What are Non-Disclosure Agreement AI Mistakes?
A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract between parties who are sharing private information. It can be unilateral, in which one party receives the confidential information; or bilateral, in which there’s an exchange of private information between parties. An NDA must properly explain how information will be protected to prevent disputes and violations.
If you need to draft an NDA, you might choose to make use of an AI tool to generate it for you. Although AI can assist you in various ways during the contract drafting process, there are some specific risks involved in using it.
Read the rest of this article to explore common non-disclosure agreement AI mistakes, how you can avoid making them when using AI tools, and how a lawyer can assist you by drafting a non-disclosure agreement that’s transparent, reasonable, and legally sound.
What are Some Common Non-Disclosure Agreement AI Mistakes?
AI tools can make various errors when drafting a non-disclosure agreement, such as:
Lack of Reasonable Restrictions
It’s essential to think about the NDA’s purpose prior to drafting it. You want to outline any limits for how the confidential information is used by parties without hampering the receiving party’s ability to use the information to complete their duties.
Without having a clear purpose for the NDA and knowledge of your specific tasks, AI can struggle to provide reasonable restrictions.
Unclear Post-Termination Duties
An NDA doesn’t always end when its agreement termination date is reached. The receiving party might have to fulfill specific obligations, such as returning all information to the sender.
Since an AI tool generates template-based or vague information, it might fail to expand on this process, resulting in confusion or accidental privacy violations.
Missing Confidentiality Details
Confidentiality is a key element of any NDA, but it shouldn’t be defined too broadly. Although your AI tool might include what information types must be kept private during the working relationship, it might not consider the finer details that a human lawyer would. This includes the information format that applies, such as if information divulged in emails or texts should be protected.
Lack of Remedies
The NDA should clearly describe what remedies will be used for confidentiality breaches to protect the sending party’s interests. However, calculating these remedies correctly isn’t always easy. It’s advisable to discuss options with the other party so that the remedies are fair and reasonable to avoid legal disputes.
An AI tool won’t be able to provide judgment-based answers based on your specific situation, resulting in missing or standardized information that won’t protect you if something goes wrong.
How Can You Avoid Non-Disclosure Agreement AI Mistakes?
While you can use AI tools to help you draft an NDA, there are important usage recommendations so that you don’t risk any costly mistakes.
- Define the Essentials. You need to grasp all the essential terms you want to include in your NDA before prompting AI tools. This will help you prevent AI from filling in gaps or hallucinating information that isn’t accurate.
- Request an outline. By not asking for a full NDA to be generated, you can reduce the risk of errors. Request an outline instead that you can fill out and work with. A lawyer can also help you to use that structure to create a clear and legally valid agreement.
- Ask it to review itself. After the document is drafted, ask the AI tool to review its own work. Specifically ask it to identify any vague or ambiguous wording, inconsistencies, and missing information.
- Get a legal review. NDAs are delicate documents that need to be precisely drafted to protect your interests. Get peace of mind by asking a qualified lawyer to review the AI-generated document before signing it.
How Can a Lawyer Help You Avoid Non-Disclosure Agreement AI Mistakes?
A lawyer has expertise and knowledge to ensure your non-disclosure agreement is legally valid and prioritizes your interests. Here’s what a reputable lawyer can do when reviewing your AI-generated NDA.
- They’ll unpack any language used by the AI tool that sounds legal but isn’t enforceable.
- They’ll clearly define the reason for your NDA so that it’s specific.
- They’ll confirm jurisdiction-specific accuracy, especially since NDA rules vary quite a bit in different locations.
- They’ll consider your risk exposure and make provisions for it, which AI can’t understand. This can include fine-tuning clauses about what types of confidential information must be protected, how long confidentiality obligations should last, and more.
- They’ll identify hidden legal risks created by AI, such as unclear definitions and weak breach remedies.
- They’ll remove any vague or potentially misleading terms that can create confusion and lead to disputes.
Where to Find a Lawyer to Draft or Review Your Non-Disclosure Agreement
If you need to hire a lawyer to draft your NDA, you’ll want to find a qualified lawyer who has experience with this task. This doesn’t have to be a time-consuming process. Online legal platforms make it easy to connect with experienced lawyers without leaving your house.
On ContractsCounsel, one of the biggest online legal marketplaces, you can quickly connect with a skilled lawyer. All lawyers on the platform have been vetted, and you can request that one of them drafts your NDA or reviews your AI-generated document simply by posting a request on the platform.
Here’s how:
- Go to the ContractsCounsel marketplace. Post your project for free, including a few details of what you require.
- Wait for lawyer bids. Instead of searching for the right lawyer, you’ll receive multiple bids from lawyers directly on the platform.
- Review the bids and choose a lawyer based on their profiles. ContractsCounsel provides extensive lawyer data you can review, such as their location, client ratings, years of experience, and previous projects they’ve completed on the platform.
- Hire a lawyer who matches your request to review or draft your NDA so that it’s specific and legally sound.
