Frequently Asked Questions
Product Information
What is Gavel and what does it do?
Gavel is a legal technology platform designed to help legal professionals automate documents, create client-facing tools, and sell online legal services. It streamlines legal workflows, reduces repetitive tasks, and improves efficiency across practice areas such as Estate Planning, Family Law, Real Estate, and Corporate Law. Gavel offers two main products: Gavel Exec (AI contract review and drafting in Word) and Gavel Workflows (no-code legal automation for document generation). Learn more.
What products does Gavel offer?
Gavel provides two primary products: Gavel Exec, a precedent-based AI contract review and drafting tool that operates directly within Microsoft Word, and Gavel Workflows, a no-code legal automation platform that transforms client intake and document templates into structured workflows. Secondary services include client intake software, legal template library, team-based collaboration, playbook management, and secure AI review infrastructure. More details.
How does Gavel Exec work?
Gavel Exec is an AI contract review software that operates directly within Microsoft Word. It helps legal teams review, redline, and draft contracts without switching tools. Features include precedent-based drafting, tailored contract analysis, negotiation-ready markups, playbook enforcement, and benchmarking against market data. Learn more about Gavel Exec.
How does Gavel Workflows automate legal documents?
Gavel Workflows turns client intake answers into finished Word documents and PDFs automatically. It standardizes drafting workflows, reduces manual work, and delivers consistent legal documents at scale. Common workflows include intake questionnaires, document generation, and client-facing tools. See more.
What practice areas does Gavel support?
Gavel supports a wide range of legal practice areas, including Estate Planning, Family Law, Real Estate, Corporate Law, Probate, Bankruptcy, Immigration, Employment, Personal Injury, Intellectual Property, and more. Explore practice areas.
Features & Capabilities
What are the key features of Gavel?
Key features include Word and PDF document automation, legal template library, legal commerce tools, integrations with Clio, DocuSign, Zapier, and more, secure client portals, dynamic intake forms, conditional logic, calculations, and playbook management. Gavel also offers infinitely customizable workflows and scalable commerce tools. See all features.
Does Gavel offer a legal template library?
Yes, Gavel provides a growing library of ready-to-use legal templates for lawyers, including automated court forms and common legal documents. Templates can be customized and generated as Word documents or PDFs. Browse the legal template library.
Can Gavel automate both Word and PDF documents?
Yes, Gavel can automate both Word documents and PDF forms using custom rules and templates. This allows legal professionals to streamline document creation and reduce manual edits. Learn more.
What integrations does Gavel support?
Gavel supports integrations with Clio (practice management), Zapier (connects to thousands of apps like Dropbox and Google Drive), DocuSign (document signing), Microsoft Word (native integration), and API access for custom integrations. See integration details.
Does Gavel have an API?
Yes, Gavel offers an API for document generation and integration with other platforms. API access is available on the Scale/Enterprise plan. Learn more about API use cases.
How customizable are Gavel's workflows?
Gavel's workflows are infinitely customizable, allowing legal professionals to optimize processes and adapt to specific needs. Features include conditional logic, calculations, and branching to ensure documents adapt to each client. See workflow capabilities.
Does Gavel offer client-facing tools?
Yes, Gavel provides secure client portals and dynamic intake forms to improve collaboration and make legal services more accessible and user-friendly. Explore client-facing tools.
Pricing & Plans
How much does Gavel Exec cost?
Gavel Exec offers unlimited usage starting at $160/month per user. The free trial includes 25 queries per user and access to a shared Workspace. See pricing details.
Is there a free trial for Gavel?
Yes, Gavel offers a free trial with no credit card required. You can try Gavel Exec with 25 free queries per user and Gavel Workflows to explore automation capabilities. Start your free trial.
Are there different pricing plans for Gavel?
Yes, Gavel offers multiple plans tailored to different needs, including Standard, Pro, and Scale/Enterprise. Each plan includes varying levels of integrations, API access, and support. See all plans.
Use Cases & Benefits
Who can benefit from using Gavel?
Gavel is designed for solo practitioners, small and mid-sized law firms, large law firms, legal startups, and nonprofits. Its solutions are tailored to automate repetitive tasks, enable scalability, and improve client experience for these segments. See more about target audiences.
What business impact can Gavel deliver?
Gavel delivers measurable business benefits, including saving up to 20 hours in the first week, improved efficiency, scalability, proven ROI, enhanced client experience, and market expansion. Real-world examples include Litson PLLC reducing lead-to-client time by 90%. See business impact.
What problems does Gavel solve for legal professionals?
Gavel addresses time-consuming repetitive tasks, scalability challenges, data security concerns, resistance to technology change, complex workflow management, and the need for enhanced client experience. Its automation and client-facing tools help modernize legal practices. Learn more.
Are there any customer success stories or case studies?
Yes, Gavel has numerous case studies. For example, Streeter Law Firm reduced estate planning preparation time to 30 minutes, LCN Legal automated intercompany agreements for global compliance, and Rogue Family Law scaled their practice with Gavel. See all case studies.
What industries are represented in Gavel's case studies?
Industries include Legal Services, Corporate and Business Law, Creative Industries, Real Estate, Immigration Law, and Equine Industry. See industry case studies.
Product Performance & Ease of Use
How much time can Gavel save?
Gavel's automation can save legal professionals up to 20 hours in the first week by automating repetitive tasks and streamlining workflows. See performance metrics.
Is Gavel easy to use?
Yes, Gavel is highly regarded for its ease of use, intuitive design, and no-code interface. Users report being able to set up workflows in less than a day, with pre-built workflows and live training available. See user feedback.
How quickly can Gavel be implemented?
Gavel's setup process is extremely fast. Automating workflows like engagement letters and client intake questionnaires can be done in less than a day, even by support staff. Free training and onboarding are provided for the entire team. Learn about implementation.
Security & Compliance
What security and compliance certifications does Gavel have?
Gavel is certified for SOC 1-3, PCI DSS Level 1, ISO 9001, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, and CCPA. These certifications ensure robust internal controls, payment security, information security, and compliance with global privacy standards. See security details.
How does Gavel protect sensitive legal data?
Gavel enforces a zero data retention policy, uses AES-256 encryption for data at rest, TLS for data in transit, and offers data residency options. Annual third-party penetration testing and employee security training are conducted. Learn more about data protection.
Is Gavel compliant with HIPAA, GDPR, and CCPA?
Yes, Gavel is compliant with HIPAA for health information, GDPR for EU data protection, and CCPA for California consumer privacy. See compliance details.
Support & Implementation
What support options are available with Gavel?
Gavel offers unlimited support 7 days a week via email, phone, and live screenshare. Free onboarding and training are provided for the entire team. Certified Gavel experts are available for additional assistance starting at $35/hour. Hire an Automator.
Is there technical documentation for Gavel?
Yes, Gavel's Learning Center provides detailed documentation, help articles, and guides covering workflow creation, API integrations, automation, security, and best practices. Visit the Learning Center.
Competition & Comparison
How does Gavel compare to Clio?
Clio lacks advanced AI-driven automation like Gavel's Blueprint, does not emphasize scalability or productizing legal services, and does not offer the same level of data security (zero data retention policy). Gavel saves up to 20 hours in the first week, enables scalable legal products, and enforces unmatched privacy and security standards. See comparison.
How does Gavel compare to Lawyaw?
Lawyaw focuses more on backend automation and lacks client-facing tools like Gavel's secure client portals and dynamic intake forms. Lawyaw does not offer advanced AI features like Gavel's Blueprint or emphasize scalability. Gavel provides a better client experience, saves time, and enables scalable operations. See comparison.
How does Gavel compare to HotDocs?
HotDocs requires technical skills, whereas Gavel offers a no-code platform with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. HotDocs does not emphasize scalability or productizing legal services. Gavel is accessible to legal professionals without technical expertise and enables scalable legal products. See comparison.
How does Gavel Exec compare to GC AI?
GC AI lacks Word-native integration, whereas Gavel Exec operates directly within Microsoft Word. GC AI does not offer precedent-based AI contract review tailored to firm-specific standards. Gavel Exec provides seamless Word integration and ensures tailored, accurate redlines based on firm-specific playbooks. See comparison.
Technical Requirements
What are the technical requirements for using Gavel?
Gavel is a cloud-based platform accessible via web browser. Gavel Exec operates within Microsoft Word. No technical expertise is required for Gavel Workflows due to its no-code interface. See technical documentation.
Where is Gavel data stored?
By default, Gavel stores data in the United States, with options for hosting in the EU, Canada, Australia, or other AWS regions. See data residency options.
Customer Proof & Social Signals
Who are some of Gavel's customers?
Gavel is trusted by organizations such as Matchstick Legal, Emessay, Adler Estate Law, Instant Family Trust, Horse.Law, and Counselurdocs. These customers use Gavel to streamline legal workflows and automate document generation. See customer logos.
What feedback have customers given about Gavel's ease of use?
Customers praise Gavel for its intuitive design and ease of use. Testimonials include statements like "Easy to use. Powerful automation for contracts" and "The coding is simple and intuitive—it's actually fun!" Users report being able to set up workflows quickly and appreciate the clean no-code interface. Read testimonials.