P2P

36 P E E R T O P E E R : I L T A ' S Q U A R T E R L Y M A G A Z I N E | S P R I N G 2 0 2 3 irrelevant to the transaction or matter at hand? The worst problem with this approach is that many starting-point documents were previously negotiated with opposing counsel. Unless you have a photographic memory, remembering all of the little compromises made while negotiating the prior matter is nearly impossible; and each one can be a landmine for your current client. A structural drawback of basing new documents upon old ones is that many practitioners do not return to the same template every time. Instead, they keep using the last one they drafted. The problem is that since the starting point is a moving target, there's no consistent base document which can be updated and improved over time. There's nowhere to store (for future use) custom provisions drafted for less common fact-pattern wrinkles. Finally, whether this approach is fast really depends upon what you compare it to. It is unquestionably faster than starting a new document from scratch, but it is also much slower than incorporating DA technology into the process. Document Automation Defined On the most basic level, document automation is the use of software to (very) quickly generate customized Microsoft Word documents. In other words, document automation adds significant functionality to your existing word processor. It allows you to capture the consistencies in your documents such as which sections, paragraphs, sentences, and words go where under any set of facts. It also allows you to capture the irregularities in your documents. Irregularities include custom provisions and intelligent language building that can accurately consider thousands of inputs to produce the correct phraseology every time. Instead of cut and paste, you can pick desired options or alternatives from a list or interview. Instead of manually replacing [Testator name] with your client's name 25 times, you simply respond to on-screen questions and let the computer do the clerical work. Users must only answer questions in an interview/questionnaire to produce letter-perfect, completely customized documents. Neither word processing nor computer skills are required to use such a system once it is built. Even technophobe, two- finger typists can produce perfectly formatted, complex documents without assistance. For example, an interview screen may look like the following: Properly deployed, DA technology can exponentially decrease drafting time and increase accuracy. For example, it would be normal for a DA system to compress what normally takes 6 hours of drafting time into 15 or 20 minutes. DA systems can be used as teaching tools, shared with others, and textually updated as necessary. If your practice involves generating complex documents (or a set of documents is the ultimate deliverable), then DA can dramatically boost profitability and/or decrease costs. Consider Issues Beyond Document Automation If a process is broken or the wrong person is in the wrong seat, it's possible to significantly reduce drafting time and still experience little or no overall efficiency gain. Drafting obviously doesn't occur in a vacuum. So my advice is to examine people, processes and technology at the same time. They're all related, and you probably won't get far if you ignore any of the three areas. Q 1 W H I T E P A P E R S

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