Run a risk review of a contract for your side

Procurement manager · Time: 25 min · Legal

Tools that fit this task

• ChatGPT $20/mo
• Claude $20/mo
• Gemini in Google Docs $14/mo
• Harvey price on request
• LegalFly price on request
• Spellbook Free

Prompt

Role: you are a corporate lawyer experienced in {{industry}}.
Context: I represent {{our side: buyer, seller, client, contractor}}. The contract is a {{contract type}} for {{term}}. Our playbook: {{three rules that are unacceptable or mandatory for us}}. The contract text is below with anonymized parties.
Task: identify the key legal and commercial risks for my side, rank them by severity and propose a rewording for each. List separately the terms the contract is missing. Cite a statute only when you can quote it word for word; where a provision is needed, write [PROVISION, verify].
Format: a table No. | contract clause | risk | possible consequence | proposed rewording | severity (high, medium, low). After the table, a list of missing terms and a five-sentence conclusion: sign, revise or walk away.
Contract:
{{contract text}}

Steps

1. Anonymize the contract: replace parties, amounts and details with placeholders, keep the subject and terms
2. Write down three rules of your playbook for this contract type, for example a liability cap, a claims period, termination terms
3. Give the assistant the contract with a prompt that clearly names your side and the playbook
4. Get a table of risks ranked by severity with a proposed rewording for each
5. Read every clause from the table in the original and discard false risks
6. Ask separately what the contract is missing: force majeure, confidentiality, a claims procedure
7. Prepare a disagreement protocol for the counterparty with your wording

How to check the result

Every risk in the table is tied to a contract clause, at least one missing term is found, and the text contains no unchecked reference to a legal provision

Pitfalls

• Without an explicit "I represent the buyer" the model gives a neutral analysis that protects nobody
• The model quotes legal provisions from memory: ask for a [PROVISION, verify] marker instead of quotes

Data that stays out of public AI tools

• Supplier prices and terms from sealed bids: a trade secret of both sides, into a service with codes
• Annual procurement plans and budgets: before a tender is announced, only inside a corporate environment
• Contracts with real parties and amounts: into a public service as [Party A], [Party B], [amount]

Other tasks for procurement managers

• Run a quick counterparty check before a deal
• Build a competitor price review
• Compare two versions of a contract
• Write a formal claim letter to a counterparty
• Keep a contract register and track deadlines
• Find discrepancies in a counterparty reconciliation statement
• Write an email to a foreign partner in their language
• Translate a contract and keep the terminology consistent
• Get a spreadsheet formula from a plain-language request
• Write a business letter

AI tools for procurement managers · Prompt: Run a risk review of a contract for your side