How to Speed Up Contract Reviews Without Risk

How to Speed Up Contract Reviews Without Risk | CLM Efficiency Insights

The Cycle Time Challenge

For many organizations, contract review has become the slowest link in the deal chain. Sales teams wait to close, procurement teams wait to onboard vendors, and finance waits to book revenue — all because contracts are stuck in review. The tension is clear: business leaders demand faster turnaround, while legal teams insist on thorough oversight. The challenge is not just speed. It is how to accelerate reviews without compromising on accuracy, compliance, or governance. For legal and business leaders, obligation tracking is not simply an administrative task. It is a core risk management function — one that often breaks down under manual processes.

1. Why Contract Reviews Create Bottlenecks

General Counsels and Legal Ops leaders face a recurring cycle time problem:

Volume Pressure: Growing numbers of contracts exceed in-house review capacity.
Manual Processes: Drafts are exchanged via email, slowing routing and approvals.
Inconsistent Standards: Different reviewers interpret risk differently, adding rework.
Business Frustration: Sales and procurement see legal as a blocker, not an enabler.

This is not about laziness or inefficiency — it is about structural limitations of manual review processes.

2. Why Traditional Fixes Fail

Attempts to speed things up often create new problems:

Hiring More Reviewers: Expensive, and doesn’t guarantee consistency.
Shortcutting Reviews: Risky, leading to missed obligations or hidden exposure.
One-Size-Fits-All Playbooks: Static checklists slow things down without adapting to contract context.
Email Escalations: More reminders and “chasing” only increase frustration.

These fixes may reduce backlog temporarily, but they do not create sustainable cycle-time improvements.

3. How Technology Accelerates Review Without Sacrificing Control

Acceleration comes from redesigning the review process with AI and workflow automation at the core:

In-Document Review: AI surfaces deviations directly in Word. RazorSign’s Word add-in keeps lawyers in their natural drafting environment, reducing context-switching.
Clause Libraries and Pre-Approved Language: Common fallback clauses are surfaced automatically, speeding negotiation.
Automated Approvals: Contracts are routed to the right approvers without manual email chains. RazorSign ensures escalations are tracked and no step is skipped.
Workflow Transparency: Dashboards show exactly where contracts are stuck, enabling proactive intervention.

Impact at a glance:

30–50% faster review cycles.
Consistent application of risk policies.
Clearer accountability across teams.

4. What This Means for Leadership

Faster reviews benefit every stakeholder:

For Legal Teams: Less time spent chasing approvals; more focus on complex negotiations.
For Sales and Procurement: Shorter cycle times to close deals and onboard vendors.
For CFOs: Quicker revenue recognition and more predictable financial planning.
For Boards and Regulators: Assurance that speed does not come at the expense of compliance — with RazorSign’s compliance-first design, every step remains auditable.

Acceleration is only valuable when it comes with control. RazorSign ensures both.

5. Practical Steps to Reduce Contract Cycle Time

Organizations seeking to shorten reviews should start with:

Map Current Delays: Identify where contracts stall — drafting, review, approvals, or negotiation.
Digitize Playbooks: Create structured fallback clauses to reduce unnecessary escalation.
Embed AI in the Workflow: Use systems that highlight deviations and risks in real time. RazorSign integrates this directly into contract drafting.
Automate Approvals: Replace email routing with rule-based workflows.
Measure Continuously: Track average cycle times, bottlenecks, and approval durations to benchmark improvement.

FAQ

What is contract cycle time?

The time it takes for a contract to move from drafting to signature, including reviews, approvals, and negotiations.

What slows contract reviews down?

Manual processes, email routing, unclear playbooks, and lack of visibility into bottlenecks.

How does automation reduce cycle time?

RazorSign helps reduce cycle time by surfacing risks early, routing contracts automatically, and providing dashboards for visibility — ensuring faster but controlled reviews.

How does RazorSign help with review speed?

RazorSign combines AI-assisted review in Word, pre-approved clause libraries, and automated approval workflows to reduce cycle times while maintaining compliance.

Closing Thought

Contract review does not need to be a perpetual bottleneck. By embedding AI and automation into the process, organizations can cut review times significantly while maintaining compliance and governance. RazorSign enables this balance: contracts move faster, risks are controlled, and legal teams shift from being a perceived obstacle to a proven enabler of business growth.

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