Key Takeaway: Legal operations teams are unlocking Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) value that their current approach might be missing. True CLM success isn’t driven by how much you spend but by how effectively your teams adopt and use the technology. Organizations that prioritize user-centric design, change management, and continuous optimization achieve faster contracting, higher ROI, and long‑term transformation.

For legal operations leaders, it’s unnerving to learn that peers are achieving major gains in contracting speed and efficiency while your own CLM investments are falling short. Such cases generate immense pressure to remain competitive. In attempting to respond, it is easy to believe that when it comes to CLM, paying more guarantees better results.

This misconception has led countless companies to adopt oversized platforms, inflated implementation budgets, and, as a result, underwhelming outcomes. But high spend does not create CLM value; adoption does. Consider two scenarios:

1. Organization A invests US$500,000 in a premium CLM platform with extensive customization. After 18 months, only 40% of intended users actively engage with the system, achieving 25% of projected efficiency gains.
2. Organization B implements a US$200,000 solution with focused functionality and strong change management. Within 12 months, 85% user adoption drives 90% of projected improvements.

Organization B’s “cheaper” solution delivers superior ROI, but not because of the software itself. Its success is due to how it was adopted and utilized. 

The False Promise of Premium Contract Lifecycle Management Solutions

The power of the mantra “you get what you pay for” is understandable. The allure of comprehensive, enterprise-grade CLM platforms is undeniable. Suppliers showcase impressive feature lists, boast seamless integrations, and promise sophisticated AI capabilities. Legal operations professionals, eager to modernize outdated processes, often equate these bells and whistles with guaranteed success.

This mindset creates several problematic assumptions, for example:

• More features equal more value. In practice, unused features create wasted investment.
• Complex implementations demonstrate thoroughness. Often, they signal over-engineering and poor change management.
• Higher costs reflect superior quality. Price rarely correlates with user adoption or process improvement.

The Hidden Costs of Over-Investment

When organizations prioritize spending over strategic implementation, they often encounter a myriad of issues that result in a new system that ultimately goes unused. Consider the following scenarios:

“We want the CLM system built with every feature possible. Add all the bells and whistles.”

This mindset can turn into feature overload. More features of a CLM system do not make it better. Users become overwhelmed by unnecessary complexity, too many clicks, and more uses than they can remember. All of this leads to fragmented adoption or system abandonment.

“You will have to wait for a new system until we can implement it across all geographies and business groups. Be ready for a full enterprise transformation.”

Although it may sound like a great idea to launch everything all at once, full organization rollout at once can cause implementation fatigue. Extended, expensive rollouts exhaust stakeholder patience and organizational momentum. 

“We have so many things to teach you about using the new CLM and AI. This includes two weeks of training sessions and ongoing skills enhancement. Learn everything you need to know soon.”

Unfocused enablement that is given to the entire organization, rather than foundational role-based training, often causes training overload. This is especially frustrating for individuals who will not be using the CLM. A complex system requires extensive training that users struggle to retain and apply.

“We are customizing a CLM system that meets every one of our organization’s complex business requirements, and it will facilitate everything.”

When teams build overly complex logic or heavily customize integrations, the system drifts away from a standard global process. This complexity creates a significant maintenance burden. Sophisticated configurations require ongoing technical support and in-house expertise. These demands strain legal operations teams that already have limited resources.

The Adoption-First Paradigm: Understanding True ROI Drivers

Successful CLM implementations share common characteristics that have nothing to do with software cost:

• User-Centric Design: Solutions that align with existing workflows and minimize learning curves see higher adoption rates.
• Phased Rollouts: Incremental implementations allow organizations to build confidence and refine processes before full-scale deployment.
• Clear Value Propositions: When users understand how the system improves their daily work, they become natural advocates for adoption.
• Measurable Quick Wins: Early, visible improvements in contracts turnaround times or approval processes create momentum for broader change.

The Three Pillars of Contract Lifecycle Management Success

The four ROI drivers above are a function of three crucial activities: change management, planning for post-deployment, and ongoing optimization.

1. Strategic Change Management

Effective change management begins before software selection and continues well beyond go-live. It requires:

• Stakeholder Mapping: Identifying all user groups, from contracts administrators to senior legal counsel, and understanding their unique needs and concerns.
• Communication Strategy: Developing clear messaging about why change is necessary, what benefits users can expect, and how the transition will be supported.
• Champion Networks: Cultivating enthusiastic early adopters who can peer-to-peer influence and provide real-time feedback during rollout.
• Resistance Planning: Anticipating sources of resistance and developing specific strategies to address concerns before they derail adoption efforts.

2. Comprehensive Post-Go-Live Planning

The period immediately following CLM deployment is critical for long-term success. Organizations must plan for:

• Intensive Support: Utilize “hypercare” to provide readily available technical assistance and process guidance as users navigate initial challenges.
• Performance Monitoring: Establish metrics and reporting to track both system usage and business outcome improvements.
• Feedback Loops: Create formal mechanisms for users to report issues and suggest improvements.
• Quick Response Protocols: Address adoption barriers rapidly before they become entrenched resistance.

3. Continuous Improvement Commitment

CLM success requires ongoing optimization rather than a “set it and forget it” mentality. Like any new SaaS tool, your CLM is a living system that will need to change and scale with your organization, evolving business requirements, and new feature releases. Continuous improvement includes: 

• Regular Process Review: Conduct quarterly assessments of workflow efficiency and user satisfaction to identify improvement opportunities.
• Feature Optimization: Gradually introduce advanced capabilities as user confidence and competence grow.
• Training Reinforcement: Implement ongoing education programs that help users maximize system capabilities and incorporate new features.
• ROI Measurement: Track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to demonstrate value and justify continued investment.

The Value Beyond the Invoice

The most successful CLM implementations share a common thread: they prioritize people over platforms, adoption over features, and sustainable change over impressive specifications. When legal operations professionals shift their focus from maximizing software investment to maximizing user adoption, they unlock the true potential of CLM technology.

The question isn't whether your organization can afford premium CLM software. It is whether you can afford to implement any solution without the strategic change management necessary to drive adoption and realize genuine ROI.

The future of contracts management lies not in the sophistication of your software, but in the effectiveness of the implementation strategy. When you measure success by adoption rather than expenditure, you create sustainable value that compounds over time.

Learn more about Epiq Contracts Solutions.


Jessica Cook, Senior Director, Contracts Solutions
Jessica Cook is a lawyer with more than 15 years of consulting experience and over 12 years of delivery leadership in legal technology, AI, and legal operations professional services. Jessica oversees Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) implementation teams for enterprise digital transformations, ensuring adoption success and helping clients scale for growth.