3 Ways Video Helps Create More Effective Legal Teams

Work environments have changed dramatically as companies move into hybrid workspaces, if not going fully remote, with employees and clients around the world. This has changed the way employees communicate and collaborate with each other, both inside and outside of an organization, though one thing remains the same: ensuring those communications and collaborations are effective is critical.

This is true, particularly for legal teams where communication and collaboration are crucial for success. Asynchronous video, specifically the ability to record your screen with voiceover and edit videos, has revolutionized the way internal legal teams interact with their business clients.

In a world where legal teams are constantly asked to do more with less, it allows legal teams to amplify their voice by creating videos that can be shared again and again. It also allows legal teams to provide more approachable explanations of complex matters via video rather than in lengthy written documents. Many lawyers may still prefer to put things in writing, but supplementing the written materials will often get the message across more effectively.

Let's look at three key ways asynchronous video helps create more effective and efficient legal teams.

1. Provide Advice More Efficiently

Most lawyers, especially those who are part of in-house legal teams, find themselves delivering the same message to different business clients. Whether it's explaining how to properly invoke attorney client privilege or when and how contracts need to be submitted for legal review, there are many repetitive messages legal teams need to deliver.

With asynchronous video, you can easily create a personalized video with visual aids that can be shared again and again. Need to make a change to the video to reflect something that has changed? Just go back and edit the video and continue sharing. This improves efficiency so you can focus on higher value and more novel legal issues.

Common Use Cases for Reusable Legal Videos

Attorney-Client Privilege Guidance

Instead of explaining privilege in every initial meeting or email, create a comprehensive 5-minute video covering:

• What communications are privileged and which are not
• How to properly label privileged communications
• Common mistakes that waive privilege
• When to loop in legal counsel

Share this video with new business clients during onboarding and reference it when privilege questions arise.

Contract Review Process Walkthrough

Record a step-by-step video showing:

• When contracts need legal review vs. when they don't
• How to submit contracts through your intake system
• Expected turnaround times for different contract types
• What information legal needs upfront to expedite review

This prevents the constant stream of "How do I get a contract reviewed?" questions.

Compliance Training and Updates

When regulations change or company policies update, create a video explaining:

• What changed and why
• How it affects different departments
• Specific action steps required
• Where to find updated resources

Share it company-wide and update your compliance library. When someone asks about the policy six months later, send them the video.

Try This: Build Your Legal FAQ Video Library

Identify your five most frequently asked questions:

1. Review your email for questions you answer repeatedly
2. Record a 3-5 minute video for each FAQ with screen sharing to show relevant documents or processes
3. Organize videos in a shared folder or intranet page accessible to all business clients
4. Create a quick reference guide linking to each video by topic
5. Update your email signature with a link to your FAQ library

When those questions come up again (and they will), reply with: "Great question! I've created a video that walks through this in detail: [link]. Let me know if you have any follow-up questions after watching."

2. Review and Explain Contract Changes

When legal teams make changes to a contract or other legal document, clients and counterparties appreciate an explanation for the changes. This can be accomplished with a lengthy email that may or may not be read, or with an asynchronous video walking the client or counterparty through the changes and the reasons for them.

This method allows legal teams to provide explicit context for each section of the document. And it will certainly cut down on the amount of communication that needs to go back and forth between all parties involved. The video can address any ambiguities, highlight key points, emphasize critical information, and add a level of human credibility.

Why Video Works Better Than Email for Contract Redlines

Tone and Intent Are Clear

Written explanations of legal changes can sound harsh or defensive, even when that's not your intent. Video lets clients hear your tone and see your reasoning, making it clear you're protecting the company's interests, not just being difficult.

Complex Clauses Become Understandable

Try explaining indemnification provisions or limitation of liability language in writing to a non-lawyer. Now imagine walking through it verbally while highlighting the specific clauses on screen. Which is more likely to be understood?

You Address Concerns Preemptively

As you review changes on video, you can anticipate pushback: "You might wonder why we're adding this provision. Here's the business reason..." This reduces the back-and-forth significantly.

Implementation Strategy: Contract Review Videos

For Internal Business Clients:

1. Complete your redlines in the contract as usual
2. Open the redlined document and start recording
3. Walk through each material change, explaining:
   • What you changed
   • Why you changed it
   • What risk it mitigates
   • Whether it's negotiable or a hard requirement
4. Summarize action items at the end: "Here's what I need from you before we can send this to the other side..."
5. Send the video along with the redlined document

For External Counterparties:

Before sending a markup video to opposing counsel or a vendor:

• Check for attorney work product or internal strategy you don't want to share
• Keep explanations focused on business rationale, not internal decision-making
• Be collaborative in tone: "We're hoping to find language that works for both parties..."
• Suggest alternatives when appropriate: "If this provision is challenging for your side, another approach could be..."

Real Application: The Vendor Contract Negotiation

A legal team is negotiating a software vendor contract. After the vendor sends their standard terms, the legal team records a video response:

"Hi [Vendor Contact], thanks for sending over the agreement. I've made several changes I want to walk you through. First, in Section 3.2 on data ownership, we need to clarify that all client data remains our property. Here's why this matters for us..." [continues through each section]

The video takes 8 minutes to record. The vendor responds positively, noting they understand the concerns and can accommodate most changes. What typically takes 5-7 email exchanges happens in two: video sent, video acknowledged with agreement.

Try This: The "Redline Explainer" Template

Create a consistent structure for contract review videos:

Opening (30 seconds): "Hi [Name], I've reviewed the [contract type] and made several changes. This video walks through the key modifications and explains our reasoning."

Section-by-Section Review (5-10 minutes): For each material change:

• Point to the specific clause on screen
• Explain what it says now
• Explain why you changed it
• Note whether it's negotiable

Closing (1 minute):

• Summarize the 2-3 most critical changes
• Outline next steps
• Offer to discuss via call if needed

This structure keeps videos organized and ensures you cover everything important.

3. Leverage Annotation Tools

Legal teams often need to point out key information in lengthy and complex documents. Annotation tools in asynchronous video let legal teams draw attention to specific sections within a document. Using tools like highlighting, underlining, or circling, legal teams can visually emphasize easy-to-miss information, ensuring reviewers understand their significance.

By using text or voice annotations, legal teams can delve into complex ideas and break them down into more digestible pieces, and offer insights to help clients comprehend what they're reading, improving efficiency and reducing the need for time-consuming meetings and back-and-forth communication.

Annotation Strategies for Legal Documents

Visual Emphasis for Critical Clauses

When reviewing a 40-page agreement, business clients' eyes glaze over. Use annotations to:

• Circle or highlight key dates, deadlines, or obligations
• Underline financial terms, payment schedules, or penalties
• Draw arrows connecting related provisions across different sections
• Add text boxes with quick notes: "This is the termination clause we discussed"

These visual cues guide viewers to what actually matters.

Breaking Down Complex Legal Language

Take dense legal language and make it accessible:

• Highlight the legalese in one color
• Add annotations translating it into plain English
• Use a different color to show what actions the business needs to take
• Draw connections between provisions and real-world scenarios

Example: Circle an indemnification clause, then add a text annotation: "In plain terms: If our product causes harm to a third party, we're responsible for legal costs, not the customer."

Showing Document Flow and Structure

Help clients understand how complex documents are organized:

• Number key sections on screen as you discuss them
• Draw boxes around related provisions
• Use arrows to show "if X, then see Section Y"
• Create visual hierarchy so clients understand what's primary vs. supplementary

Try This: The Annotated Policy Rollout

When releasing a new company policy:

1. Open the policy document and start recording
2. Provide overview in the first 2 minutes: what's changing and why
3. Go section by section, using annotations to:
   • Highlight new or changed language
   • Circle action items for different departments
   • Underline deadlines or important dates
   • Add text boxes with examples or scenarios
4. Create a summary slide at the end with all key takeaways annotated in one place
5. Share the video with the written policy document

Employees can watch the video for understanding, then reference the written policy as needed.

Asynchronous Video for Efficient, Effective Legal Teams

Asynchronous video has emerged as a game-changer for legal teams, transforming the way attorneys provide advice, communicate with their teams and clients, and collaborate with counterparties.

Getting Started: Your First Legal Team Video

If you've never used video for legal communications, start with one simple use case:

Week 1: Pick Your Pilot Choose one repetitive explanation you give regularly (contract intake process, privilege guidelines, or a specific compliance requirement).

Week 2: Record and Refine

• Record a 3-5 minute video explaining the topic
• Review it yourself and adjust any unclear sections
• Add annotations to emphasize key points
• Get feedback from one colleague

Week 3: Share and Measure

• Send the video to the next 3-5 people who ask the question
• Track how much time you save vs. writing individual responses
• Ask recipients if the video format was helpful
• Note any common follow-up questions you should address in an updated version

Week 4: Expand Based on success, identify your next use case and repeat the process.

Measuring Video Impact in Your Legal Department

Track these metrics to demonstrate value:

Time Savings

• Hours spent on repetitive explanations before video
• Hours spent after creating video library
• Time saved per attorney per week

Communication Efficiency

• Number of follow-up questions before video explanations
• Number of follow-up questions after video explanations
• Email volume reduction

Client Satisfaction

• Informal feedback from business clients
• Response time to legal requests
• Business client engagement with legal resources

Team Scalability

• Time required to onboard new legal team members
• Consistency of advice across team members
• Capacity to take on additional matters

Get Started

Ready to transform how your legal team communicates and collaborates? Castify makes it easy to create professional screen recordings with annotations, edit videos quickly, and share them securely with clients and colleagues.

Join legal teams using video to provide clearer advice, streamline contract reviews, and work more efficiently. No technical expertise required, and videos are ready to share in minutes.