With heavy workloads, constant pressures, and long, unpredictable hours, lawyer burnout is a real issue in the legal industry. Respondents to Bloomberg Law’s most recent “Workload and Hours” survey, published in September, reported feeling burnout in their jobs an average of 47% of the time in the last six months.

Burnout is more than just working too much. It’s a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.  

In order to reduce–and hopefully, avoid–burnout, businesses need to address its root causes. One key way to reduce workload is to automate manual and routine work. Modern contract management lifecycle systems (CLMS) streamline workflows, automate routine tasks, and increase operational efficiencies, so lawyers can spend their working hours working focused on substantive issues and have more time for self-care.

While these systems don’t replace the work of lawyers, they can be indispensable aids to support better work and health. Here are four of the top ways that contract lifecycle management systems can help support lawyers at your organization.

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They reduce inefficiencies.

Contract lifecycle management systems help lawyers work more efficiently and accurately in preparing contracts. Without CLMS, lawyers often spend days drafting new agreements from scratch, wading through emails trying to locate the most recent changes to an agreement, and tracking down the needed stakeholders to sign off on the agreements. Trying to keep abreast of–and manage–all of the tasks related to executed agreements is a big stressor. It’s also an unnecessary one. CLM technology, like Evisort, can help lawyers draft, redline, approve, execute, report on, and renew contracts in one easy-to-use platform. CLMS also notify stakeholders of impending deadlines and tasks, keeping lawyers from worrying about possible missed deadlines or signatures. 

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They save time. 

It’s time-consuming and a waste of brain power for lawyers to spend hours manually going through contracts, searching for specific clauses, like “force majeure” or renewal dates. The best AI-powered CLMS automatically track key information, dates, and provisions from contracts without manual data entry or review. It takes the pressure off of lawyers and helps organization leaders make more strategic decisions. Attorneys can simply click on a search button and know in a matter of seconds which contracts, for instance, are up for renewal in the upcoming months.

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They make companies more secure. 

One thing that keeps many a lawyer and compliance officer up at night is the fear that older, executed contracts might not be in compliance with updated laws. Data privacy laws and regulations, for example, are constantly changing. The penalties for violations of data protection laws can cost companies tens of millions of dollars and lead to damaged reputations and legal landmines. (TikTok, for instance, is facing the prospect of a £27 million fine, after the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office found that the company may have breached UK data protection laws.)

CLM platforms can be used to help ensure compliance with updated laws as well as peace of mind. With Evisort’s AI technology, for instance, lawyers can quickly identify contracts at risk and update or replace provisions at scale, instead of painstakingly going through contracts one at a time.

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They enable a better work-life balance. 

One of the benefits of cloud-based contract lifecycle management systems is that they allow users to securely access contracts from anywhere. When contracts can be accessed remotely, it means lawyers can work from home–or even from the sidelines of their child’s soccer game–on a schedule that better works for them and their families. This sort of work flexibility has been shown to increase job satisfaction and lower burnout rates–a win for everyone.

Interested to learn how Evisort can help your organization increase operational efficiencies and support better work and wellness outcomes? Schedule a demo today!