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Chapters
What Contract Drafting is for
Contract Drafting turns a written brief into a complete, formatted contract. You describe the deal, attach the parties' documents and choose the governing law; Alaya writes a drafting instruction for you to approve, then drafts every section into a Word file.
Who it's for
In-house counsel
A jurisdiction-aware first draft to review and negotiate from, in the language the deal needs.
Founders and operations teams
A complete agreement from a plain-language brief, ready for legal review instead of a blank page.
What it solves
A first draft without the blank page
Describe the agreement in your own words and get a structured contract back — recitals, numbered articles, schedules and signature blocks — instead of adapting a template line by line.
Details taken from the documents you already have
Attach each party's trade license, term sheet or earlier contracts. Names and terms are picked up from them, so you are not retyping what is already on file.
Control before a single clause is written
You see the plan first — agreement type, title, parties, commercial terms and required clauses — and can correct it before drafting starts.
How to use Contract Drafting
Each step shows the real screen. Hover a numbered marker — or the matching note — to see what every control does.
Describe the agreement you need
Open Contract Drafting from the top navigation. Step 1 starts with Agreement Requirements: write the brief the way you would instruct a colleague, then choose the drafting language and how long the contract should be.
- The brief and the country (further down) are the only required fields.
- Cover the agreement type, each party's role, the commercial terms, the clauses you need and the governing law.
- Arabic contracts are laid out right to left.
On this screen
Tip: A more detailed brief yields more precise clauses. The character counter shows how much you've given.
Add the parties, governing law and a reference
Scroll down to name each party and attach their documents, choose the country and jurisdiction, and optionally add supporting contracts and a format reference. Then click Analyze & Prepare Instructions.
- PDF and Word (.docx) only — up to 50 MB per file, 25 files and 100 MB per draft.
- Use one reference source: picking a different kind replaces the one you chose before.
- Attached documents are counted toward your plan when you click Analyze & Prepare Instructions.
On this screen
Tip: Check everything before you analyze. Step 2 has no Back button, and New Draft clears the form.
Review and refine the drafting instruction
Step 2 shows the Master Drafting Instruction — the plan the contract will follow. Read it on the Preview tab, change it directly on the Edit tab, or describe a change and let Refine with AI rewrite it.
- The plan covers the agreement type, exact title, parties, commercial terms, protections and required clauses.
- Regenerate Instruction saves the refined version straight away.
On this screen
Tip: Changes you type on the Edit tab are kept only when you click Confirm and Start Drafting.
Follow the drafting progress
Drafting opens on its own page and runs in five stages: document analysis, legal research for your jurisdiction, the clause structure, section-by-section drafting and final assembly. It's safe to leave — drafting continues in the background.
- The outline lists every article, schedule and signature page with its status.
- A time estimate appears once a couple of sections have finished while you watch.
- You get an email, “Your contract draft is ready to review”, when it finishes.
On this screen
Review the contract and download it as Word
When drafting completes, the contract opens in a read-only viewer. Draft inputs above it records what the draft was built from. Download the Word file to edit, share and finalize it.
- The Word file includes a table of contents and is named after the contract's title.
- To change the result, edit the Word file or start a New Draft with a revised brief.
- If the viewer can't load, an HTML preview with zoom controls is shown instead.
On this screen
Retry if drafting fails
If some sections can't be drafted, the draft shows Drafting Failed with the reason and keeps everything that finished. Retry just the failed parts, or run the whole draft again.
- Retries don't count toward your plan's usage.
- You'll also get an email: “We couldn't complete your contract draft”.
On this screen
Tip: Retry Full Draft discards every drafted section — use Retry Failed Clauses when most of the contract is done.
Step 01 / 06
Everything Contract Drafting can do
The building blocks behind the walkthrough, and what each one does for you.
From brief to finished contract
Describe the deal in plain language and get a complete agreement: recitals, numbered articles, schedules and signature blocks, delivered as a Word file with a table of contents.
A plan you approve first
Review the Master Drafting Instruction, edit it yourself or ask Refine with AI for changes before drafting starts.
Grounded in the governing law
The applicable law for your country and jurisdiction is researched and used to ground the clauses. The research itself isn't shown.
Reads the parties' documents
Attach KYC files, term sheets and earlier contracts for up to 10 parties; names and terms are picked up from them.
Follows your formatting
Point to one reference — an upload, a Dashboard file or up to three library contracts — to guide the style.
16 languages, three lengths
Draft in English, Arabic, French, German and 12 more, in Short, Standard or Long Form.
Runs in the background
Leave the page while sections are drafted. An email tells you when the draft is ready to review.
Retry without starting over
If something fails, retry one clause, every failed clause, or the full draft from the same instruction.
Tips for getting it right
Put the detail in the brief
Name the agreement type, each party's role, the commercial terms, the clauses you need and the governing law. A fuller brief gives more precise clauses.
Get the inputs right before you analyze
Step 2 has no Back button. New Draft starts over and clears the form without asking, and documents you already analyzed have been counted.
Edits on the Edit tab need Confirm
Text you change by hand is saved only when you click Confirm and Start Drafting. Regenerate Instruction saves straight away.
Choose one kind of reference
Format & Style takes an upload, a Dashboard file or up to three library contracts. Picking another kind replaces the first.
Refresh to see a new draft
A draft you just started may not show in Recent Activity until you click the refresh icon, or until it completes.
Edit the final contract in Word
The finished draft is view-only in LinkinLegal. Download it as Word to make changes, or start a New Draft with a revised brief.
Statuses you'll see
Work that runs in the background always shows where it stands — here is what each label means.
- In ProgressThe draft exists: its instruction is waiting for your review, or drafting is under way.
- Drafting sections — 4 of 12Sections are being written one by one. The outline shows which are done.
- CompletedThe contract is ready to read and download as Word.
- FailedSome sections or the run didn't finish. Open the draft to retry them.
- Converting…The Word file is being prepared for download.
PDF and Word (.docx) files: up to 50 MB each, 25 files and 100 MB in total per draft. Attach each party's documents, supporting contracts under Contracts Context, and one formatting reference.
Any country. Choose from that country's list of states, emirates or provinces, or type a jurisdiction if none is listed. Contracts can be drafted in 16 languages; Arabic contracts are laid out right to left.
Not once it's drafted — the finished contract is view-only. Download it as Word to edit it. Before drafting starts, you can change the Master Drafting Instruction on the Edit tab or with Refine with AI.
By the documents you attach — party files, Contracts Context files and the reference — counted when you click Analyze & Prepare Instructions. A brief with no attachments uses none, and refining, starting or retrying a draft doesn't count.
Open the draft from Recent Activity. Retry Clause reruns one section, Retry Failed Clauses reruns every unfinished section, and Retry Full Draft runs everything again from your approved instruction, replacing the sections already drafted.
No. Drafting continues in the background, and you'll get an email titled “Your contract draft is ready to review” when it finishes.
Keep exploring
Related features
- Where to find it
- Top navigation → Contract Drafting