Ava: Your Contract Review at 913.ai

Ava is your smart contract review assistant, designed to help lawyers / non-lawyers understand contracts in plain English. Think of Ava as your contract co-pilot — she reviews documents, explains complex clauses, flags risks, suggests safer wording, and prepares you for negotiations.

Written By Mahir Mushtaq

Last updated 6 months ago

1. What Ava Can Do

Ava simplifies complex contracts and delivers clear, actionable insights:

Contract Reviews

  • Summarizes key terms: payment, IP, liability, termination, confidentiality, data protection.

  • Flags red flags and explains their business impact.

  • Example: “Payment term is Net 60 — may affect cash flow; liability cap is 6 months’ fees — high risk for critical services.”

Clause Comparisons

  • Compares two drafts or templates side by side.

  • Highlights changes, explains their impact, and suggests safer alternatives.

Risk Assessment

  • Rates risks by likelihood and impact using a simple risk matrix.

  • Provides recommended mitigations and negotiation strategies.

Redlines & Safer Wording

  • Suggests improved contract language and fallback options for negotiations.

Negotiation Preparation

  • Prepares checklists and 3-bullet negotiation scripts to make discussions simpler and more effective.


2. How to Ask Ava for Help

To get the best results, provide clear instructions and context:

  • State your goal → “Summarize payment terms and liability caps; flag deal-breaker risks.”

  • Provide context → Deal size, deadlines, counterparty name, and business priorities.

  • Share inputs → Latest draft, prior versions, counterparty redlines, or your internal policies.

  • Set constraints → “Plain English, max 2 pages, must-know items only.”

  • Define deliverables → “Executive summary, risk table, clause edits, and next steps.”


3. Best Practices

  • Start with a plain-English summary → Ask Ava to summarize key points first.

  • Use a risk matrix → Quickly see risk levels (Low/Medium/High) with mitigation steps.

  • Request side-by-side comparisons → For payment, IP, liability, and termination clauses.

  • Ask for triage → Get clear recommendations: sign, renegotiate, or escalate.

  • Keep a “house positions” list → Standard liability caps, payment terms, and IP ownership rules make faster reviews.


4. Quick Tips

  • “Translate this contract into plain English with a one-paragraph summary.”

  • “Show me the 3 highest-risk clauses and safer alternatives.”

  • “Prepare a 3-bullet negotiation script for liability, termination, and payment terms.”

  • “Highlight any deadlines, auto-renewals, or obligations I need to track.”

  • “Flag all data protection terms — DPAs, subprocessors, and cross-border transfers.”


5. Common Tasks & Example Prompts

  • Summarize an MSA

    “Summarize payment terms, liability caps, IP rights, termination, and data protection in plain English.”

  • Compare NDAs

    “Compare our NDA vs. theirs; list differences, risks, and safer wording.”

  • Assess Risks

    “List the top 5 risks with likelihood, impact, and suggested mitigations.”

  • Suggest Redlines

    “Draft safer wording for liability caps, indemnity, and IP ownership.”

  • Prepare a Renewal Checklist

    “List pricing changes, auto-renewal dates, SLAs, data deletion timelines, and exit terms.”


6. Troubleshooting

  • Too much legalese? → Ask Ava to simplify into plain English with one-sentence explanations per clause.

  • Too long? → Request a 1-page executive brief plus an appendix for details.

  • Not sure what’s risky? → Ask for a risk table showing likelihood, impact, and “why it matters.”

  • Conflicting drafts? → Ava can create a side-by-side comparison highlighting material changes.


7. Getting Started with Ava

  1. Share your contract → Upload the latest draft, prior versions, and any redlines.

  2. Define your goal → “Plain-English summary, top 5 risks, safer wording, negotiation prep.”

  3. Set scope and deadline → “Max 2 pages, must-know only, decision by Friday.”

Pro Tip: If unsure, just say —

“Give me a plain-English bottom line and the 3 biggest risks with safer wording.”

Ava will handle the rest.