Contracts under control

How can you turn a draft contract into traceable checkpoints without confusing AI assistance with legal advice?

1250 € per session, excl. VAT

In short

This half-day session of 3 hours offers a guided introduction to generative AI for structuring the reading of a contract. Using a fictional file, participants build a checklist, link each check to a passage and identify the questions to refer to a qualified professional before any operational use.

Why this training?

A clause being present does not necessarily mean it is clear, consistent or suited to the need. A useful checklist distinguishes between what appears in the contract, what is missing from the file and what requires legal interpretation, rather than simply accumulating tick boxes. AI can suggest headings and rephrase questions, but it can also invent an obligation or overlook an appendix. The training teaches participants to return to the text, document uncertainties and leave judgement calls to a qualified professional. Running case study: The fictional organisation « Orsanne Mobilier » is examining a maintenance contract for its workshop equipment. The draft provides for renewal, refers to a missing pricing appendix and sets out two different response times. Participants prepare the checks and questions ahead of legal review. Transfer to the workplace: After the session, adapt the template to a category of contracts within your organisation, without sending confidential documents to an unauthorised tool. Have the headings and review process validated by the legal department before use.

Objectives of this training

  • Identify the documents needed for an initial reading of a contract.
  • Formulate an AI request limited to extracting and organising the checks.
  • Develop verifiable questions about the clauses in the case study.
  • Link each observation to a clause or a missing document.
  • Distinguish between a documentary finding, an uncertainty and a question to refer to a legal professional.

Who is it for and what are the prerequisites?

Roles and tasks concerned

  • Administrative and sales assistants responsible for gathering contractual documents.
  • Purchasing staff or managers of small teams involved in an initial reading before legal review.

Prior skills

  • No prior knowledge of AI required.
  • Understand the role of a contract in a supplier relationship, with no legal expertise required.

What you will work on

  1. Defining the scope of the reading and the documents

    Objective: Separate document checks from legal advice. Role of a checklist; scope of the contract and appendices; confidentiality; limits of AI assistance.

  2. Querying AI without delegating judgement to it

    Objective: Obtain a proposal for headings that can be checked. Instruction specifying the context, excerpts, format and prohibition on inventing information; request to flag missing information.

  3. Completing the checkpoints

    Objective: Turn the headings into documented questions. Columns: heading, question, reference, finding, status, action, recipient. Distinct statuses: factually verified, absent, to be clarified.

  4. Testing reliability and preparing the review

    Objective: Measure the traceability of the result and correct omissions. Peer review; comparison with the file; distinction between documentary coverage and legal compliance.

What you take away

  • Document scope sheet and inventory of documents.
  • Reusable AI instruction with explicit limits.
  • Completed and corrected checklist for the fictional contract.
  • List of questions and documents to submit for legal validation.

Method and assessment

  • Short teaching inputs followed by immediate practice on the running case study.
  • Individual work followed by work in pairs, with peer review of the outputs.
  • Guided group discussion: what works, what needs correcting and what remains a human decision.
  • Preparation: Arrange access to a generative AI tool authorised by the organisation; practical work uses only the fictional file provided. Read the introduction to the practice contract and identify the documents mentioned, without looking for real contracts.

Observable criteria: The checklist covers parties, subject matter, price, duration, termination, obligations and liability. ; Each check contains a verifiable question and a reference or the note « document missing ». ; The conflicting timeframes and missing appendix are identified. ; No AI suggestion is presented as a legal obligation without verification. ; Uncertain points are explicitly submitted for human validation..

Frequently asked questions

Does the checklist replace a legal review?

No. It prepares for the review; a qualified professional validates the interpretations and the next steps to take.

Can we work on a real contract?

The exercises use the fictional case study. Any subsequent use requires anonymised data and an authorised tool.

Can AI approve a clause?

No. No sensitive decisions are automated; AI only helps to organise observations.

Do the checks apply to all contracts?

No. Their relevance depends on the contract and context; the applicable requirements must be checked with your legal department.

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