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Ron: It sounds like you think contract drafting should be a commodity.

Ken: Yes, in large measure. And that?s entirely achievable, given all the sophisticated information-technology tools now available to organizations that produce contracts. Companies that buy stuff or sell stuff generally use a few templates repeatedly. After a certain point, their contract volume will be big enough that it would be cost-effective for them to shift to drafting contracts by having their lawyers or, ideally, their businesspeople complete an online questionnaire. Once the questionnaire is completed, clicking ?Done? would cause the system to pull together and adjust appropriately the pre-loaded and pre-approved contract language.
A rigorous document-assembly system for contract drafting would save time and money and would allow transactional lawyers to focus on tasks where they add real value?helping devise deal strategy and taking part in negotiations. But serious cultural obstacles remain. I suspect that people who buy into my view of things currently represent a small minority. Sure, you hear a lot of talk of change, but I?ve seen little in the way of action to back it up. So the vast silent majority perpetuates the current dysfunction.