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Document templates

Updated

Templates are reusable document starting points that let you produce consistent, variable-filled documents without starting from scratch each time. Legal ships with platform-provided templates covering common MSP documents — NDAs, MSAs, BAAs, engagement letters, and more — and lets you create or fork your own.

Platform Templates vs. Org Templates

Platform templates are maintained by The One Stack and visible to every organization. They cannot be edited directly. To customize one, fork it into your own organization's copy.

Org templates are templates you create or fork. Only your organization can see and edit them.

Step 1: Browse and Find a Template

  1. Go to Legal > Templates.
  2. Platform templates appear first. Browse by category or search by title.
  3. Click a template to preview its content and see the list of variables it uses.

Step 2: Fork a Platform Template

  1. With a platform template open, click Fork.
  2. Legal creates an org-owned copy with the same content. You can now edit it freely.
  3. The fork tracks its origin (forked_from_id) so you can see which platform template it was based on.

Step 3: Edit a Template

  1. Open an org template and edit the content directly.
  2. Use {{variable_name}} syntax to insert variable placeholders. For example: {{client_name}}, {{effective_date}}, {{service_scope}}.
  3. Every save creates a new version. The version number increments automatically.

Step 4: Manage Variable Placeholders

Variables in templates map to merge fields. To keep all your templates consistent:

  1. Go to Templates > Merge Fields.
  2. Click New Merge Field to register a field key with a display name, description, default value, and source.
  3. When you render a template, Legal prompts you to fill in each registered field.

Using the merge-field registry ensures that {{client_name}} means the same thing in every template rather than being re-defined document by document.

Step 5: View and Restore Previous Versions

  1. Open a template and click the Versions tab.
  2. Each version shows a version number, change note, and who made the change.
  3. Click any version to view its content. You can restore a prior version if needed.

Step 6: Render a Template

Rendering fills in variables and produces a document ready to attach to a matter.

  1. Open the template and click Render.
  2. Fill in each variable field.
  3. The rendered output can be saved directly to a matter as a new document.

FAQ

Can I have multiple versions of the same template active at once? Only the latest version is active for rendering. Previous versions are stored and viewable but are not used when you render the template unless you explicitly restore one.

What if I need a template that isn't in the platform library? Create a new org template from scratch by going to Templates > New. Add your content and register the variables you need in the merge-field registry.

Can I share a template with another organization? Templates are scoped to your organization and are not shareable between tenants. Platform templates are the mechanism for sharing standardized content across all organizations.

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