How to run a contract review squad

A contract mission runs as a closed loop on the Legal & Compliance Squad. You draw the path in the mission goals: which agreement, which playbook, and the rule that a lawyer confirms the draft. The Mission Commander works inside that path and assigns the first pass to Clause. Steering is the approval step. The agents are not lawyers, and they do not sign.

The squad you import

The template is the Legal & Compliance Squad, on /squads. It ships with three agents:

Clause, Contract Reviewer, marks risky, unusual, or missing clauses against your playbook, suggests redlines, and triages an incoming NDA.
Compare, Clause Analyst, lists changes between two versions and can summarise key terms in a table.
Comply, Policy Checker, turns a policy into a checklist. That is a different mission.

This mission is the first pass on one agreement, or one NDA. Compare gets a card only if you have two versions. The template has no required connection. Put the agreement and the playbook in the mission folder.

You do this in the xSquads desktop app, on a folder of your own files. Mac now, with Windows coming soon. The product page is xSquads for Work.

How the mission runs

Step 1. Import the Legal & Compliance Squad

Open the squad templates and import the Legal & Compliance Squad onto the mission. Keep Clause. Keep Compare only if the goals include a version diff. Remove Comply if a policy checklist is not part of this mission.

Step 2. Leave the connector list empty

This template has no required connection. Do not connect treg or Vapi. The first pass reads the agreement and the playbook in the folder. There is no e-sign connector on this squad page.

Step 3. Create the mission and set the goals

Create the mission and write the goals in plain language. Those goals are the path: the document, the playbook, and the line that a lawyer confirms every output. Point the mission at the local folder. The commander does not get to widen that path. A goal you can start from, as written on the squad page: triage this incoming NDA and flag anything unusual. For a fuller agreement, use the other squad-page goal: review this contract against our playbook and suggest redlines. Pick one, unless you truly have both files.

Step 4. Let the Mission Commander assign the work

Save the mission. The Mission Commander creates tasks on the task board and assigns them only inside the goals you wrote. Clause takes the triage note or the marked-up first pass, with suggested redlines against the playbook. Compare takes a change list only if two versions are in the goals. Comply should not build a policy checklist. Nothing on the board is a signature.

Step 5. Add a task, steer, and approve only as a draft for counsel

Steering is the approval step. Add a task on the board, or correct the Mission Commander in the group chat, when a redline is not in the playbook. A useful task to add yourself: mark the indemnity note as a question for counsel, and do not accept it. Clause does not sign and does not send. A lawyer confirms the draft before anyone relies on it. Start by reading every flag.

How much to review

Start by approving nothing as final. Autonomy is a dial you do not turn up on a contract. The squad's own rule is that every output is a draft for a lawyer to confirm.

Always sign off the playbook and the document list yourself. A redline that is not in the playbook is a question, not a decision. Signing, sending, and agreeing terms stay with a person. xSquads does not provide the legal judgement.

What the goals have to name

The document: one NDA, or one agreement. Name the file.
The playbook the redlines must follow. If you have no playbook in the folder, the mission can flag unusual clauses, and it still cannot decide them.
The lawyer rule, in the goals, so the commander treats the card as a draft.
Version comparison only when two files are in the folder. That card is Compare's.
What is out: signing, sending, and a policy checklist.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Are these agents lawyers?

No. The Legal & Compliance Squad page says the agents are not lawyers. Every output is a draft for a lawyer to confirm. Legal advice stays with qualified counsel.

What is the first pass?

Clause marks risky, unusual, or missing clauses against your playbook and suggests redlines. For an NDA, the squad-page mission is a triage that flags anything unusual. You, and then counsel, decide what is accepted.

Who confirms the redlines?

A lawyer. The workflow on the squad page ends with a lawyer reviewing the drafts. Signing and sending stay with a person.

Can the squad compare two versions?

Yes, if that goal is in the mission and both files are in the folder. Compare lists every change and its effect. That list is still a draft.

Can the squad sign or send the agreement?

No. There is no e-sign step on this squad. The card waits in Review.