in exchange for feedback. If you have any questions or comments, you can contact Lawgood directly at [email protected] .