For Contracts Administrators ·
What you'll accomplish
You'll upload a full contract PDF or document into Claude Pro and work through detailed review questions, identifying non-standard clauses, comparing terms against your standards, and generating a risk summary. A 75-page contract you'd normally spend 3 hours reviewing can be worked through in under an hour.
What you'll need
What you should see: Your account dashboard shows "Pro" status and indicates you have extended context capabilities (200,000 tokens, roughly 150,000 words).
Troubleshooting: If your organization blocks claude.ai, check with IT. Many organizations allow it for non-classified, non-sensitive work.
Click New Chat from the Claude dashboard.
You're going to work through the contract in this single conversation. Claude remembers everything you share and your questions build on each other.
Click the paperclip icon or attachment button in the message area and upload your contract file. Claude accepts PDF, Word documents (.docx), and plain text.
Alternatively, copy and paste the contract text directly into the message window.
What you should see: Claude confirms it has received the document and can see the content.
Type your first message:
"This is a [type of contract, e.g., IT services agreement] between [our organization] as the buyer and [vendor]. Please read it and provide: (1) a summary of the key terms in plain English, (2) the main obligations of each party, and (3) any clauses that stand out as unusual or potentially risky."
What you should see: A structured overview, typically 3–5 paragraphs or a bulleted list covering the basics of the agreement.
Follow up with specific questions based on your review priorities:
For risk identification:
"Identify any clauses where our organization as the buyer has taken on unusual liability exposure. Rate each as high/medium/low risk."
For comparison against standards:
"Compare the limitation of liability clause in this contract against a typical market-standard limitation for a [type] agreement. Is it below market, at market, or above market from our perspective?"
For compliance:
"Are there any provisions in this contract that appear to conflict with FAR [or HIPAA, or your applicable regulation]?"
For specific sections:
"Explain the indemnification section in plain English. What scenarios would trigger our indemnification obligation?"
Once you've worked through the contract:
"Based on our review conversation, create a contract review summary memo I can share with my legal team and management. Include: (1) contract overview, (2) key risks identified, (3) recommended redlines, and (4) open questions for legal."
What you should see: A professional memo-format document you can copy and email immediately.
Initial risk assessment:
"Review this contract and identify the top 5 risks for our organization as the [buyer/seller/service recipient]. Rate each as high/medium/low and suggest how each should be addressed."
Comparison against standards:
"Compare this contract's [indemnification / limitation of liability / IP ownership / data security] provisions against market standard language. What are the key differences and are they favorable or unfavorable to us?"
Obligation extraction:
"List all ongoing obligations this contract places on our organization — things we must do, deadlines we must meet, certifications we must maintain. Format as a checklist with section references."
Plain-English summary for executives:
"Summarize the key points of this contract for a business executive who doesn't read contracts regularly. Focus on: what we're committing to, what we're getting, what could go wrong, and what it costs."
Redline recommendations:
"Based on your review, list the top 5 redlines our legal team should prioritize. For each, state the current language, explain the issue, and suggest alternative language."