Contract Review

Last verified: 13 February 2026 | Applies to: Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise

In 30 seconds

Claude with the Legal plugin can review contracts clause by clause — flagging non-standard terms, identifying liability exposure, and suggesting negotiation language. This workflow covers how to review a vendor agreement, triage an NDA, and batch-process multiple contracts. Not a replacement for legal counsel on material deals, but a powerful accelerator for routine review.

Prerequisites

• Claude Desktop with Cowork enabled
• The Legal plugin installed from claude.com/plugins or the Cowork interface
• A contract to review (PDF, Word, or plain text)

Step by step

Review a vendor agreement

1. Open a Cowork session with the Legal plugin installed
2. Upload or paste the contract
3. Ask for a review:

/review-contract — Review this vendor agreement. Flag any non-standard terms, liability exposure, or clauses that favour the vendor disproportionately. Note anything we should negotiate before signing.

Claude produces a clause-by-clause analysis:

• Standard clauses — brief confirmation, no action needed
• Flagged clauses — risk description, what’s non-standard, and suggested alternative language
• Summary — overall risk assessment and recommended next steps

Triage an NDA

/nda-triage — Review this mutual NDA. We're a 15-person tech company sharing product roadmap details with a potential partner.

Claude categorises each provision using the traffic-light system:

• GREEN — standard market terms, acceptable as-is
• YELLOW — review recommended, with explanation of the concern
• RED — reject or negotiate, with specific risks identified

Batch review

For operators who process multiple contracts regularly:

I have 6 vendor NDAs to review this week [upload all]. For each, give me only the RED and YELLOW items. Skip anything that's standard. Output as a table: document name, clause, rating, concern.

Claude processes all documents and produces a consolidated triage table.

DPA review

Review this data processing agreement against GDPR requirements. Flag any gaps in data subject rights, breach notification timelines, sub-processor provisions, and cross-border transfer mechanisms.

How operators actually use it

What operators say

“We get about 10 vendor NDAs a month. Before the Legal plugin, each took 30-45 minutes of lawyer time at $300/hour. Now I triage them myself in 5 minutes each and only send the RED items to our outside counsel. Saving roughly $2,000-3,000 per month.”

“The clause-by-clause analysis caught an unlimited liability clause in a SaaS agreement that I would have missed on a quick skim. The suggested redline language was professional and reasonable.”

What to watch out for

• This is not legal advice. Claude can flag risks and suggest language, but a qualified lawyer should review material contracts, high-value deals, and anything novel or jurisdiction-specific.
• Specify your jurisdiction. Contract law varies. If the governing law matters (and it usually does), tell Claude: “This is governed by New South Wales law” or “This is a US-governed agreement.”
• Very long contracts need chunking. Contracts over 50-60 pages may need to be processed in sections due to context window limits. Split by section (e.g., “Review sections 1-10 first”).
• Verify suggested language. Claude’s redline suggestions are generally reasonable but should be reviewed by someone who understands your specific negotiating position.

Related

• Legal Plugin — full plugin reference
• Building a Plugin — customise the Legal plugin for your jurisdiction
• Prompting for Operators — the review pattern works well for contracts
• Legal / Compliance role guide — full setup for legal operators

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