3 out of 4 In-House Counsel Dissatisfied With Existing Contract Workflow Technology Per ALM/Bloomberg Law Survey

ARLINGTON, VA (April 12, 2023) — A recent survey conducted by ALM and Bloomberg Law found that only one in four in-house counsel reported that their current contract workflow technology met their needs. The survey also found that contracts-related tasks represent at least half of the daily work of more than four in ten (43 percent) corporate counsel.

ALM and Bloomberg Law conducted the survey of corporate counsel in late 2022 for insights into how legal departments use technology in their contracts-related work and where the use of better technology can help improve workflows. Key findings from the more than 100 respondents, of which a majority (62 percent) serve in senior legal positions, include:

• More than two-thirds (71 percent) indicate that they manage a high volume of contracts.
• A majority of respondents (62 percent) indicate that drafting, editing, negotiating constitutes at least half of their contract work.
• More than half (55 percent) indicate having no single platform or use general document systems for contracts management.
• In addition to budget, top concerns about adopting a new contract management technology include time and resources required to onboard and implement (42 percent) and ease of use (42 percent).

“There’s no disputing that contract workflow tools are essential to corporate counsel, and the survey’s findings indicate that the current products on the market do not meet their needs,” said Joe Breda, President, Bloomberg Law. “It’s clear that there’s a need for a solution designed for in-house counsel – one that’s easy to implement and use and solves their most pressing workflow challenges. We’ve been hard at work on developing this technology and we’re excited to soon be releasing it.”

“We’ve evaluated a number of contract management and workflow tools over the years and most of the solutions we’ve seen in the market are not tailored to meet the needs of corporate legal departments, specifically when it comes to addressing the most time consuming and labor-intensive parts of our legal workflows – drafting, reviewing, and negotiating agreements,” said John Prindiville, Senior Corporate Counsel, VetCor. “The findings of this survey are in line with our experiences trying to identify a contract management solution that is both easy-to-use and implement and tailored to meet the needs of attorneys.”

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ALM/Bloomberg Law Contract Management Technology Survey.