Contract lifecycle management (CLM) remains a top investment priority for general counsel in most industries for harnessing the power of automation in contracts and opening up bandwidth for higher-value work. But while many legal departments tout the future potential of their CLM systems, some are self-sabotaging from the start and compromising their prospects for success.

For a truly successful CLM implementation that provides the best possible ROI, in-house legal departments must have a laser-like focus on the process. They need to have their internal strategies, priorities, and templates lined up so that all of the primary legwork goes into data migration, building automated clause playbooks, and opening up workflows and better profit-generating opportunities for the company’s blue-chip legal talent.