The Contract Lens Podcast
By Malbek
The Contract Lens PodcastNov 16, 2022
Envision Live! The Top Three Redlining Practices for Smarter Negotiations
In this episode, we feature our keynote speaker from Envision 2022: Nada Alnajafi. Nada is an award-winning in-house attorney, blogger, and author. She currently serves as Corporate Council at Franklin Templeton and is the founder of Contract Nerds, a legal blog all about contracts for contract professionals around the world. The focus of this episode is on contract redlining etiquette, as she goes through her book and the top three tips for leveraging the power of red lines for faster and smarter contract negotiations. So, grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Creating a Community in Legal Tech
Buckle up! We are taking a deep dive into community! For today's episode, Colin Levy- Director of Legal and Evangelist at Malbek- is joined by fellow LinkedIn influencer, lawyer, and entrepreneur Flo Nicolas. Flo begins by exploring what community really means and what you have to do to build an authentic and engaging brand. Focusing on how legal tech extends past just the "lawyers" and "contract managers", the conversation then covers Flo's path into legal tech and how she became interested in social media. They then cover the trials and tribulations of social media and share some tips on how to improve your presence and build a community of your own. So now it's time to relax, grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts.
Supporting Hypergrowth With Contract Management
Today's episode is all about growth. Specifically, how our customer Pantheon leveraged Malbek's robust analytics, seamless integrations, and self-configurable solution to achieve stunning results for Legal that helped to grow the business in a meaningful, measurable way. Today's guests are Ronak Ray, GC of Pantheon, and Taeler Gannuscia, Product Marketing Manager at Malbek. Beginning with the challenges Pantheon faced pre-Malbek, Ronak shares how a CLM solution that is ready to scale and grow from the get-go was a defining attribute they needed. The conversation then shifts to how to get buy-in from stakeholders across the business- not just from Legal. Touching on the results of implementing Malbek, Ronak shares how AI functionality, no-code integrations, and contract automation made it easy to scale with the hypergrowth Pantheon is (and continues to) experiencing to this day. So now it's time to relax, grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts.
The Technology Fueling Legal DEI Initiatives
We begin season three of the Contract Lens with Taeler Gannuscia, Product Marketing Manager at Malbek, and Omar Sweiss, Founder and CEO of JusticeBid, as they explore the state of DEI in the legal sphere, what JusticeBid does, and what it takes to build a strong DEI initiative. Omar begins the conversation with how JusticeBid is a little like the Justice League of Legal. Noting that it only takes a little courage to spur change, he dives into how and why he began JusticeBid. Omar then explains what intersectionality is and why JusticeBid has taken it into account to strengthen DEI. And since transparency builds trust, Omar wraps up with how to best build value through relationships when choosing who to work with. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
The Do's and Don'ts of CLM Implementation
On today's episode of The Contract Lens Podcast Jaime Slocum, VP of Customer Success at Malbek, is joined by Stephanie Cox-Connolly, Malbek customer and Contracts Manager at Benchmark Education, to get to know the do's and don'ts of implementing a CLM. Beginning with the do's, Stephanie defines the three main pillars to pay attention to when implementing contracts: process, stakeholders, and buy-in. She explains the fine balance between stakeholder input and roll-out efficiency, and how to maintain that balance. Stephanie then shares best practices for before, during, and after implementing a CLM solution. It's all about communication, managing change, and prep! So, grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Risk Vs. Revenue: Contracts as a Tool for Revenue
On today's episode of The Contract Lens Podcast Hemanth Puttaswamy, CEO and Co-founder of Malbek, is joined by David (Ledge) Ledgerwood, Managing Partner at Add1Zero and podcast host, to explore how contracts can be used as a tool for revenue. To kick off the conversation, David explains why companies who don’t manage their contracts appropriately face a lot of friction (and risk) for their revenue ops team. Revenue drives everything, and so do contracts, so he dives deep into how you can speed your deal cycle with a little help from a contract management system. David then explores how AI can smooth your deal cycle and add value to the contract process in a way that benefits Sales, Legal, and Finance teams. Reflecting on his experiences, David shares his top four traits of a perfect CLM solution for revenue ops teams. Hint: collaboration, speed, and integrations all play a part! So, grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Uniting the Enterprise Around Actionable Metrics
On today's episode of The Contract Lens Podcast we have an excerpt from our Legalweek 2022 discussion with Ronak Ray, General Council at Pantheon, and Malbek Customer, as he explores how to use metrics in an actionable and impactful way. Ronak begins by sharing how his organization uses a CLM to align contract management practices to business targets, and what Legal does to support this role. Then, he discusses how to conduct a holistic needs assessment to identify CLM goals. Ronak dives deeper with metrics and KPIs by sharing which ones to track to help define your success. Finally, Ronak shares his experience as a Malbek customer and how having the right CLM solution in place can unite the enterprise and improve business outcomes. So, grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Former GC Of L'Oréal: Ask Me Anything
Conversation with the Author of CLM Simplified
On today's episode of The Contract Lens Podcast Lucy Bassli, Founder and Principal at InnoLaw Group, is joined by Becky Holloway, VP of Marketing at Malbek, to explore the core points from Lucy’s newest book CLM Simplified: Efficient Contracting for Law Departments. Lucy dives into her newest book by explaining a key theme: what it means to have an over-functional Legal team. Citing reasons for mistrust between business and Legal teams, she then goes over ways to better align Legal with business teams and organizational goals. Lucy goes a step further and explains why it’s best to keep Legal out of the contract lifecycle as much as you can except for the negotiation phase. To wrap up, Lucy shares where CLM technologies can have the greatest impact. So, grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Building a Business Ecosystem with Contract Methodology
On today’s episode we are joined by Arjen Van Berkum, Chief strategy Wizard at CATS CM, a Dutch contract management methodology company, to discuss how contract management is key to being part of a business ecosystem. The conversation kicks off with Arjen describing how a contract can be a business asset not a risk if managed properly. He then points out how no company works in a void, and how contract management is a key way to assess and build your business ecosystem. Arjen touches on how a solid methodology can serve as a common language for all stakeholders and can help you navigate people, process, and regulation. So, grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Envision Live! Contract Management Power Panel
For Envision 2021, we brought together five contract experts, Steph Corey - Co-founder of UpLevels Ops, Lucy Bassli - Founder and Principal at InnoLaw Group, Colin McCarthy - CEO and Founder of Legal Operators, Jason Smith - Chair, Corporate Counsel Section of the State Bar of Texas, and Teju Deshpande - Principal of Deloitte’s Legal Business Services practice, to tackle the biggest questions in contract management. The debate was intense, flags were thrown, and words did fly! The debate begins with "process": what it is and why its so important for your success. Then, the game gets heated with a "discussion" of the term non-lawyer and the impacts the lawyer vs. non-lawyer debate has. The conversation then shifts to how to continually improve your process with technology and innovation. Finally, the panel discuss the need for community in the contract management space and why change is needed to help include others and expand viewpoints. So, grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Filling in the Gaps for Procurement Contracting
In today’s episode, James Meads, Managing Partner at James Meads Consulting and podcast host, shares the gaps in contract management that procurement faces and how to bridge them. James introduces the unique challenges that procurement encounters when it comes to contracts. From third-party paper to the lack of Procurement involvement in Procurement activities, James describes the four major challenges that Procurement teams face when managing contracts. Focusing on the issue of third-party paper, he explains how procurement is at a loss without a way to confidently review a contract. James then shares how things like a strong CLM solution and AI functionality can help solve these challenges. Wrapping up with his take on the future, he describes how Procurement is evolving (and why companies need to pay more attention to their Procurement teams!). So, grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Using Technology as an Organizational Tool
On today’s episode we discuss how to use technology and data to better achieve organizational goals. The conversation is led by Colin Levy, legal tech influencer and Director of Legal and Evangelist at Malbek, and Taeler Gannuscia, Product Marketing Manager at Malbek. Beginning with one of his LinkedIn posts, Colin explains that technology is a tool for professionals to reach their goals. Tech can unlock data and offer valuable insights, but it all comes down to how people use it within their processes. Colin then explains how legal technology a tool for building collaborative relationships with other business functions and spearheading digital transformation across the organization. Colin finishes up by offering advice on how to be a data-driven technology advocate. So, grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
The Past, Present, and Future Role of CLM
On today’s episode, Mark Ross, Principal in Deloitte Tax LLP’s Legal Business Services practice, is joined by Taeler Gannuscia, Product Marketing Manager at Malbek, to explore the role of a CLM in an organization and how it helps business users manage the entire lifespan of a contract to create the most value. Mark begins by discussing why a CLM is necessary in today’s world. He explores how, since contracts go beyond legal and are the lifeblood of a business, technology is an enabler for all stakeholders. He shares how an organization can work to crumble the walls between stakeholders and his top three ingredients for a successful CLM implementation. Then, Mark shifts the conversation to how applying CLM technologies in the right way can help you to manage your contracts post-signature. He ties it all together by looking into his metaphorical crystal ball and sharing where he thinks the CLM industry is headed next. So, grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
How to Renovate your Contracting Process for Agility
On today’s episode, Linda Tonkes, Author and Managing Director at CM Partners, is joined by Gary Zuder, VP of Sales at Malbek, to discuss the impact of pre- and post-award contract management on organizational agility. Linda shares how contracts are nothing without context before signing and the actions you take after signing. She describes the steps you should take in the pre-award phase to ensure success and then explains why you need to expect change and who to involve so you can adapt quickly. Knowing contracting is a cycle, not a linear process, Linda then wraps up the discussion by sharing how renovating a kitchen is like getting started with contracts. Hint: it’s all about who you are building for! So, grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
How to Give Procurement Contracting a Facelift
On today’s episode of the Contract Lens, Anne Moore, Senior Solution Consultant at Malbek, discusses how to transform the way you do contracts for Procurement with Karthik Rama, a contract management expert and transformation leader in the procurement space. Karthik is known as the Procurement Doctor for a reason, as he begins by explaining how contract management is like the nervous system of procurement. He continues the conversation by using his experiences to denote the common problems Procurement faces with contracts, and how technology can work to solve them. Since Procurement is so different from other teams, Karthik describes ways to align Legal and Procurement for success. Finishing the discussion on a strong note, he shares how people, process, data, and technology can be combined to ensure continued success and efficiency.
How to Keep Your Sanity With Crazy Legal Workloads
In this episode of The Contract Lens Podcast, Lee Hoang, Account Executive at Malbek, chats with Basha Rubin, co-founder and CEO of Priori Legal, about leveraging contract overflow support to effectively scale to your legal needs. The conversation kicks off with Basha explaining what contract overflow support is and how it can be a much more cost-effective way to scale. Flexibility is key, so Basha also touches on how legal support can create efficiency for your legal department. She then describes the signs that you may need to consider legal support services and higher a general council. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Why Your CLM Must Work Well With Others
Kicking off season two, Matt Patel, COO and Co-founder of Malbek, chats with Ed Klaris and Alex Akers of KlarisIP on how important it is to have a CLM that integrates with other business applications. When it comes to how contracts are handled, it can seem like Legal is at odds with other business teams. Alex and Ed discuss how using the right CLM and integrations smooths out friction and can bridge the gap between different parts of the business. The conversation shifts to specific departments and the pain points they face without the right integrations. Rounding out the episode, Alex and Ed discuss how having visibility into obligations and data is critical for business function and why integrating properly can be a game changer for your organization. Teamwork makes the dream work and that is no exception for CLM solutions! So, grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Ways to Make Contract Management More Efficient
On today’s episode Brad Wires from the Malbek Sales team chats with Pepe Toriello, Founder and CEO of Red de Firmas, about how to make the contract management process more efficient. Beginning with the most common problems, Pepe breaks down the contracting cycle and explains what pitfalls can occur at each step. Using examples from his experience as a legal consultant, he then explains how knowing your process and what you want from it is the important first step in creating efficiency. He highlights CLM features, like strong search functionality and AI as a springboard, as among the best ways to streamline the approval process. There are more than just approvals to make more efficient though, so he also shares which KPIs are important to pay attention to for monitoring efficiency and what insights they can bring about your contract process as a whole. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Digital Contracting and Transformation for Legal
Today's episode of The Contract Lens Podcast features an insightful conversation between Malbek Director of Sales, Kevin Brening, and Managing Director at Valenta BPO, Richard Nohe, as they discuss how digital transformation is impacting in-house legal departments today. Having recently published a paper called "Digital Contracting in the Context of Digital Transformation", Richard brings a deep understanding of the issues facing legal departments in the age of digital transformation. He acknowledges the tension that inevitably exists since technology is inherently forward focused and legal is backward focused on historical precedent. But despite those tensions, legal no longer has a choice to delay from analog and manual methods, and there is great benefit to be gained in efficiencies and off-loading tedious tasks that pull away from more strategic work. Richard makes the case for why legal should align with the broader goals of the business and why AI should really be called "augmented intelligence", and he concludes with his advice for those organizations embarking on a digital transformation journey. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Who Owns Contracts?
In this episode of The Contract Lens Podcast, Gary Zuder, VP of Sales at Malbek, chats with Jason Smith, Managing Director at Elevate Services, about the provocative question: who owns contracts? With the tongue and cheek answer of “it depends”, Jason starts off by explaining the processes that feed into contracts and what Finance, Sales, Procurement, and Legal all need from their contracting process. He describes how contracts are assets to the whole company and, since every company is different, should be treated differently depending on your needs. There are more owners to contracts than most people think, so Jason shares how technology can be the enabler to unite the needs of every stakeholder for your contracts and where to start with technology. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Free & Low-cost Resources for Selecting the Right CLM
In this episode of The Contract Lens Podcast, Lee Hoang, Account Executive at Malbek, chats with Katy Werner, Managing Director of Legal Transformation Solutions at Epiq, about the low or no-cost resources that are out there to help a company select a CLM. Katy begins by sharing what free resources are out there to help narrow down the CLM universe, and what challenges and pitfalls you might encounter with these resources. Not every organization needs a full consultancy approach, so the conversation then shifts to low-cost resources and what insights that they can provide. Katy then describes what to expect from the process and how to develop objectives for making your CLM journey a successful and productive endeavor. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Simplifying Contracts with AI and Legal Tech
In this episode of The Contract Lens Podcast, Matt Patel, COO and co-founder at Malbek, chats with Kingsley Martin, President & CEO at KMStandards and Chief Contract Scientist at Akorda, about simplifying contract review with the help of technology. Kingsley begins with the analogy of how AI is the MRI of the contracting world; an indispensable tool in understanding contracts beyond the surface. Touching on how AI can improve efficiencies, he explains how technology is a necessary supplement for today’s modern Legal professional. Kingsley then discusses the future direction of Legal tech and what that could mean for the contract management world. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
User Adoption and Contract Management
On today's episode of the Contract Lens Podcast, Jaime Slocum, VP of Customer Experience at Malbek, chats with Sumi Trombley, Senior Legal Operations Consultant at UpLevelOps, about user adoption in contract management. Sumi begins by sharing that you should never stop thinking about user adoption, treating it as a continual process from the very beginning. The conversation then leads to how communication with your internal stakeholders as well as your vendors is critical for successful adoption. Sumi shares ways of making your stakeholders feel heard and how to show them the “what’s in it for me” benefits. She then explains how solutions need to be continually nurtured and how having a champion will help you achieve success with a CLM solution. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Where Data Security and Contracts Meet
On today's episode of the Contract Lens Podcast, Hemanth Puttaswamy, CEO and co-founder at Malbek, and Caroline McCaffery, CEO & Founder of ClearOPS, discuss the intersection of data security and contracts. Caroline begins by introducing some of the many acronyms in data security and explaining where they come from and what they mean for you. She further explains some of the most common data security sticking points in the contract negotiating process and touches on how to align IT and legal so that data security is reflected in your legal documents. Using real world examples, Caroline outlines what your policies should look like to ensure that they drive the correct behavior and are actually followed. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Expanding Diversity With Legal Tech
On today's episode of The Contract Lens Podcast Becky Holloway, VP of Marketing at Malbek, chats with Omar Sweiss, Founder and CEO of JusticeBid, about e-auctions and diversity – two topics that might seem unrelated but are deeply connected. Omar begins by explaining the pain points of procuring legal services and how e-auctions can help alleviate these troubles. Using his experiences as a springboard, he dispels common myths about the e-auction world. Omar also describes how Legal as a community is becoming more curious about and willing to adopt new technology to drive value. Omar continues the conversation by sharing how e-auction technology, like JusticeBid, is helping to increase diversity in legal firms and law departments by taking down systemic barriers and creating sustainable change. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Friction in the CLM Process
In this episode of The Contract Lens Podcast, Anne Moore, Senior Solution Consultant at Malbek, chats with Paul Branch, CTO at World Commerce and Contracting, about friction points within the contracting process. Paul begins by explaining what a friction point is and the negatives as well as the unexpected benefits that can result from them. Then, using fresh research from WCC as well as his extensive experience, he describes how bringing process, people, and technology together can help reduce the negative friction points within the CLM process. Paul also shares how a quality CLM solution that offers agility and contract automation can further help reduce the costs associated with friction in the contract management process, and what to look at to prove the benefits. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
What Contract Automation Can Do For You
In this episode of The Contract Lens Podcast, Matt Patel, COO and Co-founder at Malbek, chats with Alistair Maiden, CEO of Syke, about the benefits of contract automation. Alistair starts by sharing how contract automation can “oil the wheels” of the contract process by reducing the legal blocks and decrease contract cycle time. Using examples from his personal experience, he shares how contract automation can reduce the need for legal review, increase efficiency, and provide savings across an organization. Alistair then explains how what is in a contract is just as important as what’s not in the contract, and how contract automation coupled with AI can identify key risk areas of a contract and standardize the review process. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
The Value of Legal Operations
In this episode of The Contract Lens Podcast, Dan Sloan, a Senior Account Executive at Malbek, talks with Colin McCarthy, CEO and Founder of Legal Operators about the value that legal operations can provide back to the business. Colin lays out the five pillars that underpin the legal operations role: process, legal tech, spend optimization, data analysis, and diversity. He talks about the ways he has seen legal operations evolve over the years and transition into a highly collaborative core function within business, touching other critical areas, like sales operations and revenue operations. Colin highlights the key problems that legal tech can help solve for legal operations professionals and shares the origin story of his own growing community, Legal Operators. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Managing Change with Contract Change Management
In this episode of The Contract Lens Podcast, Matt Patel, COO and Co-founder at Malbek, chats with Lauryn Haake, Founder and President of Qualitas Consulting Group, about contract change management. Lauryn begins by pointing out that there are risks inherent whether changing or not changing, and success relies on careful analysis of the impacts either of those choices may have. She then shares that the biggest risk with change is leaving others behind, and organizations need to manage their change in a way that fits the style of the organization. Lauryn explains the importance of engaging and empowering employees throughout times of change and illustrates how the human factor, not just the capabilities of the technology being introduced, is what determines if the change will be successful. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
The Complete Guide to the RFP Process
On today's episode of the Contract Lens Podcast, Kevin Brening, Director of Sales at Malbek, and Adam Selsby, CTO at JusticeBid, cover everything you need to know about the RFP process from both the buyer and the supplier viewpoints. They discuss why it's so important to invite the right players to participate (if you're buying apples, don't go to someone selling bananas) and why you should consider starting with demos before even issuing the RFP to narrow the playing field. Adam explains why some RFPs end up looking a bit like Frankestein's monster and how to prevent that from happening. He also laments the role that PowerPoint has had in making RFPs way too long and how best to stand out from the pack. At the end of the day, RFPs are all about value and a good one is truly an art form. If you've ever completed an RFP or had to issue one, you won't want to miss this episode. So grab a glass of wine and let's talk contracts!
How to Build the Business Case for Contract Management
On today's episode of the Contract Lens Podcast, Gary Zuder, VP of Sales at Malbek, chats with Matt Linder, Senior Manager for Stout's Legal Management Consulting practice, about how to build the business case for contract management. Matt begins by explaining how creating several "flavors" of the business case improve the effectiveness and cohesiveness within an organization. Matt shares the who, what, and how that goes into a business case and the best ways to appeal to all facets of the business impacted by contracts. Using anecdotes from his experiences defining business requirements, he points out that the best business cases go way beyond cost benefits to align with business goals. He also dives into the pains, gains, and fears that push companies to buy and how to show that a CLM solution can help solve these problems. So grab a glass of wine – or beer in this case – and let's talk contracts!
Everything You Need to Know about Contract Data Migration
On today's episode of The Contract Lens Podcast Allison Martyn, a Business Analyst at Malbek, talks with Samir Bhatia, CEO at Brightleaf Solutions, about everything you need to know when migrating your legacy contracts. Samir walks through the practical steps involved when you're staring at boxes of paper contracts or files in a share drive and need to get them into a new CLM system. He explains what OCR is and why contract migration will never involve just passing a bunch of files to a consultant and getting back a spreadsheet. He also gives his best recommendation for when to start thinking about contract migration and why data extraction is the most cumbersome part of the whole process. You'll want to listen to this gem of an episode full of great advice for any company contemplating contract migration, especially for Samir's story about migrating a handwritten contract in cursive from 1862! So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Why Self-service Matters with Contract Management
On today's episode of The Contract Lens Podcast Matt Patel, COO and Co-founder of Malbek, chats with Julie Riese, a seasoned proposal and contracts professional. As someone who manages the day-to-day activities of proposals and the contract lifecycle for her entire company’s business units, Julie is well-versed in all things contracts – from authoring, evaluation, and workflow, to approvals, negotiations, and milestone management. Her practical, hands-on experience gives her a unique perspective into what works and what doesn’t. The conversation touches on the evolution of contract management tech from the clunky software of yesteryear to the elegance users can enjoy today. And Julie shares how your contract management solutions should be like Legos, not cement. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
The Contract Metrics Every Legal Department Should Be Tracking
On today's episode of The Contract Lens Podcast Becky Holloway, VP of Marketing at Malbek, chats with Lucy Bassli, Founder and Principal at InnoLaw Group, about the contract metrics every legal department should be tracking. Lucy begins by pointing out that when it comes to contracts, domain expertise is essential. However, many lawyers tend to be cautious about legal tech and this is equally problematic. She gives her best tips for helping legal professionals overcome that fear and keep from being left behind. At the same time, she urges Legal Ops to realize that tech is not always the answer. With her infectious good humor and energy, Lucy dispels some of the biggest legal tech hype out there (no, robo lawyers are not coming for your jobs!) and shares very practical advice on what top 3 metrics every legal department needs to know like the back of their hand. Hint: the ultimate goal for legal departments is to use contract data to inform substantive decision-making. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Trends in Legal Tech
Today's episode of The Contract Lens Podcast features Co-founder and COO of Malbek, Matt Patel, joined by Lourdes Slater, Founder and CEO of Karta Legal, as they discuss some of the latest trends in legal tech. With a wealth of experience as a litigator, technologist, and process improvement expert, Lourdes provides candid commentary on how the pandemic has forever disrupted digital transformation in the legal world. She points out that tech is part of your "lawyerly duties," but encourages listeners to first start with a clear legal tech and innovation roadmap before selecting any vendors. Lourdes emphatically makes the case for why law firms, not just in-house legal teams, should embrace contract management software, and she shares her perspective on the traits that are essential for effective Legal Ops professionals. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
Where Do I Start with Contract Management Technology?
In this episode of The Contract Lens Podcast, Dan Sloan, a Senior Account Executive at Malbek, talks with Craig Conte, Partner at Deloitte Legal about where to start when selecting your contract management technology. With his signature good humor, Craig shares client experiences that can help guide you on your journey. Recognizing that CLM solutions are a critical part of speeding revenue in the door, Craig points out that the contract is primarily a business document, not a legal one. This means that how it impacts the business, from Sales to Procurement to IT, is vital, and the burden on legal can be alleviated by technology. Craig shares why the user experience of a CLM system matters to user adoption, and he provides practical suggestions for where to start internally before you even begin looking at tools. Craig suggests involving the right people in the "dating" process of selecting a CLM solution and advises starting small to gain success in one group before expanding to other departments. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
The Intersection of Legal and Contract Management
In this episode of The Contract Lens Podcast, Allison Martyn, a Malbek Business Analyst, talks with Edo Bar-Gil, CEO at Lawflex Designed Solutions about the intersection of legal and contract management. They start by discussing the competing requirements that contract stakeholders sometimes have even within the same organization and the consequences of not involving all the right people from the get-go. Edo shares how vital "needs mapping" is and underscores why you have to be honest and candid during that process, however uncomfortable it may be. He explores why understanding legal terms is necessary for contract professionals even though they may not have a law background, and conversely he advocates for legal learning the language of business. At the end of the day, the goals are the same — mitigate risk and increase revenue. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
What Can AI Do For Contracting?
In this episode of The Contract Lens Podcast, Malbek CEO Hemanth Puttaswamy talks with Teju Deshpande, Founder and CEO of Oya Solutions, about AI and its impact on legal tech broadly and contract management specifically. Their conversation covers the evolution of AI from a standalone extraction tool to a platform play that is AI-first (like Malbek!). They discuss what AI actually is and whether it's coming to replace the legal team (hint: it's not!). They get real about the current limitations of AI (like looking at more than one document at a time) and share what it's really good at doing and where it can help transform your contract management experience. So grab a glass of wine, and let's talk contracts!
The Need for Legal Operations
Welcome to the very first episode of The Contract Lens Podcast hosted by Malbek. Today's guest is Stephanie Corey, Co-founder of UpLevels Ops and a long-time legal ops veteran. This episode is all about the pivotal role of legal operations and we kick it off by defining what legal operations is and why it's needed. Stephanie shares tips for smaller legal departments that don't yet have someone in the legal ops role and makes recommendations for the traits you should be looking for when you are ready to hire your first legal ops professional. We cover why Legal should pay attention to employees' "work joy" and which metrics they should be focusing on to measure the positive impact of legal ops on the business. So let's relax, grab a glass of wine, and talk contracts!