From Contract Chaos to Clarity: Ethical Strategies for In-House Legal Teams in 2026

As last year drew to a close, many in-house legal teams were still wrestling with scattered contracts buried in inboxes, shared drives, and legacy systems. This disorganization isn’t just a headache; it’s a potential risk. Missed deadlines, lost documents, and data breaches can all lead to compliance failures and even ethical violations under the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, including Rule 1.3 (Diligence), Rule 1.6 (confidentiality), and Rules 5.1–5.3 (supervision).

Jessica Nguyen, Deputy General Counsel at Docusign and head of Contract Nerds, a community operated by Docusign, recently led a group of expert panelists through a conversation focused on bringing order to contract management, to support compliance and protect organizations, clients, and teams by mitigating unnecessary risk. 

Panelists included: 

• Harry Hall: Associate General Counsel at Sensata

• Tashmin Ali: Managing Counsel at Docusign, looking after the global procurement team and the commercial acceleration function

The conversation examined how ethical duties around competence, confidentiality, and supervision require legal departments to rethink their approach to technology and information management. They also discussed how modern, centralized contract management, especially when powered by AI, can help organizations meet professional obligations, reduce stress, and set teams up for success in the new year. 

Let’s take a look at some of the key takeaways. 

Contract chaos is not just an operational problem—it’s an ethical one

The panel opened with a deceptively simple question: How can missing or disorganized contracts directly put a company at risk?

Across the examples given, a consistent theme emerged: When legal teams lack visibility into their agreements, they can lose the ability to act with diligence, competence, and effective supervision. Missed renewal deadlines, overlooked obligations, and inconsistent contract terms don’t just create financial exposure; they can implicate core professional duties:

• Diligence (ABA Rule 1.3) requires lawyers to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client. But you can’t meet deadlines you can’t see.

• Supervision (ABA Rules 5.1–5.3). Managing lawyers must implement systems that give reasonable assurance they comply with the Rules of Professional Conduct and must actively oversee subordinate lawyers’ work. And the rules extend supervisory duties to paralegals, investigators, IT staff, administrative personnel, and other nonlawyers. Disorganized systems can make it impossible to effectively oversee teams, vendors, and automated processes.

• Client and business trust. Repeated “surprises” erode confidence in legal teams as strategic partners.

Disorganization isn’t neutral. When contracts are scattered across inboxes, shared drives, and legacy systems, the potential risk is compounded. 

Lost visibility magnifies both business and ethical risk

When asked about the biggest risks of losing contract visibility, panelists highlighted two threats. First, financial leakage, regulatory noncompliance, and weakened negotiating leverage. And ethical risk, which shows up as the inability to demonstrate reasonable controls, safeguard confidential information (ABA Rule 1.6), or ensure consistent advice. Perhaps most concerning is how invisible these risks can sometimes be until an audit, dispute, or regulatory inquiry exposes existing gaps. 

The panelists agreed that visibility is a form of control. Without it, even well-intentioned legal teams tend to operate reactively.

Centralization is a foundation, not a “nice-to-have”

The discussion also covered strategy and what many legal teams get wrong when organizing contract data. The panel was clear—centralization alone is not enough. Successful teams think holistically about data governance (who can access what, and why?), security controls (encryption, role-based permissions, and audit trails), and standardization (consistent metadata, naming conventions, and clause structures). Teams that struggle often treat contract repositories as passive storage rather than living systems that support compliance and decision-making. The reality is that a centralized contract system should be designed for use, not just storage—supporting accountability, reporting, and proactive risk management.

Modern contract management doesn’t just help reduce risk. It can position legal teams as strategic partners, enabling faster deals and better business outcomes.

AI can strengthen ethics if it’s properly implemented

AI and automation featured prominently in the panel’s conversation, with a nuanced discussion of both opportunity and responsibility. Panelists emphasized that AI can surface hidden risks, monitor obligations at scale, and reduce human error and burnout. But, these benefits only materialize with intentional oversight. The duty of technological competence (ABA Rule 1.1, Comment 8) requires legal teams to understand the benefits and risks associated with the tools they deploy rather than just blindly trusting them.

Responsible teams properly implement AI by validating AI outputs, maintaining human review for risky decisions, and clearly defining accountability for automated workflows. The consensus is that AI, when properly implemented, can amplify ethical judgment rather than replace it. 

Inefficiency has a human cost, and that’s an ethical issue too

One of the most resonant parts of the discussion addressed lawyer well-being.

Operational chaos leads to chronic deadline pressure, a fire-drill culture, and increased burnout and attrition. Panelists connected this directly to the establishment of ABA Resolution 105 (2018 Midyear Meeting), which frames lawyer well-being as an ethical imperative. 

In scenarios involving missed deadlines and mounting stress, ethical breaches may emerge not from bad intent but from systemic failure due to unclear ownership, lack of tools, and unsustainable workloads.

All agreed that systems that reduce chaos don’t just protect the business; they also protect its people.

Practical steps legal teams can take now

Here are some concrete recommendations, shared by the panelists, for teams ready to modernize: 

• Create a single source of truth for contracts.

• Assign clear ownership for contract lifecycle stages.

• Build governance and security into systems from day one.

• Treat AI adoption as a change-management effort, not just a tech upgrade.

• Measure success not only by efficiency, but also by reduced stress and fewer surprises.

Start the year with clarity, not chaos

The panel closed with a powerful reminder: Many contract-related crises are preventable, such as those that arise not from a lack of intelligence or effort, but from outdated systems and buried  risks.

By investing in better visibility, smarter tools, and sustainable workflows, legal teams can meet their ethical obligations more confidently and start the year with clarity.

Want to explore more detailed insights from the panel? Watch the webinar.