Contracting hacks for first legal hires
Are you first legal hire and completely overwhelmed by the appalling state of your commercial contracts & processes?
Don't worry - I've been there.
The chronic workplace stress we get as a result of this chaos is especially bad for first-time legal hires.
But also, people forget that lawyers aren't robots and have to look after our mental health too.
I've put together this list of hacks you can get cracking on from day one to help you:
✔ Move fast
✔ Negotiate confidently
✔ Help the business generate revenue faster
✔ Most importantly - preserve your mental health
1. Build a Legal Team Playbook
Your first priority should be creating a comprehensive legal playbook that covers all your negotiation positions. This becomes your survival guide for consistent decision-making under pressure.
Include your must-haves, nice-to-haves, hard no's, fallbacks, and acceptable concessions. Build this per clause, starting with the critical stuff first: indemnities, limitation of liability, and intellectual property provisions. Add a clause library with relevant language that reflects all these positions.
Pro tips: Build this ASAP in Excel, then power it with AI tools when you're ready to scale. Better yet, consider outsourcing the initial build to an Alternative Legal Service Provider (ALSP) to get it done faster and more comprehensively.
2. Build a Comments Playbook
Always add comments explaining your changes, especially for dealbreaker clauses. Your future self (and your sales team) will thank you when you're not scrambling to remember why you made specific edits during a heated negotiation.
Keep sample language in your legal playbook for each clause type so you can cut and paste quickly. This consistency helps build trust with counterparties who see the same professional approach across all your deals. When you're ready for legal tech, AI can handle much of this commenting automatically.
Pro tips: Start building this in Excel immediately, then upgrade to AI-powered tools as your volume grows. ALSPs can also help create comprehensive comment libraries based on your specific negotiation style.
3. A Word on NDAs
NDAs get a bad rap (often with good reason), but they're actually your secret weapon for building relationships with the sales team. They're quick to review, and 90% of the time they don't need redlining, so you can turn them around fast.
Use NDAs strategically to build legal's reputation for speed and responsiveness. This goodwill becomes invaluable when you're working through end-of-quarter pressure and need the sales team to trust your judgment on more complex deals.
4. Be a Good Teacher
Bring your account executives on the journey with you - remember, they're managing the overall deal relationship. Take time to explain key changes you made and why they matter. Most importantly, tie the legal requirements back to their business objectives.
The great AEs genuinely appreciate understanding the 'why' behind legal positions. This education pays dividends when they're negotiating with prospects and can speak confidently about your company's standard terms.
Mindset shift: You're there to have their backs and guide them through the legal part of the deal cycle. This collaborative approach dramatically reduces end-of-quarter friction and builds lasting working relationships.
5. Know the Deal Structure
Be crystal clear on deal structure early in every opportunity. Direct sale to the customer? Going through a partner? Involving AWS Marketplace? Each structure has different paperwork, terms, and processes.
Understanding this upfront saves massive amounts of time-wasting and confusion at end-of-quarter when everyone's under pressure. Create a simple checklist for each deal type so nothing falls through the cracks.
6. Mandate One Platform for Communications
Pick a communication platform and stick to it religiously. Even if that platform is just email. Communicating across multiple platforms creates version control nightmares and associated legal risks.
You simply don't have time at end-of-quarter to remember which platform has the latest version or the most recent instructions. Standardise early and enforce consistently.
7. Plan Ahead for Holidays and Availability
Proactively plan for Thanksgiving, December holidays, and public holidays—especially ones common in the US that we sometimes forget about in Europe, like Labor Day. Signatories and decision-makers may not be available during these periods.
Yes, this is technically the AE's responsibility, but being proactive with advance reminders positions legal as a strategic partner rather than just a reviewer. Your sales team will appreciate the heads-up, and deals won't stall due to unavailable approvers.
8. Leverage Legal Tech
There are plenty of legal tech tools that can solve most of the issues in this guide—the ones that slow down deal cycles and cause lawyer burnout at end-of-quarter. These tools replace manual, process-heavy, repetitive workflows with automation and AI.
From contract lifecycle management platforms to AI-powered review tools, technology can handle the heavy lifting while you focus on strategic decision-making and relationship building.
9. Follow These Contracting Experts
The legal community is incredibly generous with sharing knowledge. Here are some of my favourite creators who regularly share free content on commercial contracting designed to help you speed up contracting and avoid end-of-quarter burnout:
Nada Alnajafi (Contract Nerds)
Laura Frederick (How to Contract)
Roma Khan (Crush Contracts)
Lucy Bassli (Innolaw Group)
Following these experts will keep you updated on best practices, new tools, and innovative approaches to common contracting challenges.
Find out more about how I can help you as an in-house legal professional.
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