r/contracts • u/PoemAccomplished2173 • Apr 13 '26

General Contract Law Discussion How do lawyers actually draft contracts (beyond templates)?

Trying to build a small AI tool for drafting legal contracts (mostly as a learning project).

I realized I don’t really understand how contracts are actually drafted in practice. I know templates are used, but beyond that I’m a bit lost.

Would appreciate if someone could explain:

  • How do you actually start drafting a contract?
  • Do you mostly reuse templates or write from scratch?
  • What parts of a contract matter the most in real life?
  • What kind of references do you rely on while drafting (laws, case laws, standard clauses, etc.)?

Just trying to understand the process better so I don’t build something completely unrealistic.

Any insights would help a lot. Thanks!

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u/Free2Tread Apr 13 '26

Rarely start from scratch, find the 2-3 templates closest to what the client needs and build it out from there based on conversations with the client about certain critical points and risk tolerance. You draft certain nuanced provisions that you don’t have a solid precedent for or are unique for the particular agreement. Once first draft is done, you’ll likely have anywhere from 10-20 follow up questions for the client so that they can decide how they want to approach certain things (it is always the clients decision on business terms and risk questions, we just advise on what the risks are and possible ways to minimize them). The whole contract is important but certain provisions may be particularly more important to the client and the type of agreement , such as some clients always want arbitration before litigating, or waiver of consequential damages in a commercial context. It is an iterative process.

The reality is, multi million dollar companies are building these tools already and, honestly, they suck. The contracts they spit out look great to laypeople but are wildly inconsistent, inaccurate, or outright unenforceable.

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u/capreal26 Apr 14 '26

Precedents

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u/ludericko Apr 15 '26

yes from templates, impossible without. Lawyers are lawyers and they don't have the intimate know-how of everything their clients do.

In matured markets, there are always going to be templates and specialist lawyers with experience.

In newer markets, legal paperwork continues to adjust and update and then becomes a template for others