This global food packaging specialist develops and manufactures packaging that helps products reach more people, more easily. With a worldwide presence, its legal team manages a vast and complex portfolio of contracts. The North America legal team, comprised of three attorneys and one records manager, operates as part of a larger global group of about twenty attorneys, handling everything from commercial and corporate counsel to ethics, compliance, M&A, and IP.

Lost in the Contract Labyrinth

Like many organizations, the company’s contract process was a tangled web of emails and manual downloads. A contract would arrive, get passed to an attorney for review, and then begin a back-and-forth negotiation process that was difficult to track. "You're never quite certain what version is the correct version," shared their Legal Counsel for Americas. “And were there changes made between your last version and the version that you received?” 

Once an attorney sent a revised contract back, they lost all visibility. Did the contract proceed? Did someone else sign it? The team had no way of knowing. This lack of oversight meant they also had no data or metrics. How many contracts were they reviewing? What was their total dollar value? What key terms were hidden within them?

“We were really lost in terms of what contracts were out there and what was in those contracts,” Legal Counsel explained. The team knew they needed a Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) solution, but the options were overwhelming. They ranged from overly burdensome systems from big players to simplistic SharePoint sites that wouldn't scale. They needed an out-of-the-box solution that was flexible enough for their established workflow, intuitive for their users, and scalable for future global rollout.

Finding Clarity: The Journey to LinkSquares

After thorough research, including reviewing Gartner reports and even reaching out to peers on message boards, they discovered LinkSquares. Conversations with other users who faced similar issues with visibility and process management confirmed it was the right fit.

The implementation process immediately stood out. "It's a really white glove service in terms of implementation, and I felt that the entire way through," Legal Counsel said. The company was assigned a dedicated project manager and support for the platform. With multiple weekly touchpoints, the LinkSquares team made a potentially complex process feel simple and seamless. "It actually took less time than I thought it would," they added.

A key factor was finding a system they could manage themselves without constantly needing to contact a help desk. LinkSquares proved to be intuitive and user-friendly, allowing the legal team to learn it quickly and make changes on their own. This self-sufficiency, combined with the powerful features of the platform, was exactly what they were looking for.

Empowering Legal with Clarity, Control, and Confidence

The impact of LinkSquares was felt across the legal department and the broader business almost immediately.

Transformative Results

• Drastic Time Savings: Within seconds, the team can now pull specific agreements, like all equipment leases from a certain year – a task that would have been impossible before. The Microsoft Word Add-In also dramatically speeds up reviews.
• Enhanced Visibility and Risk Reduction: The legal team finally has a clear view of all contracts. "I feel like I can breathe easier knowing that the contracts we're working on are somewhere where I have visibility," said the Legal Counsel for Americas. This transparency allows them to quickly identify and manage risk.
• Actionable Data and Reporting: The executive dashboard provides crucial ROI metrics on time saved, contract volume, and review cycles. This data has been instrumental in demonstrating the platform's value to global teammates and justifying the investment.
• Improved Collaboration: Sales and procurement teams now have direct insight into contract status, eliminating endless email chains and questions. They can see where a contract is in the approval process, who is reviewing it, and why, which helps deals move faster.

Turning Chaos into Clarity: How They Streamlined Operations

The ability to collect and analyze data has unlocked new levels of efficiency. The executive dashboard gives the company the metrics to show that internal legal review takes just a few days, while counterparty review can take much longer, providing clear data to combat the old narrative of legal being a bottleneck.

Features like smart tags and a centralized clause library have become daily essentials. Recently, an account manager needed information on equipment leases. Thanks to automated tagging set up during implementation, Legal Counsel was able to pull every relevant lease in seconds. "I was able to go into LinkSquares within a matter of seconds and pull all those equipment leases... which I would never have been able to do in the past," they noted.

The Word Add-In has been a particular game-changer, automatically detecting any changes between versions. Legal Counsel also uses the clause library as a checklist during reviews, ensuring crucial terms are included consistently without having to hunt through old agreements.

Looking Forward: Scaling Success Across the Globe

The company is currently piloting LinkSquares in North America with plans to expand globally. The data and ROI demonstrated through the platform's dashboards are already making a strong case for a worldwide rollout.

The platform's AI capabilities have also impressed the team. Legal Counsel compared LinkSquares AI Assist to other tools and found it more sophisticated and legally focused. "What I'm able to get back from the LinkSquares AI assist... it's more legal focused. It keeps with the tone of the agreement. It's just more sophisticated."

By providing transparency, powerful tools, and actionable data, LinkSquares has empowered the legal team to move from a reactive position to a proactive, strategic one. They can now more effectively manage risk, seamlessly collaborate with other departments, and prove their value with hard data. For this company, LinkSquares isn't just a repository; it's a core driver of operational excellence.

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