What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• What is Claims Management? Jerry defines claims management and explains how a deep, holistic understanding of contract documents can help prevent disputes and strengthen third-party relationships.
• The Role of Communication: Discover why clear, ongoing communication throughout the contract lifecycle is essential for successful project execution.
• Three Pillars of Claims Management: Jerry outlines the three key components: prevention, mitigation, and avoidance, and discusses how to implement each effectively.
• Technology and Data in Claims Management: Learn how early data gathering, such as through robust RFP processes, can provide the foundation for addressing potential claims.
• Change Management: Jerry highlights the critical importance of effective change management in preventing large claims at the end of a project and how building strong contracts upfront adds value for clients and reduces risk.
• The Role of AI in Contract Management: Explore the growing importance of artificial intelligence in streamlining contract management and enhancing decision-making.

Guest Bio:
Jerry Pessah is a seasoned civil engineer and contract management expert with over 27 years of professional experience. As Senior Director of Contract Management at Fluor Corporation, he has worked on some of the world’s largest engineering, construction, and mining projects, bringing extensive expertise to the art and science of contract management.

Key Quote from Jerry:
"Preventing claims starts with a holistic understanding of contract documents, clear communication, and robust change management practices—it’s about being proactive every step of the way."

Connect with Jerry: 
Don’t miss this deep dive into the art of claims management. Tune in now to gain practical strategies for managing risks, resolving disputes, and driving project success.

This week’s episode of the “Contract Heros” podcast features Brendan Raybuck, Chief Revenue Officer at ClearLaw. 

He is an expert in enterprise software, assisting organizations in developing strong sales and partner networks that drive business growth by providing top solutions. He specializes in digital channel sales ecosystems and partner engagement. He has experience creating go-to-market strategies, leading marketing initiatives, and fostering growth for digital agencies as an executive.

Starting today’s conversation, Brendan shares his career background along with the services they provide at ClearLaw. We talk about the complexity of contracts and the importance of structuring contracts in a way that software can analyze them effectively, ensuring that all obligations are clearly outlined to avoid potential liabilities during contract management. Brendan shares his views on the transformation of legal departments, particularly through the use of data in legal tech. He highlights how, similar to the transformation of marketing roles with analytics, chief legal officers can leverage data to improve collaboration across departments, enhance customer support, and ultimately drive revenue.

In this phase of the conversation, we move on to discuss the importance of CLM. Beyond accelerating contract execution and lowering legal expenses, its true value is in leveraging contractual data to address larger business challenges such as compliance and marketing needs. Wrapping up the conversation, Brendan kindly shares the critical questions you need to ask when evaluating CLM vendors to ensure their solutions can effectively meet your needs.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

[00.36] Brendan’s background and what ClearLaw offers the market.

[03.33] How ClearLaw’s contracting intelligence AI works.

[06.30] Complexity of contracts.

[11.10] Advantages of structuring a contract data.

[14.36] The transformation of legal departments.

[18.49] The importance of Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM).

[24.48] Data-driven transformation, elevating legal functions in the corporate landscape.

[26.24] Complex compliance and regulatory environment.

[30.40] Critical questions for evaluating CLM vendors.

RESOURCES

Connect with Brendan

LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/brendanraybuck/

Website - clearlaw.ai/ 

Key Points:

1. Introduction to Richard Robinson:
   • Background in legal tech and litigation support.
   • Career journey from law firms to corporate in-house roles, including JC Penney and Toyota.
2. Transition to Toyota:
   • Inherited a mature legal operations team at Toyota.
   • Initial challenges and the impact of COVID-19 on operations.
3. Core Competencies of CLOC:
   • Discussion on the 12 core principles of CLOC.
   • Emphasis on technology and business intelligence.
4. Strategic Approach to Technology:
   • Importance of aligning technology with business strategy.
   • People, process, and technology as the three pillars of legal operations.
5. Stakeholder Engagement:
   • Identifying and involving the right stakeholders.
   • Importance of communication and emotional intelligence in managing change.
6. Power Skills in Legal Operations:
   • Collaboration, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, communication, and leadership.
   • Listening and understanding root causes before implementing solutions.
7. Mentorship and Industry Engagement:
   • Richard's commitment to mentorship and building up others in the industry.
   • Encouragement to connect on LinkedIn for further conversations.

Key Points:

Introduction to Tiffany Hamilton:

• Director of Legal Innovation, Analytics, and Technology at DHL Supply Chain.
• Eight and a half years at DHL, starting as the sole legal ops resource.

Building the Legal Ops Team:

• Initial challenges and strategic growth of the legal ops team.
• Aligning team resources with the CLOCK Core 12 pillars.

Legacy CLM System Migration:

• Issues with the in-house legacy CLM system and the need for a new solution.
• Gathering stakeholder feedback to identify pain points and requirements.

Data Cleanup and Governance:

• The messy process of data cleanup and the importance of data governance.
• Collaboration with the vendor to ensure clean data migration.

Integrating AI in Contract Management:

• Combining a repository with AI capabilities for contract drafting and data extraction.
• Ensuring human oversight at every step to confirm accuracy.

Lessons Learned and Key Takeaways:

• Importance of understanding data and stakeholder needs.
• The role of information governance in system implementation.
• The significance of user adoption for the success of new systems.

Final Thoughts and Contact Information:

• Tiffany’s enthusiasm for data and information governance.
• Invitation to connect with Tiffany on LinkedIn or at industry conferences like CLOCK.

(0:00:05) - AI in Legal Practice With Damien

Exploring AI's role in law with Damien Riel, discussing reducing drudgery and standardizing legal data through SALI Alliance.

(0:06:34) - Streamlining Legal Research With Sally

SALI's legal data standards and AI's use of tags enhance legal research and promote universal understanding in the international legal industry.

(0:17:31) - Utilizing AI for Contract Management

Nature's structured tagging systems, Sally tags, are integrated in legal questions for business. AI tools aid in contract management and data-driven approaches enhance accuracy in negotiations.

(0:24:26) - AI in Legal Systems

Nature's contract analysis with vector space, AI bridging legal systems, and VLex's taxonomies for accurate translation.

(0:28:10) - Leveraging AI for Legal Efficiency

AI's impact on the legal industry, including 2023 tech layoffs, reshaping workflows, replacing tasks, and streamlining operations.

(0:40:29) - Legal Data and Language Models

LLMs have a transformative impact on legal research, offering out-of-the-box solutions and reducing the need for extensive human labor.

(0:48:06) - Leveraging Technology in Legal Industry

Organizational buy-in for integrating GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 into legal tech stack, data privacy, evolving skills in legal profession.

(0:54:04) - Exploring Future Growth in CLM

Damian shares insights on technological advancement and its applications, while Coho guides individuals through the complexities of CLM.

(0:00:01) - Legal Ops and Tech at Netflix

Legal ops at tech companies like Netflix and Spotify, challenges of tech adoption, fostering engagement and learning, and evolution of legal ops.

(0:04:49) - Evolution of Legal Technology Careers

From touring musician to legal ops professional, embracing change and innovation leads to rewarding career growth.

(0:17:51) - Boosting User Adoption Through Training

Pivot tables simplify data analysis for legal professionals and humor adds value to educational content for Cisco employees.

(0:32:57) - Creative Video Production in Corporate Settings

TV inundation, addressing information gaps, creativity in law, evergreen content, impactful video presentation for Netflix's legal department during COVID.

(0:44:23) - Utilizing Visual Aids for Learning

Nature's power of visual learning through videos for corporate training, using professional voice actors and avoiding content overload.

(0:54:22) - Inspiring Conversation on Video Sharing

Nature's innovative experiences can be shared for education and customer engagement, with advice for those inspired.