Skip to main content
A Review template is the structure your firm uses to evaluate a particular kind of contract — an employment contract, an NDA, a service agreement. Building one means defining the Topics you negotiate, the Positions you’d accept for each, and the Rules that test whether a contract meets each Position. Once saved, the template lives in the Templates library and can be run on any contract of that type. The four phases:
  1. Create a new template.
  2. Add a Topic — one for each clause you negotiate.
  3. Define Positions and Rules under each Topic — Acceptable, Fallback, Not acceptable.
  4. Save the template and run it from any project.
Libra mascot with a clipboard
Write multiple narrow Rules, not one big one. ”≤ 40 h/week AND ≤ 10 overtime” should be two; you’ll see which condition broke, not an opaque Not met.

​
Create a new template

1

Open the editor

Click Templates in the global section of the sidebar, switch to the Review templates tab, then click + Create new → Review template. The full-screen editor opens.Templates library with the Review templates tab selected
2

Name the template

Pick something specific enough to find later: “Employment contract, German law”, “Service agreement, Swiss employer side”. Vague names are the single biggest reason a Templates library becomes unreadable.Review template editor with the name field

​
Add a Topic

A Topic is one subject of negotiation: Working hours, Place of work, Termination. A template usually has one Topic per clause you actually negotiate — typically 6 to 10 for an employment contract, 3 or 4 for an NDA.
1

Click + Add Topic

A new Topic card opens with three empty Position slots: Acceptable, Fallback, Not acceptable.Empty Topic card with Acceptable, Fallback, and Not acceptable Position slots
2

Name the Topic

Use the noun of the negotiation, not the action. “Working hours”, not “Check working hours”. The name shows up on the Review result, alongside the risk badge.
If you’d negotiate two things separately at the table, they’re two Topics. Working hours and Overtime compensation might be one Topic if you always negotiate them together; otherwise split them.

​
Define Positions and Rules

Inside each Topic, you describe what you’d sign (Acceptable), what you’d take under pressure (Fallback), and what you’d refuse (Not acceptable). Each Position has one or more Rules — specific, testable conditions Libra evaluates against the contract.
1

Acceptable position

The clause you’d love to see. Write at least one Rule; usually two or three.Example for Working hours:
  • Weekly working time does not exceed 40 hours.
  • The agreed gross monthly salary compensates for no more than 10 overtime hours per month.
Together, those Rules describe what an acceptable working-hours clause looks like for you. There’s exactly one Acceptable position per Topic.Acceptable position with rules listed under a Topic
2

Fallback positions (optional, can have several)

Wording you’d accept under pressure but wouldn’t lead with. The Fallback exists to surface real flexibility — if you put your Acceptable position into the Fallback slot too, the template loses its diagnostic value.Example for Working hours:
  • Weekly working time does not exceed 45 hours, with above-market overtime compensation.
A Topic can have zero, one, or several Fallback positions.
3

Not acceptable position

Your red line — the wording you’d push back on. Every Rule that triggers tells you to negotiate.Example for Working hours:
  • Weekly working time exceeds 50 hours.
  • Overtime is uncapped or uncompensated.
There’s exactly one Not acceptable position per Topic.
4

Attach Ideal Language (optional)

For an Acceptable or Fallback Position, you can attach the actual wording you’d accept. The Word add-in uses Ideal Language to suggest concrete edits when a contract fails the Acceptable position. Treat it as wording your firm has actually approved, not a placeholder.Example Ideal Language for Working hours: “The weekly working time is 40 hours. Reasonable overtime up to 10 hours per month is compensated by the agreed monthly gross salary.”Ideal Language attached to a Position in the Review template editor
For Topics where you can’t easily express your view as Positions and Rules — “does this clause hold up under current case law?” — switch the Topic to Auto Mode instead. Auto Mode replaces the Position structure with a single research-backed question.

​
Save the template

Add the next Topic (Place of work, Salary, Termination…) and define its Positions and Rules. Repeat until the template covers the things you actually negotiate, then click Save. The template lands in the Review templates tab of the Templates library, available across every project. From there, anyone you’ve shared it with can run it on a contract.

​
Worked example: an employment-contract template

Here’s how a real template might look:
Acceptable position
  • Weekly working time does not exceed 40 hours.
  • The agreed gross monthly salary compensates for no more than 10 overtime hours per month.
  • Ideal Language: “The weekly working time is 40 hours. Reasonable overtime up to 10 hours per month is compensated by the agreed monthly gross salary.”
Not acceptable position
  • Weekly working time exceeds 50 hours.
  • Overtime is uncapped or uncompensated.
Acceptable position
  • Place of work is named (city, region, or country).
  • Remote work is permitted up to 2 days per week.
Fallback position
  • Place of work is named, but remote work is not permitted.
Not acceptable position
  • Place of work is unspecified.
  • Employer can unilaterally relocate the employee with less than 4 weeks’ notice.
Acceptable position
  • Gross monthly or annual salary is specified in figures.
  • Payment cadence is monthly.
Not acceptable position
  • Salary is described in vague terms (e.g. “competitive”).
  • Payment cadence is irregular or undefined.

​
Tips for writing good Topics, Positions, and Rules

If you’d negotiate two things separately at the table, they’re two Topics. Working hours and Overtime compensation might be one Topic if you always negotiate them together; otherwise split them.
The Fallback is the wording you’d actually accept under pressure, not what you’d hope for. Templates that pretend “Acceptable or nothing” produce too many high-risk topics on real contracts.
“The clause is reasonable” is aspirational. “Notice period is at least 30 days” is testable. Libra needs the testable kind.
Two specific rules give you better diagnostics than one combined rule. If a Position has ”≤ 40 hours/week AND ≤ 10 overtime hours”, write that as two rules; when the contract fails, you see exactly which condition broke.
Ideal Language ends up as a Word add-in suggestion. Make sure it’s wording your firm has actually approved, not a placeholder.
Libra mascot pointing
Ideal Language drives Word redlines: on a failed Acceptable Rule, the add-in proposes it verbatim. Use firm-approved wording, not a placeholder.

​
Next steps

Auto Mode

Skip the rule-writing for research-driven Topics.

Understanding results

What the risk badges and match counts actually mean.