Oakdale, Pennsylvania, United States
I am a self-driven Commercial Software Contract Negotiator with a mindset toward streamlining process and getting the job done. In addition to my normal negotiating tasks, my most recent projects include setting up an effective contract management process in #Smartsheet; working with a colleague to create locked contract templates to reduce drafting and review time by 90%; and managing contract gathering to smoothly integrate the legal team of an acquired company into a new corporate structure.
(Kofax purchased the Document Imaging division of Nuance Communications on February 1, 2019. My position moved to Kofax with the sale and I worked remotely.) Negotiated End User License, Business Associate, Statement of Work, Professional Services, Evaluation, Non-Disclosure, and Reseller Agreements, on both company and customer templates. Provided global support to the Sales team on commercial agreements; was the global legal subject matter expert for professional services engagements. Skilled at recognizing and negotiating contracting issues and mitigating company risk. Not afraid to push back, but able to work with the team on creative solutions to provide comfort for the customer without allowing costly concessions for my company. Using #Smartsheet: created, developed, maintained, and provided training for a commercial sales contract management system to provide: an online agreement request mechanism for Sales; tracking for agreements in process; contract status updates for the deal teams; and a backup contract repository for executed agreements. This was done for the cost of one annual license for me as the system architect instead of the company opting for a significant investment in a contract management system requiring individual monthly licenses for all users. Worked remotely full-time and fostered friendly, efficient, and collaborative working relationships with cross-divisional colleagues across the Americas, Europe and Asia. Used MS Teams for voice and video calls. I’m very mindful of the efficacy of the ten-minute phone call vs. the string of thirty emails.
Successfully negotiated commercial agreements within the Imaging, Healthcare, Enterprise, Desktop, and Mobile & Consumer divisions. Negotiated End User License, Business Associate, Statement of Work, Professional Services, Evaluation, Non-Disclosure, and Reseller Agreements, on both company and customer templates. Collaborated with Professional Services Practice Development Manager to craft locked and macro-driven templates and Professional Services personnel drafting training for Statement of Work agreements. These templates could be reviewed within three to ten minutes by the Legal team, as opposed to an average sixty minutes of review per agreement prior to this project. At the rate of over 300 agreements per year using these templates, this effort allowed several weeks of Legal personnel time to be devoted to higher value matters. Daily used #Salesforce and #Apttus systems for Contract Management and Professional Services Deal Support to process agreements through negotiation phases of the contract life cycle, including drafting and securing approvals prior to signature. Assisted the Contract Management System (CMS) Business Analyst with testing and development of new initiatives within the #Apttus CMS, including a particularly complex project to develop self-service contract templates to enable Sales to provide certain contract drafts to customers without initially engaging the Legal team. In advance of the acquisition of Nuance Document Imaging by Kofax, collected fifteen years of agreement documentation to ensure an efficient transition for the Legal team to the new company and allow productive work on day one. Collaborated with a Legal team colleague and the Nuance training department to develop new hire and annual compliance training modules for deal team members in the Imaging and Healthcare divisions on the topic of efficient interfacing with the various stakeholders in the contracting process.
Processed 100+ template and low level negotiated agreements per month as the assigned legal team member, including compliance review, drafting, approvals and signature processes. Daily interface with Salesforce.com and Apttus Contract Management to process agreements in the Mobility and Imaging divisions through all phases of the contract life cycle including assignment, drafting, approvals, signatures and activations. Back-filled the CMS Business Analyst position for six months after the departure of the previous incumbent in addition to my usual duties. Worked with colleagues in the Sales Operations, Professional Services, Finance and IT departments to develop additional and updated functionality for the CMS. Drafted and presented a two-hour training on use of the CMS to the worldwide legal team, working in partnership with the team during this training to develop certain policies on the use of the system to satisfy different conventions of use around the globe. Became a super-user of the CMS as a result of this work and continued to assist the CMS Business Analyst and the legal and sales teams as necessary with CMS issues. Coordinated with Sales, Sales Operations and Technical Revenue Accounting teams in the process of moving agreements through company and Sarbanes Oxley compliance requirements. Known by these teams as always available, always helpful, and an “answer person” when they need assistance. Developed and documented a Legal Department new employee onboarding protocol, including securing access to all required company systems, providing needed training via documentation, videos and one on one coaching. Provided training and troubleshooting assistance on Salesforce and Apttus for both legal and sales, including group presentations on various topics. Created documentation as needed for processes in the Legal department.
Assisted with the integration of new acquisitions, including contract review for toxic terms, integrating acquired agreements into our contract repository, sending and tracking assignment notices, and other duties as requested. Documented approvals from functional teams in the process of moving agreements through company and Sarbanes Oxley compliance requirements. Assisted the Contract Management System Business Analyst in the development and testing of an Apttus system launched in October 2013 to replace an old contract management process which used MS Access. Developed a reputation as a steady and reliable hand at getting documents signed and closed at end of quarter, under pressure and sometimes at the very last minute.