As Europe’s largest mass media publisher, Axel Springer faces an extensive array of legal matters managed by its team of in-house lawyers, most of whom are highly experienced senior professionals.
Axel Springer’s legal team grappled with a common but critical issue: sharing and accessing useful clauses and templates across their large and diverse group of lawyers.
Despite having a database full of precedents, lawyers often found it difficult to locate the exact clause they needed. This led to them spending valuable time searching for the right material or drafting new clauses from scratch if they couldn’t find it.
In the words of Yunna Choi, Head of Legal Operations & Innovation at Axel Springer: “We’ve always had a huge, unstructured pile of precedent documents to search for good clauses in. But it’s really hard to find good needles in a haystack like that. What we really enjoy about ClauseBuddy is not just being able to quickly search through this vast database directly from within Word, but then also collect these useful clauses in ClauseBuddy’s clause library feature. Our legal team consists mostly of highly experienced senior colleagues, so it was essential to have a tool that enhances their ability to work on contracts—not one that replaces their judgment. ClauseBuddy strikes the right balance, helping us transition from an unstructured database to a clean and standardized knowledge base, while still allowing flexibility and expert decision-making.”
The legal team at Axel Springer now enjoys a virtuous cycle of knowledge sharing – clauses can easily be extracted from their precedent pile and elevated to the curated library if desired. There, they serve to align the entire team on the right clause for each situation while still allowing room for expert judgment. If neither of these repositories offer a useful solution, then ClauseBuddy’s powerful AI-drafting allows lawyers to make a clause on the spot, which can then be elevated to the curated library – plugging the gap in the team’s knowledge.
A key factor in Axel Springer’s decision to adopt ClauseBuddy was its seamless integration with Microsoft Word. Since Word is the primary working environment for the legal team, having ClauseBuddy embedded directly within it ensures that the tool supports users where they work, rather than requiring them to switch between systems.
This deep integration eliminates unnecessary complexity and helps drive adoption, as lawyers can access and manage clauses within their existing workflow. By reducing friction and maintaining a familiar working environment, ClauseBuddy makes it easier for the team to incorporate structured knowledge management into their daily practice.
As Yunna Choi explains:
"Many solutions require lawyers to work in separate platforms with word-like text-editors, which adds unnecessary friction. ClauseBuddy’s deep integration with Word was a major advantage for us—it supports our team in their existing workflow rather than forcing a system change, while also allowing us to fully leverage Word’s native formatting and tools. This makes adoption much more intuitive and ensures a seamless drafting experience.”
Axel Springer’s legal team selected ClauseBuddy for its broad functionality, which supports and enhances multiple steps of the contractual workflow. From automated templates to AI-powered assistance in clause drafting and contract review, ClauseBuddy provides a versatile set of tools that streamline legal work without disrupting established processes.
One key advantage was ClauseBuddy’s ability to automate templates in a way that fit the specific needs of in-house lawyers. While Axel Springer already had contract automation tools in place for business teams—designed to cater to their unique requirements—ClauseBuddy offered an intuitive, straight-forward approach to simplifying repetitive drafting tasks.
Additionally, ClauseBuddy’s AI-powered features are embedded across various steps of the workflow, providing cumulative value. Its capabilities assist with clause search, drafting, and review, helping lawyers become familiar with AI in their daily work.
Yunna Choi added: “ClauseBuddy stood out because it solved multiple issues we were currently dealing with within the contractual workflow, rather than focusing on a single use case. We already have contract automation tools for business teams, but we needed something that also supports our lawyers—from template automation to AI-assisted drafting and contract reviews. By embedding AI into different tasks and integrating directly with Word, ClauseBuddy helps our team work more efficiently.”
With ClauseBase, Axel Springer’s legal team has successfully addressed its key challenges, transforming its legal operations into a model of efficiency, consistency, and collaboration.
From supporting seamless knowledge sharing to enhancing multiple steps of the contractual workflow—through automated templates, AI-powered drafting assistance, and contract reviews—ClauseBuddy has become an indispensable tool. Its deep integration with Microsoft Word ensures that legal professionals can work efficiently within their familiar environment, reducing complexity and fostering AI adoption in daily tasks.
