Transform Legal Documents with HotDocs: Efficient, Error-Free Automation (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: HotDocs is a software that allows you to transform your transactional legal documents, such as contracts, wills, trusts, agreements of all types, into process applications. A HotDocs process application, commonly referred to as a template, can generate new iterations of the underlying document in a fraction of the time it used to take, for a fraction of the cost, and at the same time yield a much better result. And better documents, of course, equate to less risk. HotDocs can handle documents of any length and complexity and allows you to work with word processor documents and PDF forms, such as government forms that have fields and checkboxes. HotDocs allows you to transform multiple documents and forms into a single process application that will generate all of the underlying documentation from a single data set. Here's how it works. You start off by identifying text documents and PDF forms you use within your business. You then use HotDocs to create variable fields and build dynamic logic that becomes the engine for your template. Once you're done automating your documents, you can then open a template, fill in the appropriate information, and quickly generate error-free documents. Now let me show you an actual example of how it works. I'll start by opening up this simple sales contract and I'll turn it into a process application. As you can see, HotDocs has already been installed and is represented on the word ribbon. Now the first step is to convert the document into a HotDocs template. To get started, I click on the Create Template button and give the template a name. The HotDocs ribbon is now expanded to include all of the controls I need to merge variables into the document and build in all of the necessary business logic. HotDocs uses a simple select and click approach to template building. You start by identifying sections of the document that could change with each transaction. For example, here's a date. I can highlight the date and select the Variable field button. I select the date variable type and give it a name. Note that HotDocs recognized the format of the date when I selected it. I can keep it as it currently is or I can easily change it to a different format. I happen to know that this date only appears once in the document, so I'll click the Replace Once button. The date variable is now inserted into the document. Following a similar process, I then go through the document and continue to create variable fields. I can create a variety of fields like text, number fields, computation fields, conditional text fields. Notice that this paragraph gets inserted if the amount is paid in full. If it's not paid in full and the buyer will be making payments, then this other paragraph gets inserted. Throughout the process, I can easily test to see how everything is working. I just need to fill in some answers. So once I've filled in my test answers, I can do a quick preview and I can see the answers are being populated throughout the document. Once you've created a HotDocs process app, it can be used on the desktop or in a browser environment. Once the template is finished, it is easy to generate documents. I simply open the template and start filling out the answers to the questions that I created. When filling in the answers, I have the ability to type in answers manually, reuse previous answer files, or I can connect to a data source to pull information from another location. Note that these questions are all presented one at a time. However, it is very easy to group questions together and put them in any order I choose. And once I'm done with my answers, I can then produce a finished document. Using the same template, I can then create countless documents. The final output documents are basic Word or PDF documents that can be printed, emailed, revised, or put into a workflow or document management system. Even though this was a very simple document, HotDocs has the ability to handle virtually any type of document, no matter how complex it may be. HotDocs has been used by millions of users worldwide in all kinds of industries and in organizations of all sizes, ranging from solo attorneys on up to the largest banks, law firms, corporations, and government agencies throughout the world. Here are some of the examples of the types of documents that are ideal for document automation. Banking, contracts, human resource forms, estate planning documents like wills, insurance documents, legal documents like letters of engagement, nondisclosure agreements, real estate forms, and so forth. To learn more about document automation or to receive a free, in-depth, customized demonstration, be sure to contact us today. And if you're interested in learning more about the actual template development process, be sure to watch the videos in the Getting Started series. Remember, with HotDocs, perfect documents are possible. www.hotdocs.com