As one of the nation’s largest builders, Balfour Beatty must balance speed, scale, and risk across hundreds of complex projects. For Jeff Brannen, Chief Legal Officer – Texas/Arizona, that means ensuring contracts are understood, risks are managed, and project teams can operate with confidence—all without stretching his time and limited legal resources. To meet these demands, his division adopted Document Crunch to streamline contract review, empower teams, and create consistency across projects.

Rapid growth and increasing contract complexity exposed needs in Balfour Beatty’s legacy processes:

• Contracts required days of manual review, often by project teams without deep legal expertise or by the chief legal officer with limited time available for such review.
• Claims and disputes would threaten margins and outcomes.
• Training new managers on contracts was slow and heavily dependent on Jeff’s time.

In 2020, Jeff implemented Document Crunch into contract negotiations and project workflows, making it both an operational tool and a training resource.

• Scaling Without Extra Hires: Enabled division to handle triple revenue growth over the last three years without bringing on additional headcount.
• Collaborative Reviews that Transfer Knowledge: Teams analyze contracts with Document Crunch, then review findings with Jeff. This streamlined process doubles as hands-on training, building contract literacy and reducing reliance on senior counsel.
• Proactive Risk Management: The platform highlights key risks and compliance issues, with solutions like Checklists, Playbooks and Chat that teams can consistently reference during projects.
• Seamless Procore Integration: Helps ensure compliance by providing real-time contract chat during construction and an intuitive Notice Builder.
• Security Benefits: Unlike external AI tools, Document Crunch offers a sandboxed environment that protects sensitive contract data.
• AI Partnership and Future Potential: Document Crunch is more than a tool—it’s a strategic partner helping Balfour Beatty lead the way in applying AI to construction.

“I’ve never heard anybody grow over half a billion dollars without a lawyer. For Balfour, it’s been possible in part because I’m using a tool that streamlines our process and moves risk away,” says Jeff Brannen.

• Revenue nearly tripled from $350-400M in 2022 to close to $1B today, while staffing and legal headcount stayed flat.
• Hundreds of thousands of dollars in avoided labor costs by eliminating the need for additional in-house or outside legal hires.
• Hundreds of hours saved annually, faster onboarding of new project managers, and improved contract literacy across the team.
• Avoided litigation and disputes equate to potentially millions in savings in legal fees, claims, and settlements.
• 50% reduction in review cycles from a full day+ to half a day
• Built-in training that accelerates project manager development and reduces reliance on Jeff’s time.

Balfour Beatty’s adoption of Document Crunch demonstrates how an AI-powered risk reduction platform can transform construction at scale. By empowering project teams to manage contract complexity independently—while ensuring legal oversight and data security—the company achieved remarkable growth without proportional increases in legal staff.