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Setting up Search Criteria

A comprehensive guide to using Terms and Connectors for effective contract analysis in DocJuris Playbooks.

Important Update: New Terminology
Terms and Connectors are the modern way to search and highlight language in DocJuris Playbooks. This guide will show you how to use these powerful search features to create effective contract analysis.

 

Overview

DocJuris Playbooks use Terms to find and highlight language relevant to contracts. When you type and create a Term and press "Enter" on your keyboard, pressing "Enter" effectively adds OR between the Terms. Or, if you're looking at pre-configured terms, simply select one.

For a detailed written guide with an example of how to use Search Tags to create Key Concepts within an NDA Playbook, click here.

 

Best Practices

Dos:

  • Look at sample contracts and find trends in the type of clause that the playbook issue relates to. For example "laws of the state of" is a good start for a term relating to governing law
  • Use phrases that have a unique relationship to the related provision. For example, "intellectual property" or "act of God"

Don'ts:

  • Using common/general words and phrases in a single Term such as notwithstanding, equipment, or the party
  • Not using connectors to both expand (e.g., ! and *) and limit (e.g., &) your search. More on the Connectors below

Examples of Connectors and Descriptions

Connector Description An Example Search Common Mistakes
None Typing two or more consecutive words in a term is automatically treated as a phrase. Although not necessary, " " is used to match an exact phrase (note, again, DocJuris automatically treats consecutive words as an exact phrase to be searched). IMPORTANT: in other words, adjacent terms are treated as phrases! intellectual property "intellectual property" - phrases do not require quotes in an individual term, as each term and series of words is considered a phrase
\"term\" To find words in quotes (e.g., defined terms), escape the quotes with \. This is helpful to only match parts of the contract where a defined term exists. \"Representatives\" "Representatives" - in order to flag a definition, the quotes must be "escaped" with a \ slash
& In a single term, & will search for expressions linked in a paragraph. exclusive & jurisdiction exclusive AND jurisdiction or /p - DocJuris uses &
* A wildcard to match words with variable characters; you do not need to use the placeholder to find hyphenated terms - we do that automatically. advis*r adviser OR advisor - OR is not a recognized connector in DocJuris
! Searches for words in a contract with multiple endings (i.e., used to accept any suffix to a word within a term) indemn! indem* - asterisks are for single characters
| As stated in the overview, DocJuris automatically treats a series of terms as an OR expression. However, when an OR expression is needed to join another operator such as &, the use of | can link expressions as OR. This is helpful to condense several & terms to a single term for simplicity and speed. defect | design defect|design - don't forget spaces
/s The expressions on either side of /s must be found within one sentence. indemnity /s injury indemnity & injury - searches the entire paragraph not just the sentence
+s The expressions on either side of +s must be found within one sentence AND the expression on the left-hand side of +s must precede the expression on the right-hand side. limits +s liability +s liability - requires another word or term to the left and a connector
/n The expressions on either side of /n must be found within n words of one another. rep! /5 warrants rep! / 5 warrants - a space cannot be used between / and 5
term % another term The expression on the left-hand side of % must be found in the paragraph, and the expression on the right-hand side of % must NOT be found. compet! % competent compet! NOT competent - NOT is not a recognized connector due to its potential applicability as a term. Use % for not
term /s% another term The expression on the left-hand side of % must be found in the sentence, and the expression on the right-hand side of % must NOT be found in the same sentence. law* of /s% texas NOT Texas - NOT is not a recognized connector due to its potential applicability as a term. Further, a term should be used to the left and right of /s%
~(w) The expression determines whether deletion is detected in an incoming document (e.g., an analyzed document contains redlines where a word or series of words are deleted). The term to be detected that is deleted should be within the parenthesis. ~(late fees) fees % late - when looking for language that is "redlined" or "deleted" by the counterparty, ~(words) should be used
+(w) The expression determines whether insertion is detected in an incoming document (e.g., an analyzed document contains redlines where a word or series of words are inserted. The term to be detected that is added should be within the parenthesis. +(gross negligence) gross negligence - trick answer! DocJuris will detect the insertion of gross negligence, but using +(words) is more accurate if the goal is identify insertions or additions by the counterparty in a markup
hasredline() The expression determines whether a change is detected from the counter party. A word or term must be used to the left and joined with another term. Note: Expression can be used with other connectors and always requires a term. indemn! & hasredline() hasredline() - requires another word or term to the left and a connector
(func range x y) Identifies a range of numbers – useful for notice days, insurance amounts, etc. A word or term must be used to the left and joined with another term. CGL /s (func range 1,000,000 3,000,000) (func range 5 10) - requires another word or term to the left and a connector

 

Advanced Search Techniques

Combining Multiple Connectors

You can combine multiple connectors to create sophisticated search patterns:

  • Use indemn! & hasredline() to find indemnification clauses that have been modified
  • Use governing /s law* /s% texas to find governing law clauses that don't mention Texas
  • Use \"Confidential Information\" /5 disclose to find disclosure language near the defined term

Working with Defined Terms

When targeting defined terms in contracts:

  1. Always escape quotes with backslashes: \"Term\"
  2. Consider variations in capitalization and spacing
  3. Use proximity connectors to find usage of the defined term

Legacy Terminology Reference

The following section uses legacy "Tag" terminology. While the functionality remains the same, we now refer to these as "Terms" and "Connectors" in the current version of DocJuris.

Legacy Tag Usage

Previously, DocJuris Playbooks used "Search Tags" to find and highlight language. The legacy terminology included:

  • Issue Tags → Now called Issue Terms
  • Position Tags → Now called Position Terms
  • Custom Tags → Now called Custom Terms
  • Tag Operators → Now called Connectors

Expression can be used with other connectors and requires a term

The table above shows what were previously called "tag connectors" - these same operators are now simply referred to as "connectors" when working with terms.

Best Practices Summary

  • Start with unique, specific phrases rather than common words
  • Use connectors to expand (!, *) and limit (&) your searches effectively
  • Test your terms on sample contracts to ensure they capture relevant language
  • Combine multiple connectors for sophisticated search patterns
  • Remember that adjacent words are automatically treated as phrases

Walkthrough Video:

Terms and Connectors are powerful tools that help DocJuris accurately identify and highlight relevant contract language. Practice with different combinations to find the most effective search patterns for your specific use cases.