Looking for legal support to help review/draft a contract

[thomasparra]

I am onboarding a large VC client and given the very short turnaround on the project I currently don't have the bandwidth to draft the client agreement. I have 1-2 models from large industry players which render most of the very services that I am providing and they are each about 20-page long.

Actually, one of the agreements being used by one industry player well I helped it draft back in the days but I am by no means a legal expert and I am better at reviewing and making small amendments rather than drafting something from scratch. I want something that just covers the basis at this point as the scale of the current relationship is not large enough to justify paying for a large law firm service.

Do you know a provider or legaltech with turnaround time less than 2-3 days for this type of business contract?

 

[JohnLocke]

You can try using ChatGPT; I use it frequently for that kind of contracts if it's straightforward Otherwise, I would find a smaller lawyer who could help me with it. Alternatively, try this portal.
https://www.legalcontracts.com/

 

[drphantom]

For what country you need the contract?

 

[thomasparra]

You can try using ChatGPT; I use it frequently for that kind of contracts if it's straightforward Otherwise, I would find a smaller lawyer who could help me with it. Alternatively, try this portal.
https://www.legalcontracts.com/

Thank you, I thought about using ChatGPT but last time I tried ChatGPT 3.5 the response was very short, I think they restrict it now to reduce computer power. I guess I need to be more persuasive and take its hand but maybe there is a legaltech with a customised bot based on ChatGPT out there

For what country you need the contract?

SG/HK

 

[drphantom]

Thank you, I thought about using ChatGPT but last time I tried ChatGPT 3.5 the response was very short, I think they restrict it now to reduce computer power. I guess I need to be more persuasive and take its hand but maybe there is a legaltech with a customised bot based on ChatGPT out there

upgrade to 4.0 only 20$ this will do good contracts and all such stuff.

 

[thomasparra]

upgrade to 4.0 only 20$ this will do good contracts and all such stuff.

Thanks, I will try this route. Any tips on guiding ChatGPT through generating the contract? Can I upload the model as reference or copy paste the entire document you think?

 

[Sols]

Upgrade to ChatGPT4, upload both templates into the chat, and ask it to write you a similar agreement. Describe the key points you want it to cover. Be clear about which jurisdiction should govern the agreement, as that can affect how some clauses are worded.

Sometimes it helps to first ask for an outline of an agreement (i.e. just the headlines of chapters) and then ask it to draft one chapter at a time.

If you have time, would still recommend having a lawyer look over it (just a quick review). Going the ChatGPT route is faster and cheaper than having a lawyer draft from scratch. In many cases the end result you get is fine.

 

[thomasparra]

Upgrade to ChatGPT4, upload both templates into the chat, and ask it to write you a similar agreement. Describe the key points you want it to cover. Be clear about which jurisdiction should govern the agreement, as that can affect how some clauses are worded.

Sometimes it helps to first ask for an outline of an agreement (i.e. just the headlines of chapters) and then ask it to draft one chapter at a time.

If you have time, would still recommend having a lawyer look over it (just a quick review). Going the ChatGPT route is faster and cheaper than having a lawyer draft from scratch. In many cases the end result you get is fine.

Thanks a lot. I am trying it now and I will report back results

 

[Forester]

If you have time, would still recommend having a lawyer look over it (just a quick review).

I, personally, do recommend this. To be honest, my experiences with legal documents produced by ChatGPT were bad in the past, many times there were holes and traps, although looking good at the first glance; but I am aware of fact that the AI tools develop really fast and my last experience re: this is ~3 months old...
I admit that I have some education in law, so my look at legal stuff is probably more critical than the average is...
Just adding, I am not familiar with HK and SG law but from what I have heard, the enviroment there is specific and all the legal stuff there usually tends to be quite detailed.

P.S.
I consider all this really important especially if you are dealing, as I understand, with some corporate („a large client...”). A good contract is a must in such a case, IMO. For a small company, it is possible (although sub-optimal) to be happy with just a shake hand, but not for a corporate; the piece of paper is the only thing (if any) that persists there...

 

[thomasparra]

This is probably going to be the route I take, Chat GPT + manual review & lawyer review for larger clients in the future. This client is small in terms of its structure but they manage big money. They seem to be relaxed about things, contract is not too detailed and pretty straightforward but I want to be safe in terms of compliance / legal responsibility etc and this I can handle myself at this point.

 

[Forester]

This is probably going to be the route I take, Chat GPT + manual review & lawyer review for larger clients in the future. This client is small in terms of its structure but they manage big money. They seem to be relaxed about things, contract is not too detailed and pretty straightforward but I want to be safe in terms of compliance / legal responsibility etc and this I can handle myself at this point.

Yes, it seems good.

This client is small in terms of its structure but they manage big money. They seem to be relaxed about things, contract is not too detailed and pretty straightforward but I want to be safe in terms of compliance / legal responsibility etc and this I can handle myself at this point.

This is a crucial factor, IMO.

 

[thomasparra]

Here is an update on using ChatGPT to draft legal agreements.

I drafted two agreements, one of 5 pages and the other ones of 10 pages. I uploaded templates used by other companies in the same space as mine as reference and I was a bit disappointed with ChatGPT.

I used ChatGPT 4 through Poe and it was not very effective with analysing the templates I provided, I think that it just pretends to do so and drafts a standard contract based on its understanding of the industry. The issue is that it provided maybe 1 or 2 page max, where the templates provided were each 10 pages long at least. Even when I tried to guide him it struggled.

I would not really recommend ChatGPT for anything too exhaustive. Should be fine to draft a basic consulting or loan agreement but it struggles for anything slightly more specific. Maybe I was not the most effective at guiding it and I ended up just using it paragraph by paragraph and ask it to "reword" the paragraphs one by one from each template.

 

[CyprusLawyer101]

My experience is that an application such as GPT does not provide the necessary essense of a contract ehich seeka tonsecure the interests of a party. There is always a certain level of bias or a lack of essense of the particular situation or the individual(s) involved. So for example when a lawyer drafts a contract on behalf of the client he/she puts ( or should put) himself in the shoes of his/her client and during the drafting sees to ensure that in the event things go wrong, his client will have a good playing field within which to negotiate his positions for a positive or at least neutral outcome at the time of dispute resolution. The aforementioned application drafts what would look like a contract of the intended sorts without keeping at heart the interest of his client, but basing it on generally acceptable principles of law, potentially fairness and equity but without substantial recourse to securing clients interest when things go wrong. Real life, from the perspective of the individual is not fair. An individual who is not a "monk absolute" has interests and those interests cannot be served by the aforementioned application. It can be used when drafting contracts between associated companies, when you want to file some supportive document to a bank to satisfy a transaction, or for a university assignment to get a passing mark but not in real transactions where securing the interest of the individual is the primary objective.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

Here is an update on using ChatGPT to draft legal agreements.

I drafted two agreements, one of 5 pages and the other ones of 10 pages. I uploaded templates used by other companies in the same space as mine as reference and I was a bit disappointed with ChatGPT.

I used ChatGPT 4 through Poe and it was not very effective with analysing the templates I provided, I think that it just pretends to do so and drafts a standard contract based on its understanding of the industry. The issue is that it provided maybe 1 or 2 page max, where the templates provided were each 10 pages long at least. Even when I tried to guide him it struggled.

I would not really recommend ChatGPT for anything too exhaustive. Should be fine to draft a basic consulting or loan agreement but it struggles for anything slightly more specific. Maybe I was not the most effective at guiding it and I ended up just using it paragraph by paragraph and ask it to "reword" the paragraphs one by one from each template.

It’s like when you try to generate AI p**n. If you ask for something just a bit beyond simple boring standard you end up with distorted bodies. In a legal contract you might not notice costly errors, so it’s better to hire a good lawyer.

 

[thomasparra]

It’s like when you try to generate AI p**n. If you ask for something just a bit beyond simple boring standard you end up with distorted bodies. In a legal contract you might not notice costly errors, so it’s better to hire a good lawyer.

Exactly. I will definitely do for my next contract and use it as a template for future uses.

 

[Forester]

Here is an update on using ChatGPT to draft legal agreements.

I drafted two agreements, one of 5 pages and the other ones of 10 pages. I uploaded templates used by other companies in the same space as mine as reference and I was a bit disappointed with ChatGPT.

I used ChatGPT 4 through Poe and it was not very effective with analysing the templates I provided, I think that it just pretends to do so and drafts a standard contract based on its understanding of the industry. The issue is that it provided maybe 1 or 2 page max, where the templates provided were each 10 pages long at least. Even when I tried to guide him it struggled.

I would not really recommend ChatGPT for anything too exhaustive. Should be fine to draft a basic consulting or loan agreement but it struggles for anything slightly more specific. Maybe I was not the most effective at guiding it and I ended up just using it paragraph by paragraph and ask it to "reword" the paragraphs one by one from each template.

Well, to be honest, I am not extremely happy that my concerns are still real-founded ;(
Not much to add to @CyprusLawyer101 and @JohnnyDoe – agreeing in full
Just one remark

So for example when a lawyer drafts a contract on behalf of the client he/she puts ( or should put) himself in the shoes of his/her client and during the drafting sees to ensure that in the event things go wrong, his client will have a good playing field within which to negotiate his positions for a positive or at least neutral outcome at the time of dispute resolution. The aforementioned application drafts what would look like a contract of the intended sorts without keeping at heart the interest of his client, but basing it on generally acceptable principles of law, potentially fairness and equity but without substantial recourse to securing clients interest when things go wrong. Real life, from the perspective of the individual is not fair. An individual who is not a "monk absolute" has interests and those interests cannot be served by the aforementioned application.

This is all true; but I think that there is one more point to be taken into account:
Generally, I am convinced that any really good agreement should be fair to all parties involved (otherwise it is not sustainable). So it is good to build an agreement on the base of fairness and equity, then taking into account client's legitimate interests. But what I am missing with the AI tools it is a creativity. AI is (still) unable to go step by step with the client and invent a well-tailor-made solution that is possibly used here for the first time (in its exact form) – as every case is different, at least in details.