Cognia is a law company that specialises in providing our clients and partners with digitised services that include the expertise and access to legal engineers needed to co-design and deliver AI-driven operating models, both remotely and globally, that transform the services they in turn provide to their clients.
Cognia seamlessly extends the legal capabilities of corporates, banks and law firms. With a collaborative mindset and diverse skills, Cognia helps organisations deliver business-as-usual activities, manage contracts, respond to regulatory change and embed operating models to help its clients achieve their strategic priorities. This product briefing is based on an interview with Group COO and Head of Innovation Peter Hall, LTH covers Cognia’s contract management services and platform.
Scroll down to see the product demo associated with this interview.
Background
Cognia, an established alternative legal services provider, has made significant strides in offering a range of services, including contract management, to corporate legal departments. The company, founded 12 years ago by CEO Janet Taylor-Hall, was born after Janet worked for EY, Clifford Chance and Integreon and realized the opportunities to be had in the changing landscape of law. With a UK headquarters, Cognia's primary offshore delivery center is located in Cape Town, South Africa. This strategic positioning has allowed Cognia to tap into a pool of highly skilled and motivated resources eager to participate in the global market.
Peter Hall’s unique career journey started when he took up a role as a chartered accountant, after which he worked in various escalating roles across large and small organizations. His extensive experience spans industries such as healthcare technology, financial services, including a stint as interim COO at Standard Chartered’s offshore banking division in Jersey. Joining Cognia's startup team 11 years ago, Peter has been pivotal in steering the company towards leveraging technology to fundamentally change the legal industry, focusing particularly on areas where customer service has traditionally lagged.
The contracting problems addressed by Cognia
Cognia’s contract management service is designed to alleviate the burden of contracting for in-house legal teams. Legal departments often face significant challenges with contract management, such as complex contract templates, lack of standardisation, limited visibility into contract statuses, and unpredictable legal spend. These issues can bog down legal operations and slow down business processes.
Peter says that Cognia's solution addresses these pain points by simplifying and standardising the contract management process. By integrating with existing CLM (Contract Lifecycle Management) systems or providing an alternative proprietary solution, Cognia helps clients streamline their contract workflows, reduce complexity, and enhance visibility. This approach not only simplifies the legal team's workload but also ensures contracts are managed more efficiently and cost-effectively.
Use cases addressed by Cognia’s Contract Management Solution
Cognia’s contract management solution is versatile, catering to a wide range of client needs. The solution can be broken down into three main components: upfront standardisation, tech-enabled end-to-end management, and data insights.
- Upfront standardisation: This involves standardising templates, playbooks, and processes to prevent bottlenecks in the legal team. By using consistent, world-class standards, Cognia ensures that contracts do not get bogged down in lengthy negotiations.
- Tech-Enabled end-to-end management: The Cognia platform facilitates the entire contract management process, from intake and contract creation to negotiation and execution. The platform allows clients to input necessary information, and Cognia handles the rest, including storing executed contracts and pulling key data points for future reference.
- Data Insights: This component provides clients with valuable insights into their contracts. By storing documents and using AI to analyse key terms, clients can quickly respond to changes in the business environment. Dashboards powered by Power BI offer real-time visibility into contract statuses, helping legal teams identify bottlenecks and manage their workload more effectively.
How AI is used in the platform
Cognia leverages AI to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of its contract management solution. The platform is built on Microsoft technologies, utilising tools like PowerApps and Dataverse. The integration of AI, particularly using OpenAI models, allows Cognia to interrogate contracts and extract valuable insights automatically.
This AI integration helps in automating routine tasks, identifying key contract terms, and providing predictive analytics. By using Microsoft’s trusted AI tools, Cognia ensures that the platform is not only powerful but also easily adoptable by clients' IT departments. This seamless integration with Microsoft technologies makes it a preferred choice for many organizations looking to enhance their contract management processes.
Target demographic
Cognia’s contract management solution is designed to cater to a broad spectrum of clients, primarily focusing on in-house legal teams and legal counsel within organisations. The solution is particularly beneficial for mid-sized corporations that lack a robust contract management system and for large global corporations with complex contract management needs.
Large organisations often have existing CLM systems that are complex and difficult to manage. Cognia’s solution offers a simpler, more efficient alternative that can integrate with existing systems, providing immediate benefits without the need for extensive IT resources. Additionally, the solution is ideal for organisations undergoing mergers or acquisitions, helping them integrate new divisions quickly and efficiently.
Point of differentiation from competitors
Cognia’s service stands out in the crowded legal tech market due to several key differentiators:
- Microsoft platform integration: By building its solution on Microsoft technologies, Cognia ensures easy adoption and integration with clients' existing IT infrastructure. This familiarity and trust in Microsoft tools make Cognia’s platform highly appealing to organisations.
- Simplicity and efficiency: Cognia focuses on providing a solution that covers core contract management functionalities exceptionally well without overcomplicating the process. This balance of simplicity and capability ensures that the platform meets clients' needs without becoming unwieldy.
- Flexible pricing model: Cognia’s pay-per-use pricing model, with a minimum commitment, allows clients to scale their usage according to their needs without significant upfront investment. This flexibility can be a major advantage for organisations looking to optimise their legal spend.
- Experienced team: Beyond technology, Cognia offers a team of experienced contract management professionals. The combination of strong technology and expert human support ensures that clients receive a comprehensive solution that addresses both technological and operational challenges.
Cognia’s contract management service is a testament to the company’s innovative approach to legal services. By leveraging technology, particularly AI, and focusing on simplicity and efficiency, Cognia addresses the core challenges faced by in-house legal teams.
