About this site

Diaries of a Recovering Redliner is where 30 years of contract chaos meets the solution we've all been waiting for.

I'm Mike Denker - lawyer, legal tech exec, COO, founder. I've been on every side of the deal table, and I've watched the same dysfunction play out thousands of times: endless redlines, markup theater, and deals dying slow deaths in Microsoft Word.

This isn't just another legal blog.

It's the story of why contracting is broken, how we got here, and what we're building to fix it. Think of it as part confession, part cry for help, and part roadmap to a better way forward.

What you'll find here:

• Real stories from the redline trenches (names changed to protect the guilty)
• Why "standard" contract terms aren't actually standard
• How shared playbooks can end the markup madness
• Behind-the-scenes updates on building Transactency

Who this is for:

• Founders and business owners tired of the time and expense involved in getting contracts done
• Solo in-house counsel drowning in contract reviews
• Anyone who's ever wanted to kill a contract with fire
• People ready to stop pretending every deal is brand new

Join the movement. Subscribe to get new entries delivered straight to your inbox, plus early access to the platform we're building to make all of this obsolete.

Because it's time contracts worked for the deal, not against it.

Ready to #TrustQuickly?