AI contract review for lawyers: a workable process

Start with a playbook

A contract playbook lists, for each key clause, your preferred position, acceptable fallbacks and red lines. Without one, an AI tool has nothing to compare against and will give generic comments. A simple table is enough.

These values are placeholders; your own positions and your client's goals decide them.

The process

1. 1

   Triage

   Ask the tool for a summary: parties, term, payment, termination, liability, IP, governing law.

2. 2

   Compare

   Ask it to list each clause that departs from the playbook, quoting the text.

3. 3

   Read

   Read the contract end to end yourself, using the list as a guide.

4. 4

   Check absences

   Is anything standard missing, such as data protection terms or notice mechanics?

5. 5

   Redline and advise

   Make your changes and explain them to the client in your own words.

Risks to manage

• Misreading defined terms and cross-references.
• Confident summaries of unclear clauses.
• Missed context from side letters or earlier negotiations.
• Confidentiality of the counterparty's draft: check NDAs and the tool's terms.
• Overreliance: speed can tempt you to skip the full read.

Tracking contract work

Keep playbooks as a Notion database with a last-reviewed date, and track each review as an Action on the matter with a due date and status. In LawyerOS Pro with AI ($39), the Actions and Matters databases support this. The template does not review contracts. For generating documents see /post/ai-legal-document-generator, and for tool selection see /post/ai-tools-for-lawyers-guide.

Frequently asked questions

Can AI review a contract on its own?

It can give a useful first pass, but a lawyer must read the contract and advise.

Do I need a playbook?

Yes for useful results. It tells the tool and your colleagues what 'acceptable' means.

Is it safe to upload a counterparty's draft?

Check any confidentiality obligations and the tool's data terms before you do.

Does AI catch missing clauses?

Sometimes, if you ask it to check a list of expected terms. Do your own check of absences too.