Laura Frederick's path to becoming a contract expert began with a love of words and ideas. As an international economics major in college, she found herself drawn to law school, despite never having met a lawyer before. "I figured, well, I'll go to law school, but I won't be a lawyer. I'll do something else with it," Laura recalls. This initial curiosity laid the foundation for a successful legal career focused on contracts.
After graduating, Laura's first job involved franchising, which combined regulatory work and contracts. She quickly discovered her passion: "I hated the regulatory part... I loved the contract part because that was just people coming together agreeing on words." This collaborative nature of contract drafting resonated with her, leading her to focus on this area throughout her career.
Laura transitioned into technology law during the late 1990s internet boom, marrying her love for intellectual challenges with the practical aspects of drafting contracts. "That's when I really fell in love with contracts," she explains, emphasizing the importance of understanding both the deals and the products involved. With over two decades of experience, including work on billion-dollar deals in big law firms, Laura has developed a nuanced understanding of contract law.
Initially enthusiastic about AI tools, she soon encountered limitations in general applications when drafting contracts. "If I go into ChatGPT and say, 'Give me an indemnification provision,' it's crap. It's bad," she notes. However, she recognized the potential of specialized AI tools designed for legal professionals.
As she continued to explore AI's capabilities, Laura's perspective evolved. She came to appreciate AI for its strengths while acknowledging its limitations. "I'm getting so excited about companies that are harnessing the power of AI”, she explains. Laura found particular value in AI's application to contract review, where specialized tools, like Screens, are efficiently analyzing large volumes of legal documents and flagging potential issues and inconsistencies. This realization helped her see AI not as a replacement for legal expertise, but as a powerful complement to human skills in specific areas of legal practice.
Laura's interest in AI and contract review led her to create her first AI playbook, called a 'screen', that focuses on Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). Non-Disclosure Agreements are critical for many reasons:
Creating her own NDA screen allowed Laura to share her expertise while leveraging AI technology. This process involved distilling her years of experience into a format that could be used by other legal professionals through the Screens platform. The experience was not only fulfilling but also empowering as it enabled her to contribute meaningfully to the legal community. You can check out Laura’s NDA playbook in the Screens Community! Creating screens in the Screens Community offered a way to scale her knowledge and share it with the legal community.
Laura's journey from a word-loving college student to a contracts expert embracing AI tools like Screens illustrates the evolving nature of legal practice. Her experience highlights the importance of combining deep legal knowledge with innovative technologies to enhance efficiency and accuracy in contract review.
As Laura puts it, "Contracts are rarely perfect and that’s ok. In fact, that’s one of the things I like best about them.” This perspective positions Laura as a forward-thinking expert in the field of contract law, ready to embrace new tools that can enhance her practice while maintaining that vital human touch. To learn more about Laura and her contracts expertise, visit HowToContract.com, connect on LinkedIn, or check out her NDA screen in the Screens Community.