Contract Redlining Etiquette: How to leverage the power of redlines for faster and smarter contract negotiations.

by Nada Alnajafi

Want to speed up your contract negotiations? Then it's time to level up your redlining game!

Contract Redlining Etiquette provides the first and only uniform set of rules about redlining and negotiating contracts. Whether you are new to contracts or have negotiated hundreds of them, this book will help you leverage the power of redlines to drive contract negotiations forward. There's redlining, and then there's smarter redlining.

In this book, you will learn how Improve your contract negotiations every step of the way and reduce contract value leakage.Speed up contract closing times through strategic and efficient use of redlines.Get the other side to accept more of your proposed redlines and reject less of them by using explanatory comments.Collaborate with internal business clients, colleagues, and stakeholders using internal redlines.Negotiate clearer and more inclusive contracts while eliminating common contract biases.Understand the need for leveraging technology in the negotiation process and where to begin.In addition, you’ll get access to free Sample Redlines that demonstrate how the rules of Contract Redlining Etiquette can work in real life!

This book is for anyone who negotiates contracts, including attorneys, general counsel, in-house counsel, contract managers, procurement specialists, legal ops professionals, paralegals, and entrepreneurs. In addition, this book is a great starting point for law schools, business schools, and corporations that want to begin teaching this crucial skill.

COMMUNITY
“In opening this book, you are on the precipice of investing in one of the most vital negotiation tools in your toolbox. There is no other book that can give you these types of tools that are focused specifically on redlining. Without a doubt Nada is a trailblazer - sharing wisdom the world of negotiation is currently missing, and desperately needs.” - Kwame Christian, Managing Director of the American Negotiation Institute

“This book is exactly what I was looking for to help train my team on improving our contract negotiations process and closing times. We are already seeing results from applying these practical rules to our negotiations. Nada makes the world of redlines easy, simple, and fun.” – Megan Lutes, General Counsel of Glowforge

“During this time of goodwill toward others, if we all knew how to redline properly, the world would truly be a better place.” – Sterling Miller, 3x General Counsel and Author of Ten Things You Need to Know As In-House Counsel

“Nada presented Contract Redlining Etiquette to my law school course on The Role of In-House Counsel. My students found her presentation engaging and fun, and her materials useful and easy to follow. The session was one of the students’ favorite overall and I am looking forward to including her materials in my classes going forward.” – Maja Larson, Adjunct Professor and ex-General Counsel

“When researching best practices, we leaned on Nada’s Contract Redlining Etiquette rules to create our internal editing and negotiation processes. I highly recommend this book for anyone who works with contracts of any kind.

Genres: Law

155 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 2, 2022

Reviews

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Useful if you're fresh from law school or have otherwise never looked at a contract. However, you'll pick most of this up in practical practice within a year. So for someone who is looking at their first redline this is five stars. For someone who has been practicing for more than a year or two this is closer to two stars. Hence my rating.

[Casey Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little book on contract editing (redlining) etiquette.

Pros:
--Excellent resource for in-house counsel, like myself.
--Tightly written (mostly, see cons below) and efficient.
--Section on removing gender and other biases from contracts is not preachy and makes a good case for it.
--Section on coding for internal review is going to be a game-changer for my practice. Brilliant suggestion!

Cons:
--Assertion that redlining is fun (just kidding here...sort of. Contract review is one of the least "fun" parts of my practice).
--Way-too-long section toward the end from executives from three CLM companies which completely broke the flow of the rest of the book and felt like an advertising supplement. Maybe put those at the end of the book in the next edition?
--Some editing errors that will hopefully be picked up in the next edition.

Highly recommend, especially to fellow in-house counsel. Well done, Ms. Alnajafi!

[Jean Gan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't express enough how much I love this book! There are very few like it on the market, so when one is published, I am incredibly grateful. As an in-house lawyer with 13 years of experience, the content resonates deeply with my daily work life. Contract drafting, reviewing, and negotiation are the bread and butter of a legal counsel's role, among other responsibilities. The tips provided are invaluable. However, there is one aspect I would like to clarify: when faced with two templates—yours and the other party’s—how do you decide which one to use?

While Alnajafi discusses conducting a gap analysis between the two, which I agree is an excellent tool for determining the most suitable template for the current business engagement, we don't always have that luxury. In certain instances, some customers or suppliers take a "take it or leave it" approach, insisting that only their template be used. Others may allow redlining or revisions, but these can be challenging if they leave little room for negotiation. In some cases, revisions are strictly rejected, prompting the business team to reconsider moving forward with such a partner. Therefore, the opportunity to conduct a gap analysis between two templates isn't always available.

Overall, this book offers incredibly useful tips (some of which I have discovered and self-taught over these 13 years) for contract redlining. I am eagerly anticipating Alnajafi's upcoming second book, Contract Redlining Etiquette: Part 2 - The Technical Companion, which promises to delve deeper into tips for using Microsoft Word to redline contracts. I've already downloaded her free e-book containing the first four chapters, hoping to learn a few extra tricks!

[Daniel Matoušek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Few good tips, but could have been a web article

The book is short, readable in 2 hours, has a few fairly usable tips for practical redlining and some good anecdotes, but those could be easily compressed in five to ten pages. Second half is just interviews with new AI automation companies. It felt like one of many promo books to market personal consulting business with very low information density.

[Tracy S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super basic stuff, but I wish more contracts professionals would follow this advice. If you need a basic intro this will suffice, and the list of further resources at the back of the book all look fantastic and are next on my list.

Minor annoyance: I found so many typos, misspelled words, grammatical mistakes… I try not to let this bother me too much, but it does affect the way I view the content if the writing seems rushed.

[Nate Kostelnik · Rating 5 out of 5]

invaluable resource!

Nada teaches you simple, actionable techniques to improve how you work with contracts. You’ll become better at negotiating contracts, getting what you want, and improving collaboration. Required reading for anybody who works with contracts!

[Jimmy Alty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good start

good bite size contents to get anyone started on their contracting careers. I recommend this book to all beginners. 4 stars!!!

[Molly Gallagher · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great entrance on the ground floor for a young attorney new to contract review. Some content was a little bit repetitive, but I appreciate the attention to detail.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome, practical, readable guide on redlining contracts. Highly recommend for attorneys, especially attorneys transitioning from private practice to in-house :)

[Bhargavi.lawbookskettlebells · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Nada Alnajafi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved writing this book about how to redline contracts faster and more effectively! Remember that the images on Kindle are always a little fuzzy, but you can download the Sample Redlines in full size using the link provided in the Intro. Happy redlining!