Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Contract definition

What does Contract mean? In legal practice, a contract is the enforceable agreement by which parties set out promises and allocate risk, whether made orally, in writing or by conduct. The law of contract is principally case-law driven across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, with statutory interventions on formalities, construction and consumer protection. In England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland, formation generally requires offer, acceptance, consideration and an intention to create legal relations. In Scotland, consideration is not required; a contract is formed by agreement (consensus in idem) with the necessary intention, with writing only needed in defined cases. Key features...

End-to-end Contract Automation and Lifecycle Management: Challenges, Change Management, Business Benefits, and Choosing the Right CLM, e-signature Solutions and Suppliers

Published by a LexisNexis Practice Compliance expert

Practice notes

As automation and workflow tools become embedded in lawyers’ daily work, organisations are increasingly recognising the gains they deliver, including:

higher productivity
greater Efficiency and shorter timescales
operational efficiency and cost savings
improved data and management information
enhanced risk visibility and the ability to manage it
faster speed to market—eg the capacity to shorten sales cycles

New ways of working affect people as well as processes, and securing buy-in from the immediate team and the wider business is essential to project success. This depends on thoroughly analysing current processes to understand how workflows can be refined.

Crucially, the business must be ready to embrace innovation—effective change management is vital. For more on change management, see subtopic: Managing change.

This Practice Note examines automating Contracting and Contract lifecycle management, addressing: what contract lifecycle management is; the challenges of contracts and how to tackle them; the advantages of contract management solutions; the benefits of automated contracting; and how to choose the right supplier and tool.

Contract lifecycle management—what is it?

Contract lifecycle management is the...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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