Document automation: attention to detail is key

Document automation Thought for the Week: attention to detail is key

Critical to adoption of document automation is end user trust in the automated products. In law firms and legal departments, automated precedents will live or die by whether end users can enjoy the process and trust the content outputs from day one.

Does this automated precedent make my life easier? Can I trust it? Does it help with the fine-tuning of drafting that will save time and help me provide a top service to my clients?

Users who earn a living from advising on and drafting documents will quickly lose confidence in an automated precedent if the generated output document does not show rigorous attention to detail and ends up requiring frustrating and time-consuming corrective work.

That does NOT mean you must automate everything in a document, which is a separate point - and the risk of “over-automation” in many use cases is equally material and one that you should also guard against.

Instead, attention to detail here means (for example):

✅ Structuring the questionnaire and the question phrasing so that they flow intuitively for users in that particular team and area of law

✅ Including helpful practical and legal guidance notes so users know exactly how to complete the questionnaire, and what outputs to expect when generating documents

✅ Incorporating helpful placeholders where user may not know factual answers to questions at the point of completing the questionnaire

✅ Formatting and coding documents so that outputs align seamlessly with the content options selected each time by the user in the questionnaire (such as punctuation of lists, syntax, capitalisation and automatic cross-references etc - missing full stops or incorrect cross-references will quickly deter new users from returning)

Getting these details right will significantly help with user trust and adoption.

Having hands-on legal and drafting experience of what end users will need and expect from automation will really help with project success (and efficient delivery) and at BrightDraft we take pride in combining our automation knowhow with many years of legal and drafting experience to ensure that automation delivers the outputs that users are looking for.