Legal Budget
Budget Benchmarks: Where do you Stand?
Budget season approaches and the next few months will be a critical time to request and allocate resources for the year ahead.
Go from simply “keeping up” with contract management to leading the pack, with automation, data, and self-service tools to gain efficiency and innovation.
If you’ve made it to the Run phase of the ‘Crawl > Walk > Run’ roadmap, congratulations! Your legal team is no longer bogged down by scattered contracts or clunky workflows. By now, you’ve centralized your documents, streamlined approvals, and embraced e-signatures—allowing your contract management processes to feel seamless and organized.
But why stop there? The 'Run' phase is where legal teams go from simply “keeping up” to leading the pack, leveraging automation, data, and self-service tools to unlock new levels of efficiency and innovation. Imagine contracts practically managing themselves so your team can tackle high-value work that truly drives business success.
In this blog, we’ll show you how the Run phase transforms your Legal Department into a powerhouse of productivity and strategy.
The 'Run Phase': The Pinnacle of Contract Management
The Run phase builds on everything you’ve accomplished in the 'Crawl' and 'Walk' phases by adding advanced features that save time, scale operations, and maximize the impact of your legal team.
Here’s what the Run phase focuses on:
- Automation for routine contracts: Use tools to handle repetitive, high-volume agreements—NDAs, vendor contracts, and more.
- Empowerment through self-service: Allow business teams to create approved contracts without needing constant legal input.
- Insights through analytics: Harness contract data to increase visibility and refine organizational processes.
The result? Faster deals, fewer bottlenecks, and more time for your legal team to focus on the strategic work that matters most.
Why Automation is Key to Legal Innovation
By the time you reach the 'Run' phase, the bottlenecks of manual processes should be a thing of the past. But even efficient workflows have their limits if your legal team is overloaded with repetitive tasks. That’s where automation steps in to supercharge your contract management.
The Problem:
Routine contracts like NDAs and vendor agreements eat away at your team’s time. Manually drafting, reviewing, and signing high-volume, low-complexity contracts isn't just tedious—it’s inefficient.
The Solution:
Automating these tasks doesn’t mean cutting corners; it means freeing your team to prioritize what requires their expertise. Tools like automated templates and AI-powered contract systems allow agreements to be generated, reviewed, and even signed with minimal intervention. 
How to Succeed in the 'Run' Phase
Ready to take your contract management system to the next level? Here’s how to succeed:
- Automate High-Volume, Low-Complexity Contracts
- Identify the contracts your team handles most frequently, such as NDAs or supplier agreements.
- Use automated templates to pre-fill standard information and streamline review processes.
- Pro Tip: Start small, automating one contract type at a time to test effectiveness and adoption.
- Launch a Self-Service Portal
- Equip business teams with a self-service platform where they can generate pre-approved contracts within your Legal Department's guardrails.
- Example: Let the sales team fill in client contracts with pre-set terms and conditions. Where high-risk clauses come into play, ensure that these continue through to the Legal Department for review.
- Leverage Advanced Analytics
- Use dashboards and reporting tools to track contract performance metrics, such as turnaround times or contract volumes by type.
- Share insights with leadership to highlight your team’s contribution to business goals (and secure those future budget approvals!).
Case Example: Jac’s company introduced an automated contract template system and self-service portal for their marketing team. The result? Marketing’s requests for NDAs dropped by 70% as they generated their own agreements, freeing the Legal Department to focus on investor contracts and complex negotiations.
Big Wins in the Run Phase
When your Legal Department reaches the 'Run' phase, the impact is impossible to ignore. Here are the game-changing benefits:
- ✅ Faster Contract Turnaround: Contracts move through the system at lightning speed, thanks to automation and self-service.
- ✅ Operational Scalability: Your team handles higher volumes of contracts with zero increase in stress or overtime.
- ✅ Data-Driven Insights: Analytics provide visibility into your team’s performance and opportunities to refine processes further.
- ✅ Strategic Focus: Legal professionals can finally do what they do best—advise on big-picture strategy—instead of chasing down small routine contract details.
Common Concerns and How to Address Them
"Will automation lead to errors in contracts?"
Fear not! Automation tools typically work within pre-set parameters, which means fewer errors and greater consistency compared to manual processes.
"What if business teams misuse self-service tools?"
Most platforms allow legal teams to define strict templates with approved clauses. These safeguards ensure contracts meet compliance standards, no matter who creates them.
"Do we have the resources to invest in advanced tools?"
Automation doesn’t have to break the budget. Start with incremental changes—like automating one or two contract types—and scale as you demonstrate ROI.
Ready to Take Your Contract Management to the Next Level? Download the White Paper!
The journey to the Run phase is transformative—but it doesn’t end here. To learn more about how the ‘Crawl > Walk > Run’ roadmap can help your legal team scale with ease, efficiency, and innovation, download our white paper today! Packed with actionable insights, case studies, and detailed steps, this guide will help you claim the future of contract management.
