Rice University’s Office of General Counsel is excited to launch LexisNexis CounselLink, a new contract intake system, on July 15, 2025. This centralized system will streamline and simplify the intake and review process for many university contracts, making the process easier, faster, and more transparent. This launch is another example of the university’s ongoing commitment to operational excellence and continuous improvement.
Why the Change?
To facilitate the review of an agreement, faculty and staff normally coordinate with multiple departments, including the Office of General Counsel, Office of Information Technology, Strategic Sourcing and Procurement, and Risk Management. Each department has its own timeline and requirements. This leads to key challenges, including:
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Delays: Reviews don’t happen at the same time, slowing down the contract review cycle.
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Gaps: Sometimes an office is left out of the review or is not contacted until the contract is sent for signature.
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Low Visibility: Multiple administrators track where a contract is in the review process, which can result in missed deadlines or duplicate follow-ups.
What’s New?
CounselLink simplifies how you submit new requests for review, shortens review times with multiple teams to work in parallel, and gives you greater visibility into the status of your contract.
Want More Information?
If you would like more information about CounselLink, plan to attend an information session or office hours, which will begin in July. Once available, dates and times will be released on the Office of General Counsel’s Training webpage.
Additional questions can be directed to the Office of General Counsel at legal@rice.edu.