DocuSign has partnered with Clause to bring its Smart Clause® technology to the DocuSign Agreement Cloud. Smart Clauses transform legal agreements into “living documents” that can integrate with a variety of data sources and software systems to automate complex business processes.

A Smart Clause consists of natural language text, parameters, and code. It can be incorporated into any document being sent via DocuSign to perform operations such as adding data to an audit trail or triggering specific events. As a result, an agreement is transformed from a static document that needs to be manually managed and analyzed, to an item of value that can provide real-time business intelligence.

For example, Smart Clauses can enable customers to chain DocuSign envelopes together, process payments automatically once conditions are met, calculate values in contracts using trusted external data, reconcile agreement data with enterprise systems, and perform countless other functions. To help ensure enforceability and transparent recordkeeping, Smart Clauses can be rendered in the PDF records of any agreements in which they are embedded.

Smart Clauses integrate with Apps on the Clause Platform. The Clause Platform provides a series of Connectors that enable customers to pull current data into their agreements and perform actions on external systems – such as real-time pricing and other calculations, internal accounting and reporting, and data sharing over blockchain networks.

At the 2019 DocuSign Momentum conference, we demonstrated how a Smart Clause can be added to an agreement to validate the credentials and driving record of a driver seeking to be hired by a rideshare service.

https://player.vimeo.com/video/343746193

DocuSign Chief Product Officer, Ron Hirson, commented: “DocuSign has long been at the forefront of helping organizations digitally transform, and the next step of that evolution is to transform agreements from static text to dynamic living agreements. We are committed to making the DocuSign Agreement Cloud smart, and excited to take the first step toward fulfilling that vision with the introduction of Smart Clauses.”

Clause founder and CEO, Peter Hunn, added: “We’re thrilled to be bringing our industry-leading technology to deliver huge business value to the more than 500,000 customers already using DocuSign.”

DocuSign also recently announced its involvement in the Accord Project, a top-level Linux Foundation project originally founded by Clause for the development of an open source technology stack for “smart legal contracts.” The Accord Project seeks to facilitate the use of executable agreements across any infrastructure (cloud, blockchain, IoT) yet with the ability to interoperate with any blockchain network, today or in the future.

DocuSign will present on Smart Clauses at the International Legal Technology Association Conference (ILTACON) on August 20 2019, as part of the event’s four-part blockchain series.

Smart Clauses are currently available as part of a beta program and customers are encouraged to reach out to their DocuSign account team to find out more and sign up.