As we discussed in part one, templated contracts can be a great resource, saving companies both time and money, when used in a coordinated and thoughtful way – i.e., drafted by an attorney with knowledge of your organization and industry, consistently rolled out to appropriate stakeholders, regularly reviewed for relevancy and compliance, and updated as needed. To ensure such use, I recommend creating a “template playbook” to help manage the use of contract templates throughout an organization.

There’s a good chance your company uses contract templates in support of its day-to-day commercial legal needs. In fact, most companies will templatize common, recurring agreements as a time- and cost-saving practice. However, this practice has its limitations. First and foremost, not all contracts can be converted into templates. Moreover, without the right coordination and oversight, the use of templated forms can expose a company to a number of unforeseen consequences. In this 2-part series, we will explore the basic advantages and considerations when developing contract templates, and then discuss best practices for building an effective template library.

Protecting confidential information can be paramount to the success of an organization; and knowing this, most businesses and institutions will devote valuable time and resources for developing and implementing strict policies and procedures designed to help manage the flow of their proprietary information. Unfortunately, these efforts frequently fail to address an equally important, yet separate, category of sensitive information – that is, any third party confidential information which may have been entrusted to the organization pursuant to a confidential disclosure agreement (CDA).

We’ve all heard stories about lavish closing dinners (perhaps you’ve attended one or more), where the completion of large corporate transactions are celebrated over dinner, drinks and token gifts of appreciation. Yet, even the execution of a small commercial agreement can be cause for raising a glass or simply breathing a deep sigh of relief. Hard work deserves a moment of pause. However, once the ink has dried on a newly-executed agreement and the party is over, what happens (or should happen) next? Placing the agreement into a neat, three-ring binder may feel organized, but it will not ensure performance under the agreement.