Organizations of all sizes have adopted contract lifecycle management (CLM) solutions to streamline internal contract processes “.. from the initiation stage through the award, compliance, and renewal.” While many organizations have found success in streamlining internal workflows, there are parts of the contract process that are not supported by the CLM in and of itself. Specifically, the phases where the internal legal teams need to interact with their counterparties.
Execution & Signature: Dozens of 3rd Party Solutions for eSignature
Here the team executes the agreement by capturing all the required signatures; it’s a critical, one-time action that finalizes the contract. Typically 3rd party eSignature solutions—DocuSign, Adobe, etc—are used. Neutrality is one reason why organizations continue to use these 3rd party tools instead of the built-in functionality found in some CLMs. The neutrality of these solutions means neither party is advantaged, forced to switch systems/tools, or has to compromise on their processes during the signature stage.
Negotiate & Redline: It’s just email 😕
In this stage, the internal team works with its counterparty to reach a consensus. It’s an iterative process that involves extensive back-and-forth communication, frequent exchange of redlines, and sometimes the collection of new documents. This phase requires a high degree of coordination to build trust, align on terms, and reach agreement.
Unlike the execution & signature stage, there’s a general lack of solutions to support the interactions between the counterparty and the internal team. Teams avoid the CLM’s proprietary tools due to a perceived lack of neutrality (and a preference for Microsoft Word). For communications and document exchange, the teams fall back to email despite all its security vulnerabilities, lack of version control, and overall inefficiency.
Improving counterparty interactions with TakeTurns
Just as e-signature solutions facilitate counterparty interactions during execution, TakeTurns supports both the internal team and counterparty while they work through negotiation & redlining. Instead of cluttered of email threads with attachments, the combined team uses a TakeTurns Flow™. It’s one place that contains all the content and communications related to contract negotiation. Within the flow, each party can share and request documents, exchange redlines, upload new versions, chat, or send notes. Keeping everything together makes it easy for both teams to find what they need, focus on the matters at hand, and reach out if questions or concerns arise. By keeping everything organized for everyone, miscommunication, and administrative costs are reduced, making the negotiation more efficient.
This is all made possible by the immutable ledger at the heart of each Flow™. The ledger logs each exchange of documents, redlines, or versions. This allows the parties to collaborate asynchronously, working at their own pace and using their preferred tools (e.g., Microsoft Word) without needing to worry about conflicting edits. Once the negotiation is complete, the ledger is used to automatically generate closing binders, preparing a final set of documents for execution, and comprehensive archives, with all document versions and communications, for records retention. In addition, the information in the ledger can be used to produce a complete audit trail of the entire process showing the evolution of the agreement, what was discussed, decided, and agreed to. This audit trail–called a recap in TakeTurns–can also be accessed during the negotiation (by any participant, or supervisor) to get a better understanding the state of the negotiation.
Overview of Key features for contract negotiation
Secure Redline Exchange
The parties exchange revisions and redlined documents when ready. Encryption and content expiration helps preserve confidentiality. TakeTurns is SOC2 Type 2 certified solution.
Version Tracking
TakeTurns retains the full history of revisions exchanged between the parties. Not only does this help everyone stay on the same page throughout the negotiation, it also minimizes confusion and errors that can occur when managing versions manually.
Audit Trails
Audit trails record every exchange of documents, redlines, versions, and document requests. This transparency helps in maintain accountability and ensures that there is a clear record of all activities undertaken throughout the negotiation process.
Participant Verification
The team defines who can participate, ensuring access is limited to those that are authorized. This control reduces the risk of accidental data disclosures and misdirected emails.
Document Collection Support
Streamlines the process of collecting necessary documents from counterparties. It provides tools for requesting, tracking, and organizing these documents, making it easier to compile all required information efficiently.
Live Chat & Async Messaging
Allows team to discuss and resolve issues in real-time or at their convenience. Keeping the negotiation communications and content together helps improves collaboration and reduces miscommunication.
Closing Binders & Archives
Generate closing binders, preparing a final set of document for execution, and comprehensive archives, with all document versions and communications, for records retention.
See all ongoing negotiations
Monitor the progress of all open negotiations. Managers can track progress of their direct reports.
TakeTurns extends your CLM
By leveraging these features, TakeTurns supports legal teams during those phases where they interact with counterparties, especially negotiation and redlining. It provides a more secure, efficient, and collaborative environment, which not only improves the quality of negotiations but also reduces the time and resources required to reach a final agreement. Its focus on transparency and accountability ensures that all parties remain aligned minimizing the risk of misunderstanding.
While TakeTurns is the perfect complement to your CLM, it’s also a tool that can be used for a wide range of legal, governance, regulatory, and compliance—deal prep, due diligence, audit processes, compliance (KYC), and exchange of confidential & private content.
Learn more with the following resources:
- TakeTurns for Contract Negotiation
- Top 5 problems email causes in contract negotiations
- Rethinking How to Work With Opposing Counsel
- eSignature is not enough: the rise of pre- and post-signature automation
Try TakeTurns: The Safer, Easier Way to Work with People Outside of Your Organization
TakeTurns is your one place to share, collect, and collaborate on business-critical documents and files with your clients, vendors, partners—or any external organization. It turns that clutter of emails, attachments, shared folders, and messages into a structured, secure, and transparent TakeTurns Flow. Ready to improve how you collaborate externally? Try TakeTurns for free.
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