In this series of articles for Corporate Counsel Advance, we examine the ways to make contracting simpler, smoother, and more predictable and efficient for the business. The first step in this effort is for the law department to define the company’s basic policies and guidelines. What contracts should the legal team spend time on, and what contracts should it not spend time on?

The problem is that law department lawyers often find themselves trapped in a reactive role when they review the contracts sent to them by their company. Somehow the business owners determine what Legal should and shouldn’t review, yet the attorneys are in the best place to make that determination. So, why don’t more legal teams take a proactive role in defining what should land on their plates?