What is Legal Document Review?
Legal document review is a process, often done by a lawyer on behalf of a client, to legally check a document or contract to make sure the terms are fair and their client is legally protected. A lawyer will typically review the document line-by-line, adding redlines or comments for their client to review and use when negotiating with another party.
The goal of legal document review is to make sure a business or individual is not signing a document that is unfair, puts them in a bad position, or violates their legal rights.
Legal document reviews are common in many different areas of law, but very common throughout contract law and transactional law. Business and individual consumers are often asked to sign contracts, which they want to have reviewed by a lawyer prior.
What is the Purpose of Legal Document Review?
In the context of contract law, the main purpose of legal document review comes down to making sure the party signing the contract is legally protected, understands the terms, and has fair terms they are agreeing to. Given contracts and agreements are often legally binding, confirming the terms are fair and legal is extremely important.
Within legal documents, there are often legal terms and business terms. Reviewing both is important.
- Legal Terms: These are terms like ‘Indemnification’, ‘Governing Law’, ‘Limitation of Liability’, etc. It is important to make sure these terms are fair so that unnecessary legal risk isn’t created. Lawyers often take the lead on these terms, given they are trained in the law and can understand the legal language.
- Business Terms: These are terms like ‘Payment Terms’ in a service agreement, ‘Use of Space’ in a commercial lease, or ‘Salary’ in an employment contract. It is also important to review these terms to make sure they are fair and not putting the business or individual in a bad position.
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In summary, below are the main purposes of legal document review:
- Ensuring Terms are Legal.
- Ensuring Terms are Fair.
- Understanding Complex Legal Language.
Benefits of Legal Document Review
Clients receive great benefit from having their legal documents reviewed by lawyers, which can come in different forms. Below are some benefits to understand:
Putting Mind at East
Having a lawyer review a legal document on your behalf will put your mind at ease knowing an expert is looking out for your best interest. Often, businesses or individuals are asked to sign a legal document without fully comprehending what it says or its implications, so working with a contract lawyer will help.
Understanding All Terms
During the document review process, a lawyer will often have a phone call with a client to go over the document. During this time, lawyers will explain all of the clauses and answer any questions the client may have. Given the client will often be signing the document, it is helpful to make sure you have a very clear understanding of everything in the document.
Editing Terms For Your Benefit
Part of a lawyer's job is to recommend changes or edit the document to make the terms more favorable for their client. Contracts are often presented in a format that is more favorable to the party who drafted it, so a lawyer can help balance out the terms by making changes and guiding their client on what to ask for.
Legal Protection
A lawyer will make sure all terms within the document are legal, so that you’re not putting yourself in a compromising position.
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3 Steps to the Legal Document Review Process
When you hire a lawyer to conduct a document review, they will typically go through three main steps, which includes their initial review and analysis, call with clients to discuss findings, and edits and redlines to change terms. Please find more information about each below.
Initial Review and Analysis
Whenever a lawyer is hired for a document review, they will ask the client to provide the document for their review and analysis during their intake consultation. The initial review is where most of their time is spent, which includes reading the document clause-by-clause, writing notes down, and researching any issues they may have questions about.
Time needed to review a document will be dependent on its length, complexity, and the goals of the client. For example, some clients may just want a few questions answered and a lawyer can review the document quickly. Other clients may want the entire document reviewed and scrutinized.
Call to Discuss Findings
Once the initial review is completed, a lawyer will typically set up a call with their client to go over their findings, explain the sections in detail, answer questions, and make recommendations on edits to make that may be more favorable to the client. The goal of this call is to make sure the client has perfect clarity on what currently exists in the document and to get their feedback on edits the lawyer wants to make to help their position.
Revisions and Redlines
Once the call is completed, a lawyer will often go back to the document and make the revisions wanted by the client. This will typically be in the format of redlines in an MS word file. These revisions will be sent to the other party in the transaction to review and accept or reject.
What is AI Legal Document Review?
AI legal document review is a new set of technologies that will automatically review, analyze, and redline a contract. These technologies are typically used by lawyers to help speed their reviews up and are still very experimental. In essence, they are a productivity tool.
We would not suggest a client use these tools given the potential risks. It is best to have a human review a contract on your behalf who understands your situation and what’s important to you.
Why Hire an Expert for Legal Document Review?
A lawyer is well-trained, educated in the field, and has immense experience in dealing with legal documents daily. They understand the most important sections and what ‘fair’ terms are based on their experience.
An expert lawyer is well-versed in contract law and trained to advocate on behalf of their clients. If you don't get your document checked, you risk putting yourself of your business in a compromising position. Rather than blindly relying on the document presented to you by any individual, it is an ideal choice to get it checked and verified by your lawyer.
How Do I Find a Legal Document Reviewer?
Finding a lawyer to review a legal document can be done in many ways. Below are some common ways to consider:
- Online Legal Platforms. There are many online platforms that allow you to find a lawyer to review a legal document. ContractsCounsel is an example, which allows you to post your requirements and receive competitive quotes from lawyers to help.
- Ask Friends and Colleagues. Word of mouth is a common way to find a lawyer. Ask your friends, family, or colleagues for recommendations if they have ever worked with a lawyer.
- Search Engines. If you search for lawyers online, you will be presented with thousands of law firms to consider.
- State Bar Websites. Each state has a State Bar (regulator of lawyers) that has a website with a lawyer directory. This is another way you can locate lawyers for legal document review.
Conclusion
During the legal process, terms in legal documents can have big impacts on individuals and businesses. When any individual signs a document, they are required to abide by the legal obligations outlined in that document. If an individual signs a document and later finds it has bad terms, it is very difficult to go back and undo it.
Investing to get a legal document reviewed by an expert can help save you stress and money. If you are looking for professionals to help take care of your legal document review or other legal needs, check out ContractsCounsel.
