A well-built Lens category gives you clear, reliable answers about what's in your contracts, so you can filter and compare across your whole portfolio. This guide walks you through building one, with a worked example.
Before you start
Start with the question you want answered
Write down the questions you want your contracts to answer. For example: "Which contracts could the other party terminate if we're acquired?" or "Which contracts need the counterparty's consent before we assign them?" Each question points you to the provisions and data points you'll need.
Check the templates first
LawVu provides template categories that you can run as they are, or edit to suit your needs. If a template already covers your question, starting from it is faster than building from scratch.
How a Lens category is structured
Every category has three layers. Getting each layer right is what makes the extracted data accurate.
Layer | What it is | Example |
Category | A title that describes what you are looking for. | Change of Control |
Provision | A specific right or obligation you want to find, such as a right to terminate | Termination right on change of control |
Data point | Answers a distinct question about the provision | Notice period: 30–60 days |
Using the Lens Assistant
We've built an AI Assistant to help create a Lens category. You can tell it what question you'd like answered, and it will build a category with a structure that supports you answering that question without ever having to read a contract.
Tell the Lens Assistant what you are trying to find out, what you’ll use the data for, if you want to be able to filter the data to work with it or understand the percentage of impacted contracts. You can also ask it for suggestions for other provisions that might be relevant, so you get a rich data set.
The Lens Assistant will create a category for you based on what you need. You can keep chatting with the Assistant to add additional provisions you'd like to search for.
If you'd like to create the category on your own, without the Lens Assistant, follow these steps:
Step 1: Decide which provisions you need
To start, name the category after what you are trying to find out, such as Change of Control or Audit Rights.
A provision is one specific right or obligation you want Lens to find, like the right to terminate if the other party changes ownership. Keeping each provision focused on a single thing makes your results much easier to read and filter.
Before you add a provision, run two quick checks:
Is it really several things? Change of control clauses often bundle a right to terminate, a requirement to get consent and a duty to give notice. Those are three different things, so create three provisions.
Could it show up more than once in different forms? A contract might allow termination on a change of control and, separately, on insolvency. Create a provision for each, named by what triggers it: Termination right on change of control and Termination right on insolvency.
Why this matters: each data point holds one answer per contract. If one provision tries to cover two things, you'll only see one of them in your results.
Step 2: Start every provision with a Provision Present data point
Provision Present tells you whether a contract contains the provision at all. Add it as the first data point on every provision, with two options: Yes and No. A clear Yes or No lets you quickly filter your contracts to find which ones contain the provision.
Every other data point under the provision should refer back to Provision Present, so it knows what to return when the provision isn't in the contract. In each data point:
Add Not relevant as one of its value options.
Add a line to the prompt such as: "If Provision Present is 'No', return 'Not relevant'."
If a data point doesn't refer back to Provision Present, it may return an unexpected answer for contracts that don't contain the provision.
Step 3: Choose how each data point answers
Each data point captures one fact about its provision, and answers in one of two ways: by picking from a set of value options, or by selecting extracted text from the contract. Choose the type that fits how you'll use the answer.
Use value options for facts you'll filter or compare. Party roles, notice periods, consent standards and cap types work well as a short set of values, like <30 days / 30–60 days / 60–90 days / >90 days / Not specified. Every contract then gets an answer in the same format, so you can filter, sort and count results across your portfolio.
Use extracted text where the exact wording matters. Definitions, or the clause itself as evidence, are better captured as extracted text. The wording varies from contract to contract, so these data points are for reading rather than filtering. The two types work well together: for example, a Notice Period data point with values, alongside a Provision Extract data point that holds the clause wording.
Tips for designing data points
One fact per data point. Instead of one Notice requirements data point, create separate Notice period and Notice method data points.
Set up party roles as value options. When a data point records who holds a right or owes an obligation, give it these options: Primary party, Counterparty, Either party, Not resolved. Lens then matches each contract to the party roles already set on it, so results stay consistent across your portfolio.
Use colours to flag what matters. You can give each value option a colour to show its significance or risk in the Lens grid. For example, use red for Counterparty on a termination right, or for a notice period under 30 days.
Step 4: Write clear prompts
Your prompt tells Lens what to look for. The best prompts say exactly where to look and what answer to give. Include:
Where to look. Name the clause, for example "Using only the limitation of liability clause…"
Where not to look. This helps when two clauses use similar language, like dollar amounts. For example, "Don't use the indemnification clause."
What to do if the provision isn't there. For example, "If Provision Present is 'No', return 'Not relevant'." Make sure 'Not relevant' is one of the value options.
The answers to choose from. List your value options.
Example prompt: Using only the limitation of liability clause, identify the type of liability cap. Don't use the indemnification clause. If Provision Present is 'No', return 'Not relevant'. Otherwise choose one of: Fixed amount, Multiple of fees, Uncapped, Not specified.
Step 5: Test on a sample before you roll out
Run your category on a small set of contracts first, and check the results against the actual clauses.
Click Run Sample. If you like, choose a contract type to narrow the list.
Search for and select up to 25 contracts. Include a mix: some you know contain the provision, and some you know don't.
Click Run Sample. Results appear in the Lens grid after about 6 minutes.
To check a result, click its cell to see the full extracted text, or select the eye icon to open the source contract and see the clause in context.
Some answers in the grid can look similar. Here's what each one means:
You'll see | What it means | Where it comes from |
Not relevant | The provision isn't in this contract | A value option you set up |
Not specified | The provision is there, but this detail isn't stated | A value option you set up |
Not resolved | The contract doesn't make clear which party holds the right | A value option you set up |
Not found | Lens couldn't find relevant language in the contract | Lens |
Unclear | Lens found conflicting or ambiguous language it couldn't match to one of your values | Lens |
If results look wrong:
Provision Present is wrong on some contracts. Check the prompt names the right clause. If specific wording is misleading Lens, call it out, for example: "A requirement to give notice of a change of control doesn't count."
A value comes from the wrong clause. Add a "where not to look" line to the prompt.
Unexpected answers on contracts without the provision. Check the data point has 'Not relevant' as a value option and its prompt refers back to Provision Present.
A contract has two instances of a right, but only one appears. Split it into separate provisions, named by what triggers each one.
After changing prompts or values, rerun the sample to check them. Colour changes show in the grid straight away. When you're happy with the results, your category is ready to use across your contract repository, and you can select Start full extraction
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Worked example: Change of Control
Change of control clauses often bundle termination, consent and notice together. Following Step 1, that means three provisions. Here's the first one in full.
Category: Change of Control
Provision: Termination right on change of control
Data point name | Data point prompt | Value options or extracted text selected |
Provision Present | Using only the change of control and termination clauses, does this contract give either party a right to terminate because of a change of control, ownership or management of the other party? A requirement to give notice of, or get consent to, a change of control doesn't count. Return Yes or No. | Yes / No |
Right holder | Using only the change of control termination clause, which party can exercise the termination right? Don't use other termination clauses. If Provision Present is 'No', return 'Not relevant'. Otherwise choose one of: Primary party, Counterparty, Either party, Not resolved. | Primary party / Counterparty / Either party / Not resolved / Not relevant |
Notice period | Using only the change of control termination clause, how much notice must the terminating party give? Don't use notice periods from other termination clauses. If Provision Present is 'No', return 'Not relevant'. Otherwise choose one of: <30 days, 30–60 days, 60–90 days, >90 days, Not specified. | <30 days / 30–60 days / 60–90 days / >90 days / Not specified / Not relevant |
Exercise window | Using only the change of control termination clause, how long after the change of control does the party have to terminate? This is the deadline to act, not the notice period. If Provision Present is 'No', return 'Not relevant'. Otherwise choose one of: <30 days, 30–90 days, >90 days, No time limit stated. | <30 days / 30–90 days / >90 days / No time limit stated / Not relevant |
Change of control definition | Using the definitions section and the change of control clause, select the text that defines a change of control. If Provision Present is 'No', leave this blank. | Select extracted text |
Provision Extract | Using only the change of control termination clause, select the full text of the clause. If Provision Present is 'No', leave this blank. | Select extracted text |
What the results look like
Here's how two contracts might appear in the Lens grid for this provision:
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| Termination right on change of control |
Contract | Provision Present | Right holder | Notice period | Exercise window | Change of control definition | Provision Extract |
Supply agreement | Yes | Counterparty | 30–60 days | 30–90 days | "A change in the ownership of more than 50% of the voting shares of the Customer…" | "If the Customer undergoes a change of control, the Supplier may terminate this Agreement by giving the Customer not less than 30 days' written notice…" |
Services agreement | No | Not relevant | Not relevant | Not relevant | (blank) | (blank) |
With results like these, you can filter your portfolio for every contract where the counterparty can terminate after a change of control, and see how much notice they need to give.
Getting help
LawVu Lens help article: running samples, working with the results grid, including filters and exporting to Excel.
LawVu support: for anything this guide doesn't cover, contact LawVu support through the Help Center.