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 primary products: Gavel Exec (AI contract review and drafting in Microsoft Word) and Gavel Workflows (no-code legal automation for client intake and document creation). Source
What products and services does Gavel offer?
Gavel provides two main products: Gavel Exec, a precedent-based AI contract review and drafting tool within Microsoft Word, and Gavel Workflows, a no-code legal automation platform for transforming client intake and document templates into structured workflows. Additional services include client intake software, legal template library, team-based collaboration, playbook management, and secure AI review infrastructure. Source
What are the main features of Gavel Exec?
Gavel Exec offers AI contract review software in Word, precedent-based drafting, tailored contract analysis, negotiation-ready markups, automatic enforcement of contract standards via Playbooks, and market-based clause benchmarking. Source
What are the main features of Gavel Workflows?
Gavel Workflows is a no-code legal automation platform that transforms client intake and document templates into structured workflows. It automates the creation of legal documents, ranging from simple forms to complex packets, up to 90% faster than manual drafting. Source
Does Gavel offer a legal template library?
Yes, Gavel provides a legal template library with pre-built templates and court forms to help users get started quickly and efficiently. Source
Can I use Gavel to automate Word and PDF documents?
Yes, Gavel enables automation of both Word and PDF documents with custom rules, allowing users to upload templates and automate document generation. Source
What practice areas does Gavel support?
Gavel supports a wide range of practice areas including Estate Planning, Probate, Real Estate, Corporate Law, Family Law, Bankruptcy Law, Immigration Law, Employment Law, Personal Injury Law, Intellectual Property Law, and other practice areas. Source
Does Gavel provide solutions for different company sizes?
Yes, Gavel offers tailored solutions for solo practices, small and mid-sized law firms, large law firms, and legal startups, ensuring scalability and efficiency for organizations of all sizes. Source
Can Gavel help me sell online legal services?
Yes, Gavel provides legal commerce tools that allow firms to package and bill for online legal services, enabling productization and new revenue streams. Source
Does Gavel offer guides and resources for legal professionals?
Yes, Gavel offers actionable guides, resources, and a Learning Center with help articles, how-to videos, and webinars to support legal professionals in maximizing the platform's capabilities. Source
Features & Capabilities
What are the key capabilities and benefits of Gavel?
Gavel offers infinitely customizable workflows, flexible client experience with secure portals and dynamic intake forms, scalable commerce tools, and secure centralized data. Key benefits include time savings (up to 20 hours in the first week), improved efficiency, scalability, enhanced client experience, proven ROI, and ease of use. Source
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. Source
Does Gavel have an API?
Yes, Gavel offers an API for document generation and integration with other platforms. Detailed information is available in the API & Integrations section of the Learning Center. Source
How does Gavel improve client experience?
Gavel enhances client experience with secure client portals, dynamic intake forms, and collaboration tools that make legal services more accessible and user-friendly. Source
How easy is Gavel to use?
Gavel is highly regarded for its ease of use, featuring an intuitive no-code interface, drag-and-drop workflow creation, and pre-built templates. Users report being able to set up complex workflows within 20 minutes and describe the platform as "easy to use" and "powerful automation for contracts." Source
How does Gavel Blueprint work?
Gavel Blueprint scans uploaded documents and suggests custom questions for automation, saving up to 20 hours in the first week. This advanced AI-driven feature is unique to Gavel and helps automate repetitive tasks efficiently. Source
Does Gavel support team-based collaboration?
Yes, Gavel offers team-based collaboration via Projects and Workspaces, enabling legal teams to work together efficiently on document automation and workflow management. Source
Does Gavel provide benchmarking for contracts?
Yes, Gavel Exec includes benchmarking features that allow market-based clause comparison, helping legal professionals evaluate contract clauses against industry standards. Source
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 meet the unique needs of these segments, enabling automation, scalability, and improved client experience. Source
What business impact can customers expect from Gavel?
Customers can expect significant time savings (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%. Source
What problems does Gavel solve for legal professionals?
Gavel addresses time-consuming repetitive tasks, scalability challenges, data security concerns, resistance to change, complex workflow management, and the need for enhanced client experience. Its automation and AI-driven features streamline processes and reduce errors. Source
Can you share specific case studies or success stories?
Yes, Gavel has several case studies: Streeter Law Firm reduced estate planning preparation time to 30 minutes; LCN Legal automated intercompany agreements for global compliance; Emessay simplified legal services for creative businesses; FreshLease built a residential lease generator; Sisu Legal automated immigration workflows; Horse.Law provided DIY legal services for the equine industry; Rogue Family Law scaled affordable legal services. Source
What industries are represented in Gavel's case studies?
Industries include Legal Services (estate planning, family law, equine law), Corporate and Business Law, Creative Industries, Real Estate, Immigration Law, and Equine Industry. Source
Who are some of Gavel's customers?
Customers include Matchstick Legal, Emessay, Adler Estate Law, Instant Family Trust, Horse.Law, and Counselurdocs. These organizations use Gavel to streamline legal workflows and automate document generation. Source
Technical Requirements & Documentation
Is there technical documentation available for Gavel?
Yes, Gavel's Learning Center provides detailed documentation, help articles, and guides covering workflow creation, API integrations, automation processes, security, compliance, and best practices. Source
How long does it take to implement Gavel?
Gavel's setup process is extremely fast, with workflows like engagement letters and client intake questionnaires taking less than a day to set up. Support staff familiar with firm processes can handle setup efficiently. Source
How easy is it to start using Gavel?
Gavel is designed to be user-friendly, featuring a no-code interface, pre-built workflows, free training and onboarding, unlimited support, and a comprehensive Learning Center. Certified Gavel Experts are available for additional assistance. Source
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 card industry compliance, international standards for quality and information security, and adherence to privacy regulations. Source
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, conducts annual third-party penetration testing, and offers data residency options in the US, EU, Canada, Australia, or other AWS regions. Source
Does Gavel provide regular security testing?
Yes, Gavel conducts annual third-party penetration testing and vulnerability assessments to ensure ongoing security and compliance. Source
Does Gavel offer employee security training?
Yes, all Gavel employees receive security and compliance training upon onboarding and annually, ensuring best practices are followed throughout the organization. Source
Competition & Comparison
How does Gavel compare to Clio?
Gavel offers advanced AI-driven automation (Gavel Blueprint), scalability through productized legal services, and unmatched privacy and security standards (zero data retention, SOC 1-3, PCI DSS Level 1, ISO 9001/ISO 27001). Clio lacks these features and does not emphasize scalability or productizing legal services. Source
How does Gavel compare to Lawyaw?
Gavel provides client-facing tools like secure client portals and dynamic intake forms, advanced AI features (Gavel Blueprint), and scalability. Lawyaw focuses more on backend automation and lacks these client-facing tools and advanced AI capabilities. Source
How does Gavel compare to HotDocs?
Gavel offers a no-code platform with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, making it accessible for legal professionals without technical expertise. HotDocs requires technical skills and does not emphasize scalability or productizing legal services. Source
How does Gavel Exec differ from GC AI?
Gavel Exec operates directly within Microsoft Word and offers precedent-based AI contract review tailored to firm-specific standards. GC AI lacks Word-native integration and does not provide precedent-based review. Source
