Overview
The Internal Review process is the first stage following a contract request. Once the contract creation is approved (if required), the user can initiate the Internal Review process.
Internal Review is a critical step where the contract is reviewed, edited, and refined within the organisation before it is sent for third-party approval or e-signature. This process ensures that all followers have reviewed and agreed on the contract terms, maintaining accuracy and consistency.
Steps for Conducting an Internal Review
Step 1: Access the Editor
From the contract details page, click the Edit Draft button to open the contract in the editor. The editor opens with Track Changes mode enabled by default, so all edits made are automatically tracked.
Step 2: Edit the Contract
Once inside the editor, you can make changes directly to the contract document. All edits are tracked and attributed to the editor by name and timestamp, making it easy to review what was changed and by whom.
Use the Minimize/Maximize button to toggle the editor between full-screen and standard view. Maximising the editor makes it easier to focus on the contract, while minimising it allows you to access other features of the platform alongside the editor.
Legistify AI Panel
The Legistify AI panel is available on the left side of the editor. It has three tabs:
Playbook
The Playbook tab gives you access to pre-built and custom contract review guides. Each guide contains a set of guidelines relevant to a specific contract type (e.g. Guide for MSA Buyer, Guide for DPA, Guide for Consulting Agreement).
Standard guides are pre-built and available out of the box
Custom guides are created by your organisation for specific use cases
Click Run next to any guide to apply it to the current contract
Click Create New Guide to build a new custom playbook
Review Hub
The Review Hub tab provides AI-powered tools to assist with reviewing the contract:
Summarise Using AI: generates a concise summary of the contract's key terms and obligations
Identify Key Clauses: highlights and identifies the important clauses in the contract
AI Obligations Extractor: extracts all obligations from the contract for easy review
Refer Your Clause Library: access your organisation's pre-approved clause library directly from the editor
Clause Approval: manage approvals for specific clauses within the contract
Copilot
The Copilot tab generates a detailed AI-powered summary of the contract. It covers the key terms, party obligations, confidentiality scope, governing law, and other critical elements, giving you a quick understanding of the contract without reading it in full.
Notify Team
Use the Notify Team feature to send a notification to anyone in your organisation directly from the editor. Fill in the following fields:
Recipients: add one or more email addresses
Subject: enter a subject line for the notification
Message: add a message to accompany the notification
Click Send to dispatch the notification. This ensures all relevant team members are informed and can participate in the review process.
Collaborative Editing
All contract followers can access and edit the contract in the editor. The Collaboration menu in the editor toolbar provides the following tools:
Track Changes: all edits are tracked with the editor's name and timestamp
Display Mode: control how tracked changes are displayed in the document
Previous / Next: navigate between tracked changes
Accept / Reject: accept or reject individual changes, or all changes at once
Compare: compare two versions of the contract
Combine: combine edits from multiple reviewers into one document
Chat: communicate with collaborators directly within the editor
Version History: view all saved versions of the contract and the changes made in each version
Add Comment: leave a comment on a specific section of the contract. Other followers can view and respond to comments in real time
Tagging Collaborators
You can tag a follower directly within a comment by using +mention. This provides the tagged person access to the document and sends them an email notification to join the review.
Version History
The Version History button at the top right of the editor displays all saved versions of the contract. Each version captures the changes made and their timestamps, allowing you to track the full editing history and revert to an earlier version if needed.
Finalising the Contract
Once all edits have been reviewed and approved by the followers, the contract is finalised. The finalised contract can then be sent for third-party approval or e-signature, depending on the contract's requirements.
Click Save & Exit at the top right of the editor to save your changes and return to the contract details page.
Conclusion
The Internal Review process ensures that every contract is thoroughly reviewed and agreed upon internally before it moves to the next stage. Using the Legistify AI panel alongside the collaborative editing tools allows teams to review contracts faster, identify risks earlier, and maintain consistency across all agreements. A well-conducted internal review reduces the chances of errors or disputes arising later in the contract lifecycle.