This online tool cuts contract red tape to less than an hour

afr.com:

The time-consuming and expensive process of drafting a commercial contract for construction projects has been a sore point for both law firms and their clients for decades.

So when law firm King & Wood Mallesons launched an innovative tool in June that creates a customised construction contract in less than an hour, it represented a breakthrough for the industry.

KWM Partner Amy Munro 

Amy Munro, a partner at KWM’s construction practice and one of the two co-creators of the DIY Contracts tool, says there was definitely a gap in the market. Existing construction contract drafting is a cumbersome process that involves taking an Australian Standard (AS) contract and amending 70 per cent of it.

“There is a pain point for lawyers, commercial managers and procurement managers because every time you have to do a new deal, you’ve got to go and dust off the old one and make sure you’ve got all the new regulations and legislation in place, then go through it clause by clause,” she says.

Instead, DIY Contracts is a self-service, online platform that guides customers through a questionnaire. Once you put in the responses, the tool will generate a fully customised contract in editable MS Word format. The whole process takes less than an hour.

Its appeal lies in the efficiency and flexibility it provides, with clients able to generate different contracts by simply ticking and unticking relevant boxes. It also removes the need for additional advice or drafting services, significantly reducing costs.

The tool generates a DIY contract for a flat $5000 fee, comparing favourably to the $10,000-$20,000 price range for a bespoke construction contract.

KWM Partner Shannon Etwell. 

“It’s primarily targeted towards the small-to-middle sized