For many legal departments, the journey to implementing a Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) system is complex and resource intensive. But what if the next leap in contracts efficiency doesn’t require ripping out what you’ve already built?

This was the central theme of the recent webinar, Beyond Overhauls: How Agentic AI Elevates Your Existing CLM, hosted by Atena Reyhani, Chief Product Officer, ContractPodAi and Rebecca Yoder, Managing Director, Epiq. Together, they explored how Agentic AI transforms contracts operations without disrupting your current tech stack.

From Repository to Intelligence Hub

Most CLMs today serve as structured repositories with workflow capabilities. They help manage contracts but often fall short in surfacing insights or proactively managing obligations. Agentic AI changes that. Think of it as a team of AI ‘employees,’ each with domain-specific expertise (e.g., legal, compliance, finance, procurement) that can reason, act independently, and collaborate with humans.

These agents do not just extract data. They understand context, correlate obligations with upstream and downstream systems (e.g., ERP, HR, procurement), and act by triggering a notification, assigning a task, or escalating a risk. As Atena put it, “We're looking not only at automating a function or a task, but that broader connected intelligence with very targeted and advanced AI systems that can perform tasks independently.”

No Rip-and-Replace Required

One of the most compelling aspects of Agentic AI is its ability to integrate with your existing tech stack. As Rebecca emphasized in the webinar, “You do not need to undo what you’ve already done.” Agentic AI can support your current CLM, unlocking new value without disrupting your workflows.

This is especially relevant for commercial contracts, where teams must manage obligations that span departments and systems. Agentic AI connects the dots, automating deliverables tracking, identifying and flagging risk from geopolitical or regulatory changes, and even identifying revenue leakage.

Obligation Management Reimagined

Obligation management has long been a pain point. Manual extraction, tracking in spreadsheets, and disconnected systems make it challenging to stay ahead. Agentic AI transforms this by:

• Identifying obligations across structured and unstructured data.
• Assigning ownership and tracking fulfillment.
• Proactively flagging risks based on external events or internal system changes.

As Atena put it: “Contracts are the bloodline of the business. Agentic AI ensures they’re not just stored; they’re activated.”

Faster ROI, Lower Lift

Unlike traditional CLM implementations, Agentic AI offers lighter, faster deployment. There’s no need for months of training models or building complex integrations. The agents are pre-trained, secure, and designed to deliver immediate value for compliance analysis, tariff impact assessment, or enhanced procurement performance.

Human and AI Equal Elevated Roles

Agentic AI isn’t about replacing people, it’s about augmenting them. By offloading repetitive tasks to AI agents, contracts professionals can focus on strategic work negotiation, risk mitigation, and value creation.

According to Rebecca, collaborating with AI “doesn't take away from your output. It raises the output’s quality and efficiency and ultimately enhances how a company is performing.”

The future isn’t human vs. AI; It’s human and AI. For commercial contracts leaders, the future is already here.

Watch the full webinar featuring Rebecca Yoder and Atena Reyhani to learn how Agentic AI elevates your CLM without starting from scratch.

Atena Reyhani is a visionary leader and a catalyst for product innovation at ContractPodAi, where she leads as Chief Product Officer. Known for her exceptional ability to execute bold product strategies, Atena leads cross-functional teams to turn ambitious visions into groundbreaking realities. In 2023, her transformative work was recognized with two Globee awards: “Innovative Woman of the Year in Artificial Intelligence” and “Women Excellence of the Year for Product Development” for developing an AI solution to revolutionize legal technology and unlock new productivity levels through cutting-edge Gen AI capabilities. Prior to ContractPodAi, Atena led the development of SaaS products for the Higher Education, Lottery, and Gaming industries. Her educational background in computer science and business, combined with her expertise in AI business transformation, positions her at the forefront of cutting-edge technological innovation.


Rebecca Yoder, Managing Director, Contracts Solutions, Epiq
Previously, Rebecca was an Associate Partner with Spaulding Ridge’s DocuSign practice, growing the platinum partner’s CLM implementation footprint. She also served as a director at DocuSign’s Agreement Cloud Strategy Practice where she was DocuSign’s subject matter expert on corporate legal departments and legal operations. Rebecca brings more than 25 years of corporate legal industry and technology experience.

Rebecca spent 20 years at Accenture, most recently as the Director of Legal Technology and a Contract Manager. Rebecca was responsible for technology deployed to Accenture’s Legal professionals, as well as technology solutions deployed across Accenture on behalf of Legal (i.e., compliance tools). Rebecca worked closely with the internal IT department to deploy the full scope of the Legal IT blueprint, including Contracts Management solutions like CLM, eBilling, Document Management, and Compliance solutions.