It's hard to believe this is happening the way it is, but one day, we see tariffs being imposed, the next day they’re not, and the day after that, they’re back on but only for some goods from some countries, and with different percentages! It’s enough to make anyone’s head spin, but this is just a snapshot of how quickly the business environment globally is changing and how challenging it is for legal teams and businesses to keep up.

As a recent World Commerce and Contracting Report (Managing Tariffs and Market Uncertainty: Business Strategies and Emerging Trends) noted, tariffs represent just one of many recent market disruptions, from the COVID-19 pandemic and inflationary pressures to geopolitical instability and raw material shortages.

In such a fickle and financially challenged environment, businesses are constantly restructuring. Key individuals may no longer be involved; they may have different roles, or their entire business units may have ceased to exist. It’s like trying to play musical chairs with the rules changing every minute.

So, what’s a legal team to do when helping their business carry out its goals while staying legally compliant?

Look into no-code software.

What is no-code software, and how can it help legal teams?

No code software is designed to allow people who are subject matter experts to design, build and support software solutions without needing help from software developers. We use it heavily in our own business, where most of our expertise comes from decades of experience as lawyers, not coding. We can use software such as HotDocs, Cognito Forms and Power Automate to create solutions as quickly as they can be drawn on a whiteboard. The real magic is when the requirements change. Instead of being a problem or something that will take months to effect and cost a lot of money, you can rapidly adjust in real time with no-code software. We encourage our customers to contact us when they want updates as they are easy to make, and it ensures the solution delivers the best outcomes possible.

The good news is that your organisation almost certainly already has some no-code software solutions available (e.g. Microsoft Forms and Power Automate). If you ask your IT team, you may find that they also have some other, even more powerful solutions or would be willing to help you acquire one. There are specialist legal tech no-code platforms, but also ones designed for general business usage and also capable of managing the complexity of legal work.

Examples of how no-code software can help legal teams

Here are three practical examples of how no-code software can help.

1  No More Paper Chaos

Think of the old days when paper forms were the norm. Ok, that may still be today! However, they're not only cumbersome to complete, with duplicate data entry, but they are hard to update (where to fit a new question in a PDF form), and it isn't easy to get the old versions out of circulation.

Enter online forms, which can be easily updated to reflect the latest changes. Need to capture some new information, change the drop-down options, or automatically calculate a value with a new rate? No problem! Just a few clicks, and your updated form is ready to go. Users can keep going to the same location but always stick to the latest process.

2  Document Automation: Because contracts should be living solutions, too!

With document automation, updating contract templates happens seamlessly in the background. At the same time, users continue to go to the same place to access the associated interview form, updated as required to match the contract.

If your new contracts policy requires a different approach to managing potential price increases, you can rapidly roll these changes out and know that the new contract templates will be used from Day 1.

It’s like having a magical elf working behind the scenes, ensuring everyone is always using the latest version without lifting a finger.

3  Microsoft's Power Automate: Your New Best Friend?

And let’s not forget tools like Microsoft's Power Automate, which allow you to effortlessly update approval processes as requirements change. Imagine you need to reroute approvals because Sarah from Finance has moved to a new role or an entire step in the approvals process has been added or removed depending on the contract value or jurisdiction. With Power Automate, it’s as easy as dragging and dropping a few boxes. Voilà! Your approval process is as good as new, and you won't need to repeat training sessions to make it stick.

What is available in your organisation?

To sum it up, in a world where change is the only constant, no-code software solutions will be incredibly important.

If you've currently got manual processes and are worried about how you will adjust to rapidly changing requirements, find out what no-code software options you have available and start making some plans before you need them.

LawHawk's team has been working with no-code software solutions for over 10 years, so if you want help understanding what software you have available and how you can make the most of it, get in touch.