Contract review is often regarded as an annoying and unnecessary step on the way to finalizing a contract. If you work in the legal field, you can agree that as annoying as it is, it’s definitely necessary. Still, the task is often so monotonous that you quickly go into autopilot. Your brain starts to lag, and it can take you hours to review one contract. Besides, we’re all susceptible to human error.

These are all problems that can be solved by technology. Not only is AI faster than us, but it is also not susceptible to human error. Contract review automation can save you lots of time and increase accuracy. The best part is, you’re still in control, as you have to approve all the changes suggested by AI. Therefore, you should combine your personal work with AI to achieve the best possible results.

What is contract review?

Contract review refers to proofreading and editing legal contracts. The need for contract review comes from the fact that humans make mistakes. Unfortunately, it is impossible to write a perfect contract from scratch. Even though we rarely write from scratch anymore, we still need help with certain details.

Say you’re using a template, for example. You still need to check all the new details you’ve filled in, which requires reading over the whole text again. Doing all of that manually is much harder than it needs to be. With the rise of software solutions like loio.com, you can finally automate contract review.

The purpose of the contract review is to point out any mistakes and inconsistencies in personal information, as well as terms and conditions, terminology, and tone. Inconsistencies often result from several people working on the same document.

Anyone can make silly mistakes without realizing it. These silly mistakes can cause problems in the future, give one party an unfair advantage, or even deem the contract invalid. With contract review, you can foresee these mistakes and fix them.

What to look for in contract review?

Reviewing contracts is not easy to do. You have to exhibit great attention to detail and know where to look. Here are some things that can easily escape your eyes when reviewing a contract.

Mistakes in important details

When you’re working with a template, it’s easy to make mistakes in important details. Because it’s a template you’ve already used before, it’s harder to spot these mistakes without reading the whole contract over and over again. Details like bank account numbers, addresses, names, and phone numbers are often overlooked. It’s very easy to miss a number or write it twice by accident.

Spotting these mistakes is not as simple as reading over the contract once or twice. You need to identify all the important details and double-check their correctness. Knowing that the phone number you wrote has the right number of digits is not enough. You must confirm all the digits are correct.

Formatting

You might not be the only person who’s gotten their hands on the contract. It could’ve gone through a number of writers and editors, who have all left their mark. Because of that, the formatting might not be consistent. Even if you’re editing your own work, you could’ve missed a bullet point or used the wrong font in one of the sections.

Formatting mistakes are difficult to spot even after a few re-reads. The problem is that once your brain goes into proofreading mode, it can’t as easily switch to looking out for errors in formatting. At the same time, it’s incredibly important to have consistent formatting all throughout the contract. Inconsistencies look messy and may even put your authority or the authority of the contact under question.

There’s a solution that doesn’t require checking the document word by word. Using software like loio.com, you can get some help in pointing out these mistakes. The program highlights all the errors and even suggests ways to fix them. You can make these changes with just one click. You don’t have to go through the document yourself; the software does the job for you! All you have to do is approve the changes.

Terminology

Whoever wrote the contract, there are chances that some things are unclear even after review. Anything that’s unclear may lead to problems in the future and even put the validity of the contract under question. Thus, if you want to make sure the contract you’re working on gets approval from all sides, you have to check the terminology.

Terminology mostly refers to technical terms related to the field in which the contract has been made. Some fields that are notorious for having their own, often complex, terminology are healthcare, science, and technology. A person who is not familiar with a needed field will most likely struggle with such technical writing.

The job of the contract reviewer is to make sure all the terminology is used correctly and makes sense within the context. Terminology that isn’t used correctly can create confusion when the contract is in effect.

Terms and conditions

The terms and conditions are arguably the most important part of the contract. That’s where the two parties outline what each party’s responsibilities and obligations are. If the terms and conditions section contains confusing information, both parties will suffer the consequences when it comes down to it.

Information can easily be misinterpreted. The goal of a contract review tool is to prevent that. The contract writer needs to be as clear as possible and avoid any vague terms, especially in the terms and conditions section. In the process of reviewing the contract, you can pinpoint any inconsistencies and return the contract for renegotiation. After it’s signed, there’s not much you can do.

So, why does contract review matter?

Contract review is necessary for many reasons. For starters, humans make mistakes. At the very least, you will spot some grammar mistakes upon reviewing the contract. While grammar mistakes can make you look unprofessional, errors in important details can deem the contract unusable. If the contract is not sufficiently clear, it can become the basis for disputes between the parties.

With contract review, you can avoid problems in the future and make sure that everybody gets what they are looking for!