How much time do you spend every week drafting? We’ve seen estimates that 40% - 60% of a lawyer's time is spent drafting and reviewing legal documents.  On the low end, that’s about 16 hours a week; on the high end, it can be upwards of 24 hours. 

Your Tip: It is possible to delegate drafting.  

A lot of lawyers push back when we suggest they delegate drafting tasks. They believe someone else would make too many mistakes, use the wrong language, or write in an inappropriate style. They tell us, “I’d just have to rewrite it myself anyway…so why bother?”

It can feel that way…but if you set your team up for success, you can delegate an awful lot of the drafting work to people and technology. At the very least, you should never have to produce a first draft yourself.  

Here are a few ways to make it work:

• Create a clause bank: It may seem overwhelming to pull together a collection of your best clauses and most trusted language, but there are new tools available to help get it done quickly. Stay tuned for details on our January webinar, where we’ll be talking about creating clause banks and introducing you to a brand-new tool that makes it so much easier!
• Use templates: Identify the documents you draft most often, and turn your best versions into templates that a team member can use as a starting point. Remember to base your template on the ideal version from the perspective of YOUR clients, and not the most recent negotiated version. 
• Take advantage of technology: Document automation is improving constantly, as is AI. But even if you don’t go that route, make sure everyone on your team has access to a really good writing program like Wordrake (designed for law) or a grammar checker like Grammarly. Even Word has a decent built-in grammar and spelling checker. Use it, and don’t accept writing that hasn’t been run through the platform. Your clients aren’t paying you to proofread. They’re paying for your insight and expertise. 
• Create a style guide for your firm: Fill your guide with information on your most used verbiage, typical drafting examples, and other supports to help the designated drafter complete their task with ease. 

Your Action Item: Look back over your last few files and select the type of document you’ve drafted most often. Turn the ideal version (not the negotiated version) into a template. 

If you’re still concerned about delegating the drafting, ask yourself: is drafting even in your Power Zone? Are there some parts of it you can delegate (like first drafts?)

Got questions about how you can increase the efficiency of your drafting processes–or any other processes in your law practice? Book a free strategy session and find out what steps you can take to build a law practice you love. 

- Karen and David