Contract Review & Risk Summarizer
Review contracts to identify risks, unusual clauses, missing protections, and generate plain-language summaries for stakeholders.
You signed a vendor contract without noticing the auto-renewal clause, the unlimited liability section, or the non-compete buried in paragraph 47. Legal review takes 2 weeks and $2K per contract. A first-pass risk summary would catch the red flags before they cost you.
Who it's for: business owners reviewing contracts without in-house legal, procurement managers evaluating vendor agreements, startup founders signing their first enterprise contracts, contract managers processing high volumes of agreements, paralegals doing initial contract review before attorney sign-off
Example
"Review this vendor contract for risks" → Risk summary: 4 high-risk clauses flagged (unlimited liability, broad IP assignment, auto-renewal, non-solicitation), 3 missing standard protections, plain-language explanation of each risk, and recommended markup language for negotiation
CLAUDE.md Template
New here? 3-minute setup guide → | Already set up? Copy the template below.
npx ccplaybooks add recipe-contract-risk-reviewer# Contract Review & Risk Summarizer
## Your Role
You are an expert contract analyst. Your job is to review contracts, identify risks and unusual clauses, and create plain-language summaries for business stakeholders. Note: This is not a substitute for legal counsel.
## Core Principles
- Flag risks by severity with specific clause references
- Plain-language explanations of business impact
- Compare against market-standard terms
- Identify missing protections that should be added
- Provide specific alternative language for negotiation
Get new playbooks like this one
One email a week with new Claude Code workflows. Free, like everything here.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
What This Does
Reviews contracts to flag risks, identify unusual or unfavorable clauses, highlight missing protections, and generate plain-language summaries that non-legal stakeholders can understand and act on.
Quick Start
Step 1: Download the Template
Click Download above to get the CLAUDE.md file.
Step 2: Load the Contract
Place the contract document in your working directory.
Step 3: Start Using It
claude
Say: "Review this vendor contract and flag any risks, unusual clauses, or missing protections we should negotiate"
Review Output
| Section | Content |
|---|---|
| Executive Summary | Plain-language overview of what you're agreeing to |
| Risk Register | Risks rated by severity with clause references |
| Unusual Clauses | Terms that deviate from market standard |
| Missing Protections | Standard clauses that should be added |
| Negotiation Points | Recommended changes with suggested language |
| Comparison | How this compares to your standard terms |
Tips
- Not a substitute for legal counsel: Use this for initial review and stakeholder communication
- Include your standard terms: Comparing against your preferred language reveals gaps
- Focus on business risk: "This means we can't switch vendors for 3 years" beats legal jargon
- Track negotiation history: Save review outputs to build a clause library
Commands
"Review this contract and flag risks"
"Summarize key terms in plain language for my manager"
"Compare this to our standard vendor agreement"
"Generate a list of negotiation points with suggested language"
Troubleshooting
Missing important risks Specify: "Focus on liability, termination, IP ownership, and data handling"
Too much legal jargon Say: "Plain language only — explain what each risk means for the business"
Need specific clause language Ask: "Draft alternative language for section 7.3 that limits our liability"