Field Notes · 30 April 2026 · 8 min read
Why contract lifecycle implementations fail after go-live
The failure mode is almost never the software. It is the absence of an owner after the consultants leave.
A CLM programme is typically funded through go-live and no further. The system launches, the project team disbands, and within two quarters template governance drifts, exceptions accumulate and users route around the platform.
Sustained programmes share three features: a named business owner with budget, a quarterly governance forum with authority to change the playbook, and adoption telemetry reviewed as an operating metric rather than a project artefact.
Budget the operating model, not just the implementation. It is the cheaper half of the programme and it determines whether the expensive half survives.
Next step
Begin with a diagnostic, not a pitch.
A three-week assessment of your legal technology estate, quantified against peer benchmarks — delivered as a roadmap your executive committee can approve.