The contract lifecycle extends beyond negotiating and executing contracts — whether it is for vendors, partners, customers, or employees. Most attorneys understand the importance of looking beyond the initial stages of a contract; however, without a mechanism or processes in place to manage the lifecycle from start to finish, the risk of missing a contractual obligation or opportunity goes up.
The contract lifecycle can be divided into five key steps, as follows:
- Drafting and Negotiating. In this phase, the parties may go back and forth several times until the language of the agreement and its terms are satisfactory to both sides.
- Approval and Execution. While all contracts used to be signed by hand, today electronic workflows and digital signatures mean more and more contracts are executed electronically.
- Managing and Tracking. Regardless of how a contract is executed, it is critical that key dates, deliverables, and financial obligations be tracked and monitored. If this step is missed, parties may find themselves surprised by missed renewal dates, automatic expirations, or missed contract options.
- Amendments. Over time, the parties’ needs may change. When contracts are renewed or amended to reflect changed needs or wishes, those amended documents should be maintained with the original contract documents, and corresponding obligations tracked.
- Analysis, Audit, and Reporting. It’s important to audit individual contracts from time to time to ensure obligations are being met (and benefits received). In addition, your entire “book” of contracts should be analyzed periodically to identify potential risks or opportunities. For example, analyzing your contracts can help identify disparities between the same provisions in different contracts. This can give you the opportunity to propose amendments to standardize the language in your contracts where possible, helping to lower your risks and streamline your obligations. You should also be able to generate reports at any time to help you manage your contractual obligations and rights.
When you outsource contract analysis to the experienced legal professionals at Baer Reed, you can be confident your contracts and agreements are in skilled hands. To learn more about how we help law firms and corporate legal departments with their contract lifecycle needs, contact us online today, or call us at (888) 433-1990.
Mr. Reyes graduated with honors from the Ateneo de Manila University, where he received the Procter and Gamble Student Excellence Award. He obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the Ateneo de Manila School of Law. During law school, Mr. Reyes was part of the Philippine delegation to the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot held in Vienna, Austria. He was also a member of the Ateneo Society of International Law and the St. Thomas More Debate Society. He completed his internship at the Public Attorney’s Office. He wrote a thesis entitled: “To Kill A White Elephant: An Analysis of the Fiduciary Exception to the Corporate Attorney-Client Privilege”. Mr. Reyes is admitted to practice law in the Philippines and the State of New York.
Ms. Lardizabal-Manzano is a graduate of San Sebastian College-Recoletos, where she earned her B.A. in Political Science. In 2003, she received her law degree from Lyceum of the Philippines and was admitted to practice law in 2004.
Matthew Hersh earned a B.A. in Political Science from Columbia University in 1990 and graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 1999. He also holds a master’s degree in international relations from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
Cap. Avi Levak (Res. IDF) graduated from from Israel’s prestigious Ben-Gurion University of the Negev with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Mathematics. He is also a Leadership and Communication coach trained in TuT coaching by Alon gal in Israel. Avi specializes in high-level, in-depth analysis of business and client needs, within systems and software strategy and architecture.
Ms. Tyler graduated cum laude from Georgetown University and received her law degree, cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center. During law school, she interned at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. She also worked on The Tax Lawyer journal and was a member of the award-winning Barristers’ Council Mock Trial Team. Ms. Tyler is admitted to practice law in the State of California and the District of Columbia.
Ms. Cruz-Anonuevo graduated cum laude and top nine in her batch from Miriam College with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in InternationalStudies. She obtained her Juris Doctor degree from Ateneo de Manila University School of Law in Rockwell. During law school, she interned in Rivera, Santos, Maranan & Associates. She was also part of Ateneo’s Labor Law Bar Operations. She wrote her thesis on, “Stealing Privacy: Limitations on Media’s Photographic Invasion.,” Ms. Cruz-Anonuevo is admitted to practice law in the Philippines.
Ms. Aquino-Batallones obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Development Studies (with Minors in Global Politics and Hispanic Studies) from the Ateneo de Manila University. In 2011, she received her Juris Doctor degree from Ateneo de Manila University School of Law. During law school, she interned at Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles then became an intern of Ateneo Legal Services Center’s Clinical Legal Education Program.
Mr. De Guzman graduated from San Beda College with a degree of Bachelor of Arts Major in Economics and received his law degree from San Beda College of Law. He is multilingual and is fluent in three languages: Chinese, Filipino, and English. He was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2003.