Explore Contract Management Pro for Legal Service Delivery

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 5 minutes to read
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    Summary of Explore Contract Management Pro for Legal Service Delivery

    Contract Management Pro for Legal Service Delivery streamlines the submission, review, finalization, and management of legal contract requests within ServiceNow. It centralizes contract handling for legal departments, enabling efficient processing and collaboration on various contract types, including non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and third-party contract reviews.

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    Key Features

    • Centralized Contract Request Management: Legal users and contract users can submit and manage contract requests from a single location.
    • Contract Library and Clause Management: Utilizes Contracts Core to manage a comprehensive library of clauses and clause variations.
    • Now Assist Integration: Assists in analyzing contracts for non-standard or missing clauses and extracts information to enrich the contract repository.
    • Configurable Workflows: Includes sample workflows for NDA requests and third-party contract reviews, supporting document generation, versioning, and dynamic content insertion.
    • Collaborative Review Process: Supports parallel and sequential review tasks assigned to various reviewer groups, with options for internal review, comments, redline acceptance, and real-time online collaboration.
    • Ad-Hoc Approvals and Signature Management: Facilitates stakeholder approvals and manages electronic signatures, including multi-document signing order and conditional resubmissions if changes are requested.
    • Document Storage and Version Control: Supports both internal and external storage options, maintaining document versions and linking signed contracts to legal request records.

    Typical Workflows

    • NDA Contract Request Workflow: Involves intake form submission, document generation from templates, contract editing, review cycles, approval, and signature collection with final storage.
    • Third-Party Contract Review Workflow: Enables uploading and classification of contracts, internal expert reviews, iterative feedback cycles with multiple revisions, stakeholder approvals, and electronic signing, followed by contract storage and accessibility.

    Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Improved Efficiency: Automates and centralizes legal contract processes, reducing manual effort and accelerating contract lifecycle management.
    • Enhanced Collaboration: Facilitates coordinated reviews among multiple stakeholders and legal experts, improving contract quality and compliance.
    • Better Control and Compliance: Maintains version history, supports clause management, and ensures contracts undergo necessary approvals and signatures before execution.
    • Seamless Integration: Leverages ServiceNow platform capabilities including Contracts Core and Now Assist to enrich contract data and automate contract analysis.
    • Accessible Contract Repository: Ensures all legal and contract stakeholders have easy access to finalized, signed contracts, stored either internally or externally.

    Learn more about Contract Management Pro for Legal Service Delivery through a sample workflow and review the benefits it can provide.

    Contract Management Pro for Legal Service Delivery benefits

    Table 1. Features and benefits of Contract Management Pro for Legal Service Delivery
    Benefit Feature Users
    Submit, review, finalize, and manage legal contract requests. The legal department can manage and process these submitted legal requests for contracts from a centralized location. Contract Management Pro for Legal Service Delivery
    • Legal user and contract user
    • Contract Management Pro for Legal Service Delivery fulfiller
    Contracts Core installed with Contract Management Pro for Legal Service Delivery enables you to effectively manage a library of clauses and clause variations. Contracts Core Contract configurator
    Use Now Assist in Contract Management to analyze contracts for non-standard and missing clauses, and extract information from signed contracts to add in the contract repository. Now Assist in Contract Management Now Assist contract fulfiller

    Non-disclosure agreement contract request workflow

    A sample workflow for a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) contract request might progress as follows:
    1. Legal configurator sets up the foundation data for submitting an NDA request. For more information, see Configure Contract Management Pro for Legal Service Delivery.
    2. Legal requester fills out the NDA intake request form.
    3. A contract request is initiated.
    4. Contract document is generated from a contract template and content is added dynamically per predefined conditions.
    5. Contract user edits the requests for any changes and creates a new version of the contract document using the Regenerate or Sync document option.
    6. The Contract requester views the contract document.
      1. If no changes are required, the document is sent for signature.
      2. If any changes are required, the contract requester submits a change request, which is sent to the contract fulfiller.
    7. Based on the change request, the contract fulfiller can take the following actions.
      1. The contract fulfiller initiates an internal review process.
        1. The contract fulfiller submits a review task for internal review.
          Note:
          You can create parallel review tasks for the same contract document for different reviewer groups. However, you cannot create a review task for the same document with the same reviewer group if another active task already exists.
        2. A contract reviewer group manager can assign the review task, or a contract reviewer can self-assign it.
        3. The assigned contract reviewer starts working on the contract document.
        4. If the information is incomplete, the contract reviewer requests more information from the contract fulfiller.
        5. If a request for more information was submitted, the contract fulfiller shares the information.
        6. The contract reviewer reviews the document, accept or reject redlines, proposes edits, and adds comments.
        7. The contract reviewer completes the review and shares the updated contract document if available.
        8. The contract fulfiller receives updated document and makes the necessary changes based on the feedback.
          • For internal storage - If any changes are required, a new document version is created after finalizing the document.
          • For external storage - Reviewers collaborate on the contract document revision online in real time. Once the review is complete, the fulfiller can finalize the contract document that is available online or create a new offline version with the changes.
      2. The contract fulfiller initiates an ad-hoc approval from the stakeholders. If the review reveals any required changes, the changes are made and a new document revision is created.
      3. Once the document is finalized, fulfiller sends document to requester.
    8. The contract requester previews the generated contract and, if no changes are required, sends it to the signatories.
    9. All signatories submit the required signatures.
    10. The signed contract is attached to the legal request record.
    11. If an external storage is configured, the signed contract is stored in it and referenced in the contract repository.

    Third-party contract review request workflow

    As a legal fulfiller on the legal team, you work on assigned third-party review requests by completing the following activities:
    1. The legal user creates a third-party contract review request.
    2. The legal user uploads a single or multiple contracts and their supporting documents and classifies them.
    3. The contract fulfiller reviews the contract document attached to the legal request.
    4. If necessary, the contract fulfiller reclassifies the contract and supporting documents.
    5. If an expert review or feedback is required from internal teams, the contract fulfiller initiates internal review process.
      1. The contract fulfiller submits a review task for internal review.
        Note:
        You can create parallel review tasks for the same contract document for different reviewer groups. However, you cannot create a review task for the same document with the same reviewer group if another active task already exists.
      2. The contract reviewer is assigned the review task
      3. If the information is incomplete, the contract reviewer requests more information from the contract fulfiller.
      4. If a request for more information was submitted, the contract fulfiller shares the information.
      5. The contract reviewer reviews the document, accept, reject, or proposes edits, and adds comments.
      6. The contract reviewer reviews the contract and provides feedback. If a revised document is available, it is also shared with the contract fulfiller.
      7. The contract fulfiller receives updated document and makes the necessary changes based on the feedback.
        • For internal storage - If any changes are required, a new document version is created after finalizing the document.
        • For external storage - Reviewers collaborate on the contract document revision online in real time. Once the review is complete, the fulfiller can finalize the contract document that is available online or create a new offline version with the changes.
    6. The contract fulfiller uploads the revised contract to the contract request.
    7. The contract fulfiller emails the revised contract document to third-party contacts.
    8. View responses from third-party contacts in the activity stream of the contract request.

      Multiple iterations of revisions between your company and the third party might be necessary before the contract document is finalized by all parties. The review process may be conducted again with different reviewer groups.

    9. The contract fulfiller initiates an ad-hoc approval from the stakeholders. If the review reveals any required changes, the changes are made and a new document revision is created. The contract document can be sent for signature only when it has been approved.
    10. The contract fulfiller prepares for signatures by specifying the order in case of multiple contract documents, adding fields required in case of e-signature and sends the contract document for signature.
    11. Signatories review the contract document.
      • If no change is required, the contract document is signed by all the signatories.
      • If any changes are required, signature is declined, the user who is working on the contract request generates a new document and resends it for signature.
    12. The signed contract is stored on the ServiceNow instance or an external storage system and referenced in the contract repository. The requester and department members can access the signed contract document from the contracts repository.