Issues, gaps and DDQs
Raising and reviewing issues
An issue is a finding that could affect the deal, such as an unsigned shareholders' agreement or a contract that needs consent on a change of control.
An issue is a finding that could affect the deal, such as an unsigned shareholders' agreement or a contract that needs consent on a change of control. Issues are rated Red, Amber or Green, and go through review before they are final.
You can raise issues yourself or accept issues proposed by an AI review or both. Either way, you and your team decides what becomes an issue.
Raising an issue on a document
- Open the document from the Documents page
- Click the Issues tab
- Click Raise issue
- Fill in the issue:
- Title (required, up to 120 characters)
- Workstream (required). This defaults to the document's workstream
- RAG (required for review): Red, Amber or Green
- Summary (required for review): what the issue is
- Impact (optional): why it matters
- Linked DDQs (optional): click Raise new DDQ to ask the other side about the issue, or Link existing DDQ
- Citation (optional): click Select a passage to cite, then highlight the text in the document
- Recommendations(optional): click Add recommendation, choose a category and add notes. You can add more than one
- Click Save draft or Submit for review
A title and workstream are enough to save a draft. All required fields are needed to submit for review.
You can also raise an issue that is not tied to a document by clicking Add issue on the Issues page, or Add > New issue on the Overview.
Recommendation categories
Category | When to use it |
Contractual drafting required | The issue should be dealt with in the transaction documents |
Pre-completion action | Something must be done before the deal completes |
Post-completion action | Something should be done after completion |
Warranty/indemnity | The buyer should seek a warranty or indemnity to cover the risk |
Other | Any other recommendation |
Issue statuses
Status | What it means |
Draft | Being prepared. AI issues you have continued with start here |
In review | Submitted for review |
Final | Approved |
Draft references show as Draft until the issue is submitted, so numbers are only used for real issues.
The Issues page
The Issues page brings every issue on the matter together, whichever document or workstream it came from.
- Use the pills at the top to filter by Red, Amber, Green, Draft, In review or Final
- Filter by Workstream, RAG, Status, Owner or Recommendation, and use Group to change how issues are grouped
- Click an issue to open its Detail, Documents, DDQs and History tabs. Click the pencil icon next to any field to edit it
- Use ... on an open issue to Move workstream
- Click Import to bring in issues from a spreadsheet, for example from an adviser who does not work in Legatics, or Export to download them
An AI tag on an issue shows it came from an AI review. An AI draft label under a field shows the text was written by AI.
Reviewing an issue
- Open the issue from the Issues page
- At the right side of the issue there are three dots
- Click on Edit which opens the Issue details
- Under Review, check who is Eligible to review. Any one of them can approve
- Click Approve → Final to approve the issue, or Return to send it back with your comments