1. How many vendors did you evaluate when selecting a CLM?
We evaluated three vendors.
2. What was the primary one or two deciding factors for you in selecting the winning vendor?
They set up a committee of lawyers to revie before selecting. They selected the tool which the committee liked the most.
3. Did you conduct a formal RFP process?
No.
4. Did the CLM budget come entirely from the legal department or was it spread across other departments?
Entirely from the legal department.
5. Did you use an outside firm to assist with your CLM implementation?
No.
6. How long did your implementation take?
From start to finish about 4-6 months
7. How many CLM integrations do you currently utilize?
1
8. What elements of the evaluation were most influential to your decisions (e.g. AI bake-off, live product demo, technical review, etc)?
Interrogation with e-mail to simplify the process of using the CLM
9. We’re there specific assets or resources offered by your CLM vendor that helped you make your decisions (e.g. ROI calculator, case studies, etc)?
If you are selling to seasoned in house staff they all already know how important it is to have a CLM program so you don’t need to convince them of the need but sale them on why your program is better than the next CLM program. So no resources were used.
10. What one piece of advice would you give us when selling CLM to in-house attorneys?
Need to show clearly how it will ease organization of files.
6. Around 3 months for Go Live but still ongoing on refinement.
7. 0 (the CLM we chose has its own e-Sign, which would otherwise be the main integration need).
8. Live product demo.
9. There were attempts to quantify savings of time etc., but these were not particularly influential because we already understood that any good CLM will do this.
10. Be honest and transparent with what the CLM can and can't do. If things are still in development, say so and follow through.
2. Easy integration with our current e-Sign tool; fit for purpose
3. No
4. Legal
5. No
6. 6 months
7. 1, plan for 2 more.
8. Product demo, trial account
9. None that come to mind right now.
10. Nail down your implementation process for a smooth start for customers. I would have liked to have had our implementation run quicker and smoother than it has.
1. NA. I wasn't involved in the selection process. However, as my current company considers a new CLM later this year, I expect we'll evaluate at least 3 vendors.
2. NA. I wasn't involved in the selection process. I expect integration with existing processes/systems would be a major factor, however, as will functionality and cost.
3. NA. I wasn't involved in the selection process. Unknown if we will do a formal RFP in the future, but my guess is yes.
4. Legal only.
5. No, not at prior company. I am considering this for the future at my current company, however, due to my prior implementation experience.
6. Longer than I expected -- 6-9 months. Implementation was assigned to me after a personnel change, and I didn't have the bandwidth needed to move faster. I ended up doing a slow roll-out -- first the NDA for a few weeks, then 2 more major workflows for another month or two, then the rest of the workflows a month or so later. It was annoying to have some workflows go through the old process and some through the new CLM during this period, but it did allow us time to learn from the earlier workflow rollouts what worked/didn't work so we could adjust when creating/implementing the later workflows. This experience is why I'd considering having an outside firm assist with implementation.
7. At prior company, our CLM was standalone (but we wanted to integrate it with 1-2 other systems). At current company, we'd need a CLM to integrate at least with one other system (Coupa) and potentially another depending on the solution we chose.
8. NA
9. NA
10. Redlining/review functionality must be easy. Great out-of-the box metrics and visual dashboard. Have rock-solid AI security/privacy.
1. We looked at close to 10, eliminated that quickly down to about 3 which we investigated more closely. Did a POC with 2 before settling on our current solution.
2. The solution we chose had a more mature UI and custom dashboard to update internal stakeholders.
3. Yes
4. Legal
5. No
6. 12 weeks
7. 4
8. Live demo and trial testing
9. Our primary use case was automation with Salesforce to streamline the sales process.
10. Keep the product simple; tap into attorney networks. A few good experiences will spread by word of mouth.
1. 3 in RFP. Two top selections during due diligence.
2. Ease of use and the ability to integrate with various third-party solutions (ebilling, and procurement vendor management solutions)
3. Yes.
4. CLM came purely from Legal.
5. Yes. We leveraged a law firm partner experienced in CLM.
6. For CLM, we are looking at nearly 6 months. However, this implementation is the most complex I've ever been involved with due to the high level of customization.
7. Integration with 3 other tools outside of CLM.
8. Product demos and references were key.
9. ROI calculations are extremely helpful and help tell the story to the executive team in terms of potential cost and time savings.
10. I would say to ensure that any review and redlining and uploading feature is simple and easy to understand and execute. We don't want a lot of "clicks" is how I've heard other lawyers explain their frustrations with CLM tools like Ariba. We need the process of forwarding the document, along with questions, to SMEs to be straightforward and not cumbersome. We also need to ensure our outside counsel has the same experience. However, I would argue that the key is to sell CLM to the Legal department's internal customers. If those customers could begin their CLM experience with a smooth and easy contract request (like an NDA), they will become bigger advocates of CLM than the lawyers.
1. How many vendors did you evaluate when selecting a CLM?
We evaluated three vendors.
2. What was the primary one or two deciding factors for you in selecting the winning vendor?
They set up a committee of lawyers to revie before selecting. They selected the tool which the committee liked the most.
3. Did you conduct a formal RFP process?
No.
4. Did the CLM budget come entirely from the legal department or was it spread across other departments?
Entirely from the legal department.
5. Did you use an outside firm to assist with your CLM implementation?
No.
6. How long did your implementation take?
From start to finish about 4-6 months
7. How many CLM integrations do you currently utilize?
1
8. What elements of the evaluation were most influential to your decisions (e.g. AI bake-off, live product demo, technical review, etc)?
Interrogation with e-mail to simplify the process of using the CLM
9. We’re there specific assets or resources offered by your CLM vendor that helped you make your decisions (e.g. ROI calculator, case studies, etc)?
If you are selling to seasoned in house staff they all already know how important it is to have a CLM program so you don’t need to convince them of the need but sale them on why your program is better than the next CLM program. So no resources were used.
10. What one piece of advice would you give us when selling CLM to in-house attorneys?
Need to show clearly how it will ease organization of files.
1. We evaluated 3 vendors.
2. Feature set and price.
3. No formal RFP.
4. Mostly Legal but some budget from IT.
5. None other than the CLM vendor itself.
6. Around 3 months for Go Live but still ongoing on refinement.
7. 0 (the CLM we chose has its own e-Sign, which would otherwise be the main integration need).
8. Live product demo.
9. There were attempts to quantify savings of time etc., but these were not particularly influential because we already understood that any good CLM will do this.
10. Be honest and transparent with what the CLM can and can't do. If things are still in development, say so and follow through.
1. Two Vendors
2. Easy integration with our current e-Sign tool; fit for purpose
3. No
4. Legal
5. No
6. 6 months
7. 1, plan for 2 more.
8. Product demo, trial account
9. None that come to mind right now.
10. Nail down your implementation process for a smooth start for customers. I would have liked to have had our implementation run quicker and smoother than it has.
1. NA. I wasn't involved in the selection process. However, as my current company considers a new CLM later this year, I expect we'll evaluate at least 3 vendors.
2. NA. I wasn't involved in the selection process. I expect integration with existing processes/systems would be a major factor, however, as will functionality and cost.
3. NA. I wasn't involved in the selection process. Unknown if we will do a formal RFP in the future, but my guess is yes.
4. Legal only.
5. No, not at prior company. I am considering this for the future at my current company, however, due to my prior implementation experience.
6. Longer than I expected -- 6-9 months. Implementation was assigned to me after a personnel change, and I didn't have the bandwidth needed to move faster. I ended up doing a slow roll-out -- first the NDA for a few weeks, then 2 more major workflows for another month or two, then the rest of the workflows a month or so later. It was annoying to have some workflows go through the old process and some through the new CLM during this period, but it did allow us time to learn from the earlier workflow rollouts what worked/didn't work so we could adjust when creating/implementing the later workflows. This experience is why I'd considering having an outside firm assist with implementation.
7. At prior company, our CLM was standalone (but we wanted to integrate it with 1-2 other systems). At current company, we'd need a CLM to integrate at least with one other system (Coupa) and potentially another depending on the solution we chose.
8. NA
9. NA
10. Redlining/review functionality must be easy. Great out-of-the box metrics and visual dashboard. Have rock-solid AI security/privacy.
1. We looked at close to 10, eliminated that quickly down to about 3 which we investigated more closely. Did a POC with 2 before settling on our current solution.
2. The solution we chose had a more mature UI and custom dashboard to update internal stakeholders.
3. Yes
4. Legal
5. No
6. 12 weeks
7. 4
8. Live demo and trial testing
9. Our primary use case was automation with Salesforce to streamline the sales process.
10. Keep the product simple; tap into attorney networks. A few good experiences will spread by word of mouth.
1. 3 in RFP. Two top selections during due diligence.
2. Ease of use and the ability to integrate with various third-party solutions (ebilling, and procurement vendor management solutions)
3. Yes.
4. CLM came purely from Legal.
5. Yes. We leveraged a law firm partner experienced in CLM.
6. For CLM, we are looking at nearly 6 months. However, this implementation is the most complex I've ever been involved with due to the high level of customization.
7. Integration with 3 other tools outside of CLM.
8. Product demos and references were key.
9. ROI calculations are extremely helpful and help tell the story to the executive team in terms of potential cost and time savings.
10. I would say to ensure that any review and redlining and uploading feature is simple and easy to understand and execute. We don't want a lot of "clicks" is how I've heard other lawyers explain their frustrations with CLM tools like Ariba. We need the process of forwarding the document, along with questions, to SMEs to be straightforward and not cumbersome. We also need to ensure our outside counsel has the same experience. However, I would argue that the key is to sell CLM to the Legal department's internal customers. If those customers could begin their CLM experience with a smooth and easy contract request (like an NDA), they will become bigger advocates of CLM than the lawyers.
#1: 3 in RFP. eliminated a couple during investigation
2. Linkedsquares pen feature (ability to see who has responsibility and how long they have had it) and built-in metrics visualizion.
3. Yes.
4. Legal. Although the tool has important use for procurement
5. No
6. Just started it
7. ?
8. Customer references were helpful
9. nothing specific
10. know your audience. lawyers care about being able to efficiently move paper but contract manager may have important influence role.