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Proofreading contracts and agreements is an integral part of any legal professional's life. Accordingly, software companies have created and marketed artificial intelligence-powered proofreading software for law firms and legal departments. Before Microsystems' merger with Litera and The Sackett Group, for instance, it had previously released proofreading software Contract Companion and EagleEye.

Donna is the latest entrant in the proofreading software market. According to its co-founder and CEO Rik Nauta, Donna looks to cut down on the “mundane work” of proofreading contracts and agreements. But Donna doesn't provide corrections for the documents it processes.  Instead, it offers alerts for possible inaccuracies or misuse of terms and references.

What it is: Nauta said he sees Donna as a program that allows lawyers to be more creative and “focus on the parts of the work they like.”

“Finding a simple mistake in a contract is something all lawyers have to deal with, but we'll put it with a Donna twist with making it approachable, cost-focused,” Nauta said.

Donna, according to its website, costs upward of $99 per month for all features, excluding its advanced billing and role-based access control features. Access to all of Donna's features is priced for an unlisted “tailored” amount.

How It Works: To start the process, the Donna software reads the document. It labels any relevant information, such as clauses or information regarding party and jurisdiction. Next, the software attempts to understand the structure of the document and find any illogical or inaccurate usage of terms or references.

Nauta gave an example of how Donna can point out a single use of a term in the event the lawyer didn't use it correctly, explaining, “We can say, 'Hey, you've defined this term but never used it before.'” That notice provides a heads-up for lawyers to check if that term was used correctly.

The program's features include checking that every reference has a cross-reference and if the correct clause is referenced. Donna also scans for inaccurate literal and “convenience value” amounts of money, according to the software's website.

Along with its reference-checking feature, Donna analyzes the dictionary definition of words to ensure they are used correctly, Nauta explained.

Privacy Concerns: In the course of daily use, attorneys may want to take care with the system. While confidential information lawyers process through Donna is translated into numbers that the software then reads, users are still accountable for information left in its template, Nauta warned.

“With GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation], there may be PII [personally identifiable information] that is stored, the first responsibility is on the firm's end that the data isn't left there in the template,” he said.

Why It's Necessary: Nauta foresees lawyers in the coming years taking a more bring-your-own-device stance in the office when using software. Lawyers will buy software based on their individual needs and workflows and will not rely entirely on what their law firm provides, Nauta said.

Nauta, a nonlawyer, said his startup doesn't have legal expertise, but he thinks Donna can easily adapt to these workflows and devices. 

“We really see Donna as the first step,” Nauta said. “We see an opportunity in the legal sphere, things we'll get different and automated. We see a lot of similarities with the internet of 10, 15 years ago.”