Summary
This article will walk you through what the Clause Library is and how it differs from Playbooks.
Prerequisites
| Features | Clause Library |
| Permissions | Group Permission: Global Clause Library = Yes |
What is a Clause?
A clause is a section, phrase, or paragraph in a legal document—such as a contract, deed, will, or constitution—that addresses a specific point. Clauses are typically 8 words or more and are written as one or more sentences.
What is the Clause Library?
In Ironclad, you can manage your global clauses through the Clause Library. Instead of having each clause live only within a specific workflow configuration, you can use global clauses to manage and edit clauses across multiple workflow configurations. Any changes you make to global clauses from the Clause Library will be automatically applied to the relevant workflow configurations within Ironclad.
The Clause Library consists of two main components: types and clauses.
- Types are the clause category labels.
- Clauses contain the actual text.
Clause Library Permissions
By default, administrators have access to the Clause Library while everyone else does not. Administrators can give other groups of users access to the Clause Library in Company Settings.
To learn more, refer to Manage Group Permissions.
Playbooks vs. Clause Library: What’s the Difference?
Clause Library helps you set up and manage clause configurations, while Playbooks help reviewers evaluate contract language during review. The two tools both work with clauses, but they serve different purposes and are not currently connected.
Clause Library is used during workflow setup to help you build and maintain your clause configurations—it’s focused on governance and standardization, not document review or redlining. Clauses in the Clause Library cannot be inserted into a document or used during review or negotiation.
In contrast, Playbooks are designed specifically for review and negotiation: it provides clause-level guidance and recommended fallback language when a Playbook is configured for a workflow. If you're reviewing a document and looking for clause guidance or insertable language, you'll need to use a Playbook.
Refer to the table below for examples of when to use each tool:
| If you need to... | Use… | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Build and maintain clause configurations during workflow configuration setup | Clause Library | Clause Library is used during workflow configuration setup to help build and maintain clause configurations. |
| Standardize clause usage across workflows | Clause Library | It is focused on governance and standardization rather than review or negotiation. |
| Review contract language during a workflow or contract review | Playbooks | Playbooks are used in workflows and contract reviews, and AI Playbooks are set up for content review. |
| Give reviewers clause-level guidance | Playbooks | Playbooks let you define clause positions, including preferred, fallback, and non-standard language. |
| Find fallback language during negotiation | Playbooks | Playbooks are designed to guide review and negotiation, including fallback positions for clauses. |
| Insert or work with clause guidance while reviewing a document | Playbooks | If you need clause guidance or review-time language support, you need Playbooks rather than Clause Library. |
To summarize, Clause Library helps admins configure and standardize clauses during workflow configuration setup, while Playbooks help reviewers evaluate and negotiate clause language during review.
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