Deloitte Legal and Contractify have launched what they call an ‘affordable end-to-end contract lifecycle management solution’ in Belgium, which also connects the legal tech company’s software to Legau, Deloitte Legal’s own contract automation system. The Big Four firm will add its legal and paralegal expertise to the solution to provide a ‘one-stop-shop’ offering to inhouse legal teams.
It’s another sign of how serious the Big Four are about the CLM space. It’s also another partnership….and there seem to be so many of those now. What sets this one apart is that it’s a link not just with Deloitte Legal’s professionals, but with a tool of their own.
All well and good. But who are Contractify? It’s a Belgium-based company focused on post-award contract management – and as one would expect it helps businesses ‘to centralise, manage, and sign all contracts in one secure, cloud-based platform, which provides a full overview of all their vital contracts’. It also has an office in the Netherlands, and works in English and Dutch.
They noted that Contractify ‘will launch a new AI-feature in June, which will allow clients to register contracts up to five times faster’, which sounds intriguing.
Meanwhile, Legau is contract automation software that has been developed by Deloitte Legal. Legau offers automated templates enabling users to create contracts and legal documents adjusted to their specific needs through the use of an intuitive questionnaire. So, putting these together, plus some legal expertise, looks like a good fit.
‘Through this partnership, Contractify and Deloitte Legal will provide a one-stop-shop for legal departments looking for a reliable, yet affordable contract management solution. It will enable them to create value for their business, while transforming the way in which legal services are delivered and consumed,’ they said.
Jan Roggen, Director of Legal Managed Services at Deloitte Legal, noted: ‘Talking with clients, we noticed that they struggle with finding a reliable, yet affordable, solution for contract management with limited implementation costs. We recognised that Contractify is a great, cost-efficient and reliable partner for many clients, and we are excited to combine forces to change the way legal services are delivered.’
Steven Debrauwere, CEO and Co-founder of Contractify, concluded: ‘We are excited to combine our leading software for proactive contract management with the legal and paralegal expertise of Deloitte Legal to broaden our reach.’
Is this a big deal? Belgium is a key legal centre in Europe and home to many major corporations. Any deal in the CLM / contract management space is noteworthy given the surge in interest in this area, and that it involves a Big Four legal arm is all the more significant given their extensive client links.
The next question is: how far can this spread? At present it looks like a key aspect to this is the Belgian legal expertise that is focused on the offering. However, with some additional work to let it fit into other markets there is no reason why this partnership cannot spread internationally.