New law offering

We can redesign any repeatable and scalable processes for your legal function. Our solutions are enriched with elements from other advisory disciplines and technology. Using workflow management tools and methodologies and process automation we centralize and standardise the processes currently managed in a traditional manner. 

The delivery of MLS projects will be tailored to the specific requirements of each subject area e.g. contract, litigation, real estate and IP. However, there are many common stages that can be distinguished in each of these areas in relation to project planning, execution and management. 

A pharmaceutical client reached out to us with a request for their global procurement function to be redesigned. We took a staged approach to streamline and boost the process for commercial contract lifecycle management (CLM).

Firstly, we identified the types of contracts and the current analysed the existing process to determine the actions and methodology the new, tech-enabled process should cover. The streamlined process was outlined in the CLM handbook and contracts playbook - this included a breakdown of the standard commercial terms and conditions for the agreements along with the client’s preferred fallback clauses. 

We also collaborated with the Client’s IT Team to scope the requirements for a CLM tool, setting out our recommendations for digital improvements. The CLM tool included case and workflow management functions as well as the automation of contract drafting and execution (by e-signature). 

Fianaly, we implemented the new model and continued in our role by providing a pool of contract specialists supporting the procurement team within the re-designed function. This project exposed us to all types of contracts in 60+ jurisdictions including the Americas, EMEA and ASIAPAC. 

The main benefit of the MLS provided was the centralization and standardization of the function, which led to costs reductions thanks to:

• decreasing the time required for manual contract drafting, execution and administration;
  
• centralizing the contract repository, including tracking contractual terms and conditions;
  
• simplifying the contract-related risk and compliance assessment;
  
• mitigating potential litigation exposure as a result of contract non-compliance.
  

This serves as an example of where our MLS can make a difference but there are many other areas that can be targeted for efficiencies such as compliance functions facing increased regulatory and reporting requirements (e.g. GDPR) or mass litigation scenarios. 

A combination of the power of AI-based technology and our unique approach to legal services, through our Lagal Center of Excellence are key to our methodology. To this extent we can conduct the DD, contract review and remediation on great amounts of data, and includes in particular:

the review of commercial agreements, including identification of key provisions such as i) non-standard clauses, ii) liability clauses, and iii) non-assignment clauses;

• identification of change of control clauses in the contracts; 
  
• review of financial documents and review of lease agreements; and
  
• data structuring – preparation of breakdowns and data repositories including e.g. contract value.
  

Thanks to the above we limit the need for a manual review of all the agreements and can target our efforts on the areas where we can add the most value.

Our delivery model assumes two layers of quality control (QC) including: (i) a first QC level, which enhances the quality in real time; and (ii) Subject Matter Expert (SME) review i.e. by an experienced legal professional from PwC Legal Poland practice.

We were involved in the reorganization of a client’s product portfolio, which required the review of a significant number of legal documents including circa 1,100 contracts across 30 European countries.

We assisted in determining the scope of the review and categorisation of clauses. These were then reflected in the contract review playbook, including instructions for analysis and dealing with ambiguities. The factual review included two phases:

• Contract prioritization - aimed at identifying the contracts from the client’s portfolio relating to the target products and verification of the contract expiry date;
  
• Substantive DD - based on the results of the first phase a more detailed review of in-scope contracts was conducted against the questionnaire including over 21 categories of contractual clauses (mainly commercial terms).
  

The review was conducted using an intuitive contract review eDiscovery tool. There was a two-layer review process performed in the tool. The first review was carried out by a Legal CoE analyst, the second by a QC in the team. All the data was captured in the tool which allowed for the creation of customized dashboards and searchable reports for the client.

The key benefit of the applied review method was time saving - the whole process was completed in 3 weeks (including the structuring phase and feasibility checks by the client) - and resulted in 100% accuracy thanks to the tech (AI) and human collaboration. Thanks to our Legal CoE methodology and the use of IT tools, instead of engaging relevant local teams for each jurisdiction, the vast majority of documents was handled by PwC Legal CoE specialists in Poland with on-demand access to local jurisdictions legal professionals as required.

As part of our support, we can conduct a legal and regulatory feasibility analysis of various documents used by your organization both in business processes and internal procedures in order to determine the potential for implementing electronic documents flows.

The delivery of Digital upskilling projects will be tailored to the specific requirements of each subject area e.g. contract, litigation, real estate and IP. However, there are many common stages that can be distinguished in each of these areas in relation to project planning, execution and management.

A client in the banking sector was in the process of launching a new document management infrastructure to enable effective process automation. With regards to the circulation of documentation, the client planned to expand their central repository of electronic documentation and make it available to all business units. In order to optimally configure the system and take full advantage of the new technology - ECM, the client planned a parallel review of the approach to management of paper and electronic documentation.

We assisted the client in:

• preparation of an sample list (tree) of document types processed by banks; 
  
• cross referencing the list of document types proposed by PwC with the list of documents processed at the client;
  
• legal analysis and determining the feasibility of digitising particular types of documents; and
  
• determining the business potential of reducing paper documentation based on the conclusions of the analysis and the volume of paper documentation.
  

As a result we assessed the potential for reducing the flow of paper documents at a level of 30%-90% along with business ready typology of documents for primary digitization (i.e. documents that may be executed in digital version only) and specification of related requirements e.g. the legal form of each document or the requirement for a qualified electronic signature. 

The key benefit accruing from digitization is a reduction of paper document flow and related cost savings. Based on the above case study, a reduction in the flow of paper documents for a medium-sized client in e.g. the banking sector reaches 60-70%, which translates into a real reduction of costs with savings that can be estimated at 1 million EUR annually.

We work with many clients and leading teams internationally, which exposes us to various market standards and allows us to curate our own market leading best practices. 

We also have experience in using a wide range of Legal Tech tools and can decide, which technology is best for a particular project. We will use our knowledge to support you in designing a legal technology strategy, assessment of implementation readiness and offer implementation support.

Deciding on your legal technology strategy is a big decision and before you start you will want to be able to quantify the level of investment needed and understand what success will look like for you. This will allow you to make a business case for the programme and clearly define the benefits.

We will be with you every step of the way and will use are experience in the following areas to help you achieve a return on your investment: 

• Tech enabled legal process optimisation - for document review and remediation in the context of banking benchmark reform or streamlining the process for mass litigation scenarios using technology.
  
• Legal Tech tools based on artificial intelligence - presenting potential deliverables and benefits that may be gained thanks to our product.
  
• Software for contract due diligence - „Trainable” thanks to in-built machine-learning solutions with usability and accuracy rising with every new document processed.
  
• Sanitisation tools - Used for the redaction of the documentation for due diligence purposes and including automatic identification of sensitive data.
  
• Management of electronic signatures - Allows organisations to manage electronic agreements, including their e-signing on different devices.