DocuSign 2.0

In a recent Call for Startups, Michael Seibel of Y Combinator posed a challenge: Who will build the next evolution of DocuSign?

He outlined a vision for a DocuSign 2.0 that solves key inefficiencies in digital agreements, including:

✅ Reducing friction in tax documents, sales/employment agreements, and other legal contracts
✅ Eliminating redundant data entry—no more filling in the same details repeatedly
✅ Streamlining templates—create once, reuse infinitely
✅ Version control—tracking changes without constantly resending documents
✅ Providing clear explanations—translating legalese into plain language
✅ Seamless SaaS integrations—connecting agreements with business workflows
✅ Creating reusable document templates for greater efficiency
✅ Leveraging AI & automation—simplifying agreement approvals

At Neon Law, we believe this vision aligns with our core mission: Improving access to justice through better legal technology.

That’s why we’re building Neon Notations, a system designed to make contracts faster, smarter, and easier to understand.

✨ What are Neon Notations?

Neon Notations is our approach to declarative, computable contracts—where documents, questionnaires, and workflows work together to create a seamless legal experience.

How It Works

📄 Declarative, Structured Data

Every Neon Notation is stored as structured data, meaning it’s machine-readable and type-safe.
For example, when a document asks “Who is this organization?”, the response must match a predefined organization type—ensuring consistency and eliminating ambiguity.

🔄 Eliminating Redundant Data Entry

By decoupling questions from questionnaires, we remove the need to re-enter the same information multiple times.
Instead of filling out the same business name, address, and details in multiple contracts, Neon Notations automatically reference structured responses.

🔒 Privacy-First Approach

We design our system so that raw contract data contains no personally identifiable information (PII).
Instead, user-specific details are securely merged at runtime when a contract is finalized.

🗂 Context-Specific & User-Specific Summaries

Each document includes plain-language explanations, helping users understand what they’re signing—not just legal jargon.

🔍 Versioning & Transparency

We use Git for version control, meaning every contract change is tracked and auditable.
Future iterations will introduce more visual interfaces for tracking changes, but even now, our system ensures every version of a contract is preserved.

🤖 AI-Powered Workflows

Our AI tools assist with automation, generating structured contracts faster and more accurately.
Since legal work is fundamentally about precision and determinism, our AI-driven approach enhances efficiency without compromising accuracy.

🎯 The Bigger Picture: Access to Justice

At Neon Law, every innovation we build serves a larger goal: Making legal services more efficient, accessible, and affordable.

The efficiencies gained in a DocuSign 2.0 system allow us to:

✔ Speed up client intake—so people can get legal help faster
✔ Reduce lawyer time spent on repetitive work—freeing up resources for complex cases
✔ Share our work openly—so the legal industry as a whole can benefit

By automating what can be automated and focusing human attention where it’s needed most, we’re making legal services more scalable and equitable.

If you’re a business owner, lawyer, or technologist who believes in this mission, we’d love to connect.

📩 Want to learn more? Reach out to us at onboarding@neonlaw.com or at notations@neonlaw.com for more information about our Neon Notations specification.