Contract managers who excel in their field succeed through an ideal blend of interpersonal and technical skills. A contract manager creates and modifies contracts for an employer. Contract managers draft contracts related to the purchase or sale of goods and services and then track these contracts throughout their lifecycle. While job responsibilities vary depending on the size of the business and the types of goods and services bought and sold, a contract manager always focuses on optimizing contracts in the best interest of their employer. It can be disconcerting to think of the thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of contracts that govern the operations of a large company. Effectively managing such a large amount of legal documents can be difficult, and poorly done work can be a costly mistake. In fact, a study by the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM) suggests that inefficiencies in contract management can hurt contract value by 9.2%. How exactly does a company improve its contract management? The expected salary of a contract manager varies as you become more experienced, but a project manager may not have the skills to create contracts that are beneficial to their employer and everyone else involved. However, unlike a contract manager, a project manager has to wear many different hats to do their job successfully. For example, a project manager can: Manual processes still hinder contract creation, collaboration, and management, with companies often using a mix of Word, email, shared drives, and electronic signatures to agree and store contracts. Add to that the work of integrating with additional recordkeeping systems like CRM, and it makes sense for some companies to hire someone full-time to take care of it. Contract negotiations can take months or even years, and when large sums of money are at stake, emotions can get the most out of the various stakeholders involved in the process. Contract managers must have emotional intelligence and be able to act logically and reasonably.

They can also face significant internal pressure to close deals quickly, and often have to make quick decisions and balance risk management with fast time-to-market. I focus my practice on startups and small and medium-sized businesses because they have unique needs that medium and large law firms are not well equipped for. In addition to practicing law, I have founded and managed other businesses and hold an MBA in Marketing from Indiana University. I combine my business experience with my legal expertise to provide practical advice to my clients. I am licensed in Ohio and California and use the latest technology to provide world-class legal services to a national clientele. This allows me to serve my clients profitably without sacrificing personalized service. State laws and regulations that affect contract management can also change regularly, and contract managers need to track and understand these changes. Continuous learning helps a contract manager adapt quickly and effectively to change. The qualifications required to become a contract manager vary depending on the role and company you are applying for. In practice, this means striving to continuously improve the contracting process and adapting the terms and design of the contract in order to optimize them for signing. Automation is an important step in creating a contract management process.

By creating a self-service contract workflow, contract managers can focus on results and worry less about each individual document. The specific responsibilities of the role vary depending on the company and the contracts it usually manages. Contract managers are not only responsible for new contracts, but must also manage the renewal of existing contracts. This results in a high workload, which increases every year. Managing contracts successfully without being overwhelmed requires organizational skills to juggle dozens, if not hundreds, of contracts at different stages of the contract lifecycle. You need to be able to quickly find contracts, plan ahead for important deadlines, and meet the schedule of negotiation and execution activities. Experienced and generalist business lawyer and external general counsel (OGC), for start-ups, small businesses and growing companies of all sizes, advising and assisting clients with the formation of companies and LLCs, contracts and agreements, internet and terms of use/service contracts, trademarks and intellectual property protection, buying and selling businesses (M&A), labor and employment issues, compliance and risk management, corporate governance and commercial leasing.