Enhance Microsoft Word for Legal Teams with These 9 Word Add-Ins for Contracts

Contract negotiations can be a complex and time-consuming process. Most contract negotiators use Microsoft Word for legal contracts — it is still the reigning king of contract negotiation tools.

While it’s the go-to for contracts, Word doesn’t always deliver the goods independently.

Luckily, Microsoft Word offers a range of powerful add-ins, built and maintained by third parties, that can streamline and enhance your contract negotiation workflow.

This article explores some essential Word add-ins specifically designed for contract negotiations. These tools can help you save time, improve collaboration, and enhance the overall effectiveness of your contract negotiation process.

HummingbirdAI

Name: HummingbirdAI
Free Plan: No
Free Trial: Yes
Price: Contact for pricing
User Reviews: 0 Ratings available

HummingbirdAI has a suite of features designed to automate contract drafting suggestions, with a library of contract and clause resources and up-to-date knowledge on market standards.

As you type, the add-in provides contract clause suggestions and integrates with over 2 million legal documents.

Whether you prefer working within Word or in your browser, this add-in adapts to your workflow. Collaboration features include AI-assisted review, guiding your team members based on what matters most to you.

Pros:

  • Streamlines contract drafting process

  • Provides real-time suggestions and insights

  • Easy integration with Microsoft Word

  • AI-assisted review for improved accuracy

  • Extensive contract and clause libraries

Cons:

  • No free plan is available

  • Pricing details not readily available

  • Suggests clauses from publicly available legal documents, not your own work

Recital for Word

Name: Recital for Word
Free Plan: Initially free, with limited capabilities
Free Trial: Free to try. The length of the trial period has not yet been defined
Price: Paid versions with enhanced features will be available in the future
User Reviews: 0 Ratings available

Recital for Word revolutionizes your contract drafting process by working in and with the tools you already use like Word, email, and cloud storage. With this add-in, you can effortlessly access your existing clauses without ever leaving Word.

The best part? You can get started immediately with no manual importing of clauses or contracts required.

Unlike other clause suggestion tools that require you to import a pre-existing clause library or contract templates, Recital uses AI to analyze your previous contracts to offer intelligent suggestions for similar clauses you’ve already written, boosting your efficiency.

Recital for Word integrates with popular tools like Gmail, Google Drive, Outlook, OneDrive, and SharePoint, with the convenience of single sign-on.

Pros:

  • Contract negotiators can start immediately, with no required manual uploads of existing work

  • Eliminates the need for manual searching through previous contracts

  • All data is safeguarded with advanced encryption and multi-factor authentication

  • Substitute clauses on the fly, saving time and effort

  • Streamlines the process of finding and substituting clauses in Word

  • Saves time by eliminating the need to switch between applications

  • Integrates with widely used tools for negotiations

Cons:

  • Limited capabilities in the free version, with enhanced features only available in paid plans

  • Does not (yet) have the ability to manually add your favorite clauses

  • Limited user feedback available online

JAGGAER Contract Authoring for Word

Name: JAGGAER Contract Authoring for Word
Free Plan: No
Free Trial: Not specified
Price: Not publicly available
User Reviews: 5.0 (1 rating on Microsoft AppSource Marketplace)

Harnessing the power of "Smart Templates," JAGGAER enables dynamic contract generation, automating the creation process with unparalleled efficiency. Say goodbye to repetitive manual work as you effortlessly populate contracts with relevant information in seconds. By leveraging approved clauses, the Add-In ensures contract consistency, eliminating the risk of errors and omissions. With centralized control over template and clause visibility, organizations can maintain standardized practices and enhance team collaboration.

It eliminates the need for physical documentation and provides a centralized digital repository for all your contracts.

Pros:

  • Turns Microsoft Word into a powerful contracting tool

  • Part of JAGGAER's complete contract lifecycle management solution

  • Designed to optimize the contracting process

  • Minimizes legal and regulatory risk

Cons:

  • Requires an active subscription to Total Contract Manager from JAGGAER

  • Lacks detail in the notifications of contracts stages

  • Some users report “clunky” interface of some modules

  • Other users report the need for further customization that wasn’t made available by JAGGAER

  • Requires time-consuming uploading of your existing work to access search functions

Clausebook

Name: Clausebook
Free Plan: Yes
Free Trial: N/A
Price: Paid versions will be made available in the future
User Reviews: 5.0 (4 ratings on Microsoft AppSource Marketplace)

Clausebook’s cloud-based platform focuses on bringing efficiency and convenience to your workflow. Build, use, and share your forms, files and clause libraries effortlessly, eliminating the process of searching through old deals.

Clausebook’s search feature lets you retrieve specific language from your clause libraries. With real-time collaboration, you can collaborate with colleagues, sharing forms and clauses.

Pros:

  • Access your forms and clause libraries within Word

  • Streamline your workflow by quickly finding the right language for your legal documents

  • Cloud-based storage ensures your forms are accessible from anywhere, anytime

  • Collaborate with team members on document creation

Cons:

  • Pricing plans may not be suitable for individual users with minimal usage

  • The absence of a free trial might deter some users from exploring the premium features

  • Requires time-consuming uploading of your existing work to access search functions

Henchman

Name: Henchman
Free Plan: No
Free Trial: Not specified
Price: Henchman’s Word Add-in is part of a subscription plan
User Reviews: 4.8 (14 ratings on G2)

With Henchman, you can access your team's collective knowledge and previously written clauses and definitions from your contract database.

Henchman enables you to search within your existing clauses and definitions and leverages artificial intelligence (AI) technology to provide you with valuable insights and suggestions for optimizing your contracts. By harnessing the power of AI, Henchman helps you create contracts that are comprehensive, accurate, and tailored to your specific needs.

Henchman simplifies the review process by allowing you to identify and address any revisions made to your contracts quickly.

Pros:

  • Offers access to legal expertise accumulated by your team

  • The search feature allows you to find specific clauses or definitions, reducing the time spent manually reviewing contracts

Cons:

  • Subscription-based pricing model: Henchman's Word Add-In is part of a subscription plan, which requires an additional cost for access

  • Requires time-consuming uploading of your existing work to access search functions

Loio Contract Review Software

Name: Loio Contract Review Software
Free Plan: No
Free Trial: 14-day free trial
Price: Not specified
User Reviews: 5.0 (7 ratings on Microsoft AppSource Marketplace)

Loio offers instant reports on the "health" of your contracts, enabling you to make informed decisions by scanning and identifying minor and major issues in key information details.

Loio’s organized document structure provides an intuitive browsing experience, allowing you to spot and address any problem areas. Additionally, the customizable clause feature allows you to tailor contracts to your specific needs, empowering you to negotiate and draft future agreements with ease.

Pros:

  • Helps law firms, in-house legal teams, and individual attorneys

  • Provides efficient contract drafting and reviewing

  • Offers a 14-day free trial with all features

  • 24/7 support team available

  • Risk-free cancellation at any time

Cons:

  • Pricing information not specified (requires subscription)

  • Limitations of add-in capabilities not specified

  • Requires time-consuming uploading of your existing work to access search functions

Donna

Name: Donna
Free Plan: Yes
Free Trial: 14-day free trial
Price: Subscription-based
User Reviews: 4.5 (2 ratings Microsoft AppSource Marketplace)

With Donna, you can navigate through legal documents, quickly find Defined Terms, Dates, Parties, Clauses, and other crucial elements within complex agreements. Enter your desired search term, and the add-in will highlight all instances, enabling you to jump directly to the relevant sections.

The application employs intelligent algorithms to analyze your documents, scrutinizing every line for potential pitfalls, and ensuring that no critical issues are overlooked.

The add-in offers a Dictionary tool that streamlines the process of looking up snippets of Defined Terms within your document, helping you maintain accuracy and comprehension throughout your legal work.

Pros:

  • Streamlines legal document review process

  • User-friendly interface

  • Saves time by automating issue identification

Cons:

  • Requires a Donna account to access the add-in

  • Subscription-based pricing may not be suitable for all users

  • Requires time-consuming uploading of your existing work to access search functions

authorDOCs

Name: authorDOCs
Free Plan: Yes
Free Trial: Available
Price: Varies (Premium plans available)
User Reviews: 4.7 (12 ratings Microsoft AppSource Marketplace)

authorDOCs streamlines the drafting and review process by allowing you to jump to important clauses, concepts, in your contracts, eliminating the need for manual searches and cross-references. By accessing a comprehensive collection of predefined concepts such as Liability, Termination, Assignment, and more, you can grasp key terms and understand their significance.

Clicking on a defined term, you can view its definition in the sidebar, making complex legal language more accessible and comprehensible. Create, save, and tag clauses, concepts, excerpts, and playbook items as you draft, keeping your work organized. Share your work with colleagues, creating organization-wide precedence and promoting collaboration within your team.

Pros:

  • Efficient navigation, definition lookup, and pre-loaded clauses accelerate contract review and drafting

  • Leverage AI to enhance your drafting process and identify critical contract issues

  • Save, tag, and filter clauses for quick access during drafting

  • Free plan/free trial available

Cons:

  • Requires authorAI Account: Setting up the Add-In necessitates creating an authorAI account

  • Compatibility: authorDOCs runs on Office 365, so users with older versions may need to visit the McCarthyFinch website for access

  • Requires time-consuming uploading of your existing work to access search functions

ClauseBuddy

Name: ClauseBuddy
Free Plan: No
Free Trial: Yes
Price: Contact for pricing and licensing conditions User Reviews: Not available

ClauseBuddy lets you search and enhance your clause library directly within Microsoft Word with search by keyword, or by browsing through ordered folders, or even by finding similar clauses.

Fine-tune your content by inserting placeholders, footnotes, and tables directly within your clauses. ClauseBuddy enables the automatic conjugation of verbs, adjectives, and pronouns in over 28 languages, eliminating manual adjustments for linguistic integrity.

It also offers automated translations, with the ability to switch between languages. Create conditional text parts and tailor your document based on specific criteria.

Pros:

  • Simplifies and speeds up the process of creating contracts

  • Offers various facilities for tweaking and customizing clauses

  • Supports multiple languages for easy translation

Cons:

  • Requires an existing subscription to ClauseBase

  • Pricing and licensing information not readily available

  • Some users report a steep learning curve when attempting to utilize all features

  • Requires time-consuming uploading of your existing work to access search functions

Want more insights into how to save time with contract negotiations and leverage legal tech in your current workflows?

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