# Check routine contracts against written standards with AI

By Ali Peivandizadeh, business growth and AI implementation specialist.
Published Nov 13, 2026. Last checked Nov 13, 2026. Last changed Nov 13, 2026.
Section: AI at Work. Verdict: WATCH
Who it is for: Business, real estate, employment. Firms with 2 to 50 lawyers. Owner, attorney.

A company's legal team built an AI agent that checks contracts against written standards and proposes edits. A law firm can do the same for its routine contracts. Start by writing the standards for one contract type.

## Why
CIO reported on Nov 11, 2026 that the legal team at Fujifilm Biotechnologies devised an agent to read contracts. It checks the terms against company standards and proposes edits. Lawyers review the edits. The agent is in a test area, and the company expects full use in early December. A review team checks each agent before release. A law firm reviews the same kinds of contracts every week. The same method works there: written standards, an AI first pass, and a lawyer's review.

## Steps
1. Pick one contract type the firm reviews often, such as an NDA or a vendor agreement.
2. Write the firm's standard position for each main term, and the fallback position.
3. Take three old contracts of that type. Remove the client names and the deal facts.
4. Ask an AI tool the firm has approved to check them against your written standards.
5. Compare its proposed edits with the edits the lawyer made at the time.
6. Decide who owns the tool, who checks its output, and when the firm would stop using it.
7. Ask your two largest business clients whether their legal team uses AI on contracts.

## What data may go in
Test with contracts that have names and deal facts removed. Client contracts go only into a tool with terms the firm has read.

## Who checks the output
A lawyer reviews every proposed edit before it reaches the client. The lawyer's review and signature are the part the client pays for.

## Cost and time
The report gives no cost. About half a day to write the standards for one contract type.

## The rule to check
ABA Formal Opinion 512 covers AI and fees. A lawyer who bills by the hour may bill only for time actually worked. That stays true when AI makes the work faster.

## What can go wrong
An agent can drift from the standards over time. Run the same three test contracts every quarter and compare the results.

## Sources
- CIO, news report, Nov 11, 2026: https://www.cio.com/article/4246026/as-employees-build-ai-agents-cios-manage-the-lifecycle.html

General information, not legal advice.

Page: https://lawfirmgrowthjournal.com/ai-at-work/in-house-legal-team-contract-review-agent/