Gavel Exec for transactional attorneys at a glance
- Built for
- Deal lawyers in solo practices and small and mid-sized firms
- Documents
- Letters of intent and term sheets, purchase agreements, nondisclosure agreements, master services agreements, stockholder agreements, leases and more
- Redlines
- Tracked changes in Word, ranked by priority, with the reasoning for each change
- Works in
- The Microsoft Word add-in, plus the web app at exec.gavel.io for Batch Analysis and Market Benchmarking
- Price
- 25 free queries per user, then $160 per user per month
What can AI do for a transactional attorney?
Artificial intelligence (AI) can draft the first version of the work that fills a deal lawyer's day: the first markup of the other side's paper, the list of issues, the missing protections and the clause you need to add. Gavel Exec does each of these in the Word add-in and explains its reasoning, and the lawyer decides what goes into the draft.
In the American Bar Association's 2024 AI TechReport, 30.2% of attorneys said their offices were using AI-based tools, from 47.8% at firms of 500 or more lawyers to 17.7% of solo practitioners. Writing in the August 2026 Nevada Lawyer, Drew Simshaw of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas called contract drafting one of the most promising uses of generative AI.
- Contract redlining turns the other side's draft into priority-ranked redlines for your client, applied as tracked changes.
- Contract risk analysis flags risky and missing terms and, when you upload the term sheet in Chat, checks the draft against it.
- Contract playbooks check every agreement of a type against the positions you take on every deal.
- Contract drafting writes clauses and agreements for the jurisdiction you choose.
- Clause benchmarking marks provisions on-market, off-market or missing for covered agreements, including nondisclosure agreements, master services agreements, leases and mergers-and-acquisitions deal documents, in the web app.
How does a redline get from Gavel Exec into your draft?
Redlines come back in the Gavel Exec panel first, ranked by priority with the reasoning for each, and go into your draft as tracked changes when you click Apply All. The full sequence takes five steps:
- Open the other side's draft in Word. Open the Gavel Exec panel and choose Redline Document.
- Set up the negotiation. Enter the party you represent, set the negotiation style on the slider from light through market to aggressive, and choose the jurisdiction by country and state or province.
- Add the deal context. Attach the letter of intent, term sheet or your precedent agreement, and add instructions, such as the positions that matter most to your client.
- Review the suggestions. Each redline shows its priority and the reasoning behind it in the Gavel Exec panel. Filter by priority, or edit a redline before you apply it.
- Apply and send. Click Apply All to insert the suggestions as tracked changes, reject or edit the ones you don't want, and send the draft back with your changes still tracked so the other side sees every change.
Can Gavel Exec work from your own precedent and playbook?
Yes. Keep your precedent agreements and instructions in a Project for the matter, and Gavel Exec references them when you work in that Project. When you upload a prior executed agreement to a Project, drafts take on its defined terms and clause structure. For positions you take on every deal of a type, build a playbook with Generate from Files from your checklists or signed agreements, and run it with Use a Playbook. Playbooks can be shared across your firm's Organization.
How do you handle the other side's markup?
Run Summarize Redlines when the draft comes back. It outlines each change the counterparty proposed, which gives you the start of an issues list. To respond, redline over their changes with Redline Document; their tracked changes keep their original authors. To brief your client, choose Add Comments with the comment type Explain key points/risks to my client. Delete these comments before the draft goes to the other side.
Can Gavel Exec help with due diligence across many documents?
Yes, in the web app. Batch Analysis compares terms such as change of control, assignment and governing law across a set of documents and exports the grid as a comma-separated values (CSV) file. See AI for corporate lawyers for the full diligence workflow.
Which tasks run in Word and which run in the web app?
Redlining, Summarize Redlines and building playbooks run in the Word add-in. Batch Analysis and Market Benchmarking run only in the web app, and Chat and drafting run in both.
Where each transactional task runs in Gavel Exec| Task | Where it runs |
|---|
| Redline a draft as tracked changes | Word add-in |
|---|
| Summarize the other side's redlines | Word add-in |
|---|
| Build a playbook | Word add-in |
|---|
| Run a playbook | Word add-in; playbooks created in Word are also available in the web app |
|---|
| Draft a clause or an agreement | Word add-in and web app |
|---|
| Ask questions about a document in Chat | Word add-in and web app |
|---|
| Review many documents at once with Batch Analysis | Web app |
|---|
| Benchmark clauses against market terms | Web app |
|---|
What results do transactional lawyers report?
Martin Algie, Principal at MIA Contract Lawyers, reports that his first-cut review fell from about 15 hours to about 5.
“It’s the best system I’ve tried, and I’ve tried many. I’ve found Gavel Exec really good to work with and responsive to how I negotiate, how I redline.”
How does using AI on client documents fit your ethics obligations?
The American Bar Association's Formal Opinion 512 (July 29, 2024) applies the duties of competence, confidentiality, client communication and reasonable fees to generative AI, and it expects lawyers to review AI output for accuracy.
On confidentiality, the opinion says a lawyer needs the client's informed consent before entering client information into a self-learning AI tool, and it expects lawyers to understand how a tool uses the information they enter. Gavel does not use customer data, prompts or documents to train AI models. On fees, the opinion says a lawyer may charge for time spent using an AI tool and for the time needed to review the resulting draft, but generally should not charge the client for time spent learning the tool.
Redlines appear in the Gavel Exec panel first, each with its priority and reasoning, and go into the document only when you apply them. Each applied change appears in the draft as a tracked change you can keep, edit or reject.
Is contract data secure in Gavel Exec?
Gavel Exec is SOC 2 (System and Organization Controls 2) Type II certified. Gavel has Zero Data Retention agreements with the AI model providers it uses, including OpenAI, and does not use customer data, prompts or documents to train AI models. Details are on the Gavel security page.
Over 2,000 legal organizations in 28 countries use Gavel, which is part of Relativity.
How much does Gavel Exec cost?
Each user starts with 25 free queries, with no credit card. Paid plans cost $160 per user per month, or $1,740 per user per year, and include 1,000 queries per user per month. Teams of 10 or more seats get discounted pricing. See Gavel Exec pricing, start free or request a demo.
Frequently asked questions
Will AI replace transactional attorneys?
No. Gavel Exec drafts first passes and explains its redlines, but the lawyer decides what goes into the agreement and remains responsible for it.
Can I bill a client for time spent using AI?
The American Bar Association's Formal Opinion 512 says a lawyer may charge for time spent using an AI tool and for reviewing its output, but generally not for time spent learning the tool. Check your engagement letter and your state's rules.
Does it work from my own precedent?
Yes. Attach precedent to a request or keep it in a Project. Drafts in a Project take on the defined terms and clause structure of the prior executed agreements you upload.
Can it draft for a specific jurisdiction?
Yes. Quick Actions let you choose a country and a state or province. To set the contract's governing law, name it in your instructions.
Can AI automate due diligence?
Batch Analysis in the web app automates the extraction step: it pulls terms such as change of control and assignment from a set of documents into a grid you can export. A lawyer still reviews the results, and AI for corporate lawyers covers the full diligence workflow.
Last updated October 29, 2026.
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