3 Lessons Learnt from Leading CLM Implementations

Whilst legal tech has made great strides — with the rise of legal ops and an AI revolution that transcends industries — it remains something of a mystery to many new to the field. The demystification of legal tech remains an ongoing process. This is no surprise, given the dynamic nature of the industry. The same goes for Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) — not only are new players continually emerging, but established ones are also introducing new capabilities to stay relevant, incorporating the latest technological advancements into their contracting tools.

As someone who has spent the last 18 months diving deep into the world of CLM, I have come a long way in understanding what a successful CLM implementation takes. My goals in sharing these lessons are to help others avoid the mistakes I made, mark a checkpoint in my own CLM journey to reflect upon as I delve deeper into the CLM universe, and start meaningful conversations about CLM and the wider legal tech ecosystem.

Lesson #1: CLM is a shared vision.

When you are working with a CLM platform you like and are familiar with, it is easy to fall into the trap of wanting to show off the platform’s functionality to clients, and in doing so, failing to account for the unique value that CLM brings to the client — a lesson I learnt early on in my CLM journey. Indeed, as a consultant or technical lead, you might very well have a vision of how you want the solution to be configured — the ideal solution, polished and perfected to your standards. However, the success of a project is rarely measured solely on how pretty or perfect the solution looks to you. What makes all the difference is how effectively the solution solves the client’s pain points.

In other words, you could come up with a beautifully complex solution that seems to be the solution to any problem, but until you can align that with the client’s processes and pain points, it’s like planning a perfect travel itinerary for someone who never wanted to take the trip in the first place. Therefore, active listening is essential to gaining a thorough understanding of a client’s unique requirements. This will then allow you to design and implement a solution best suited to their needs and business context. CLM is a shared vision between your expertise and your client’s unique circumstances.

Lesson #2: Understanding stakeholders fosters strong collaboration.

A deep understanding of how your stakeholders work is a vital element of a successful CLM implementation. Some stakeholders require more handholding than others, some are proactive and quick learners, and some may not know what they want or need. Gauging from an early stage what your stakeholders are like allows you to provide the type of support that will ensure a smooth and successful implementation.

I also learnt that stakeholders are not always best placed to know what they truly need from a CLM implementation. This is not to diminish the importance of their involvement in the implementation. Rather, it highlights the nuance that whilst stakeholders are all experts in their own fields, they might not have the wider CLM expertise needed to design a CLM solution. Being aware of how stakeholders work — and their level of CLM experience — goes a long way towards being a great implementation partner. Understanding stakeholders fosters strong collaboration and drives delivery excellence.

Lesson #3: Knowledge-sharing is awesome.

The one thing I love about the legal tech community is that people are always willing to share their wisdom, whether that’s a recommendation to solve a client’s pain point or a new way of looking at a problem. I have found that tapping into this wisdom has allowed me to be far more creative and innovative than if I had just kept something to myself. In the context of CLM implementations, this can mean the difference between a trial-and-error process to compare different solutions and recommending the one that has proven to be most effective for a specific use case.

CLM is a fascinating space that blends logical and creative problem-solving. Perhaps that is why I’ve met so many who are willing to collaborate — it’s all the more fun when you have a team working together to find the best solution. Knowledge-sharing is awesome, so don’t hesitate to reach out to your peers in the CLM space to share ideas and to grow together!

Kai Nen Lee

CLM Business Analyst

Epiq