Air New Zealand’s legal team advises the business on a broad range of legal issues—from consumer law obligations to fleet transactions. The workload is high-volume, complex, and sensitive, which made it critical to free up time for strategic legal work by automating less complex workflows like non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).

However, the NDA process was entirely manual, creating a series of operational headaches:

• Frequent delays
• Workflow bottlenecks
• Lost time on low-value tasks
• Frustrated stakeholders

These inefficiencies were limiting the legal team's ability to focus on higher-value matters. While the need for automation was clear, the team also faced tight budget and resource constraints—making it difficult to find a cost-effective, all-in-one solution.

Adding urgency to the situation, the legal team had just four weeks to identify and deploy a new system before their previous NDA solution expired. Failing to act in time would have meant reverting to manual processes—an outcome they were determined to avoid.

Leading the charge to find a better way forward was Senior Legal Counsel, Sam Bailey. With just four weeks before Air New Zealand’s existing NDA solution expired, time was tight—and the stakes were high. Manual processes were not an option, and many of the tools they evaluated either lacked the right features, offered poor support, or exceeded budget limitations. As Sam put it:

“The tool we were using prior did an okay job, but it wasn't where we needed it to be in terms of relationship management and budget.”

The legal team was at a crossroads: either revert to inefficient manual processes or find a modern solution that could be implemented fast. Fortunately, they discovered Checkbox—a no-code automation platform that delivered the ideal balance of:

• Powerful automation features
• Speed to deployment
• Hands-on support
• Budget alignment

With confidence, the team selected Checkbox. Within just four weeks, they successfully launched a fully functional NDA automation solution—eliminating the friction that had long slowed them down.

How it works:

1. Business users access Checkbox through the company intranet
2. They fill in a short, pop-up form with required details
3. Checkbox generates the NDA and routes it for e-signature
4. Once signed, final copies are automatically distributed to all parties and logged for legal record-keeping

According to Sam:

“Checkbox is so simple to use. The whole process has just been incredibly seamless—no small feat in a large organisation like Air New Zealand where attention and resources are being dragged in every direction.”

The impact was immediate. The Checkbox platform removed workflow bottlenecks, ensured consistency, and dramatically reduced turnaround time for NDAs. Most importantly, it freed up the legal team to shift focus away from administrative tasks and toward the high-impact strategic work that drives business value.

Air New Zealand leveraged Checkbox’s no-code automation platform to fully automate their NDA process—delivering measurable impact across legal and business functions.

The automation streamlined end-to-end NDA workflows, reducing turnaround time and improving stakeholder experience. The legal team now saves considerable time per request, while gaining greater recognition within the business for driving innovation and strategic value.

Given the functionality and flexibility available through Checkbox, the Air NZ team is currently exploring what other standard documents and legal workflows can be automated with the tool. With plans already in discussion to streamline how the legal team and the customer care team work together, we look forward to seeing where this partnership will take the legal practice of Air New Zealand.

To law firms and in-house legal teams weighing up the value of automating their practice, Sam says, "There will be an upfront cost, but it's so important to think about the time and resource you'll be saving in the long run. If it results in your team providing a better service to your business stakeholders, then you should definitely take the opportunity."