Computer-aided Drafting of Legal Documents

Beginning with a survey of the application of computers to the law—how they are used now and how expected to be used in the future—this article presents a model of computerized document drafting systems and describes the capabilities such systems must have. A description of a template document that will specify the content, the form, and the rules for completing a class of documents is followed by a discussion identifying the facilities a document designer needs to specify such a template document, which in effect defines the language needed for the template design. A simple, easily implemented template drafting language (tdl) and a prototype software system (add) that can assemble documents drafted in this language have been designed and used to create security agreements drafted in accordance with Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code.