Client Reviewing Contracts Monthly (Automation Prevented $284K Auto-Renewal Traps) 🔥

Duy Bui

5d • Business & Strategy 🧠

Legal client. 47 vendor contracts monthly. Manual review consuming 376 hours.

Built automated contract analyzer.

THE CLIENT'S MANUAL PROCESS:

Contracts arriving. Legal downloads PDFs. Reads documents. Extracts terms into spreadsheet.

Identifies renewal clauses. Checks auto-renewal. Calculates notice deadlines. Creates reminders.

Reviews liability provisions. Searches for cap language. Notes indemnification. Checks IP ownership. Inspects data privacy.

Scores compliance subjectively. Checks critical clauses - liability cap, termination rights, IP provisions, data privacy. Classification based on judgment.

Tracks obligations manually. Deliverables, payments, renewals, insurance. Manual calendar.

Routes for approval informally. Legal director for high value. General counsel for high risk. Criteria inconsistent.

8 hours per contract. 47 monthly. 376 hours consumed.

Audit problems - 18 auto-renewal deadlines missed ($284K). 23 contracts missing critical clauses. 31 obligations missed ($52K penalties). 67% accuracy.

THE AUTOMATION:

8-node workflow:

Google Drive Trigger → Download Contract →

PDF Vector Extract → Red Flag Detection → Compliance Scoring →

Smart Alert Engine → Database Log → Risk Router →

[Critical #legal] OR [Standard #contracts]

EXTRACTION:

Parties, type, dates, value, currency, payment terms/schedule, renewal clause, auto-renewal, renewal notice, termination notice, penalties, liability cap, indemnification, IP ownership, data privacy, governing law, arbitration, force majeure, SLA, audit rights, insurance, obligations

RED FLAG DETECTION:

Analyzes risks - unlimited liability, auto-renewal traps, evergreen terms, missing clauses, one-sided indemnification, unusual jurisdiction. Critical risk score 0-100.

COMPLIANCE SCORING:

Objective 0-100 score checking 10 provisions: liability cap, governing law, termination clause, renewal terms, payment terms, defined duration, IP provisions, data privacy, force majeure, indemnification. Risk level: critical (<50), high (50-70), medium (70-85), low (85+).

SMART ALERT ENGINE:

Tiered renewal tracking:

- Strategic ($500K+): 120/90/30 day alerts

- Operational ($50K+): 90/60/30 day alerts

- Transactional: 30/15/7 day alerts

Auto-renewal trap detection calculates notice deadline. Critical alert before deadline preventing automatic renewal. Obligation tracking extracts deliverables with 14-day advance alerts.

APPROVAL ROUTING:

General Counsel: Critical risk

Legal Director: High risk OR over $100K

CFO: Over $500K

Manager: Standard contracts

DEPLOYMENT METRICS:

12 months. 564 contracts processed.

Processing elimination - 376 hours monthly freed.

Auto-renewal prevention - $284,000 commitments stopped. 100% tracking.

Compliance accuracy - 67% → 100%. Objective scoring eliminated variance.

Obligation visibility - $52,000 penalties prevented.

Critical clause detection - 23 high-risk contracts identified.