I launched this site in 2006, and recently it’s been showing its age. That’s not entirely due to sloth on my part, as getting anything adjusted had become a protracted annoyance. So recently I engaged web designer Tom Leadbetter, and here’s what we did:
The left-hand column is wider, to take into account that people have been migrating [...]
Longtime readers of this site will be familiar with the name Business Integrity, developer of ContractExpress (formerly DealBuilder) document-assembly software.
Fixing contract drafting involves fixing not only language but also process, and fixing the process means using document assembly. So I’ve long had a keen interest in document assembly. About three years ago I became acquainted [...]
December is when the American Bar Association tells its authors how their books did during the year that ended the previous September 30. So a couple of weeks ago I heard how the second edition of MSCD fared during the year starting just four months after its publication in July 2008.
Publishers and authors are notoriously [...]
This blog has been included in the ABA Journal’s “Blawg 100“—their listing of “the best legal blogs as selected by the Journal’s editors.”
It’s always gratifying to have one’s efforts recognized. And although I haven’t read all other 99 blogs, I visit a good number of them regularly and have heard good things of many of [...]
The ABA now has in inventory the third printing of MSCD. And we’ve reverted to the binding used in the first printing, namely Wire-O binding, or more specifically semi-concealed Wire-O binding, but we’ve also fixed the first printing’s binding problems. Based on my entirely unscientific survey, I suspect that most of you would approve of [...]
I’m delighted that on Monday, October 19, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., I’ll be in Boston, taking part in a panel discussion at the annual meeting of the Association of Corporate Counsel. The session is entitled “Self-Service Contract Creation: Providing Better Service in a World of Frozen Budgets”—click here for more information. It’s being [...]
As part of their ambitious Legal Rebels project, the ABA Journal has named me one of their fifty “Legal Rebels.” They’ve been rolling out profiles of their Legal Rebels, and they’ve now posted mine; click here to go to it.
Rebellion isn’t something that usually comes to mind when I think of the American Bar Association, but [...]
I’m looking forward to August. I’ll be spending time in Cap Ferret, on France’s west coast; in Geneva, Switzerland; and in Saratoga Springs, in upstate New York.
I’ll enjoy showing my daughter a bit of Europe (including Geneva, the city where she was born) and having her get reacquainted with family members she sees too infrequently. She’s [...]
[Updated June 4, 2009]
I’m pleased to announce that starting June 11, I’ll be offering through West LegalEdcenter a series of seven video webcasts entitled “Drafting Clearer Contracts.”
Each webcast will be an hour long. They’ll be rolled out one by one through the second half of July. Five of the webcasts will explore topics discussed in [...]
On Thursday, May 28, I’m giving my all-day “Contract Drafting—Language and Layout” seminar in Vancouver, BC, under the auspices of Osgoode Professional Development. Click here for more information.
I did my first public seminars with Osgoode Professional Development, and my Toronto seminars with them have been, in all respects, a resounding success. So I’m eager to [...]
Today I heard from a client with an interesting proposition. They had wanted me to do my day-long “Contract Drafting—Language and Layout” seminar as part of a week-long program for their global contracts personnel, but due to the economic downturn they’ve had to postpone the program. Would I be willing instead to do my presentation [...]
Click here to go to it. (You may need to register, without charge.)
This is the first time I’ve gotten any real coverage outside of legal periodicals. I hope it’s a sign of increasing interest in clearer contracts in general and my approach in particular. Any thoughts?
On April 1 I’ll be in Philadelphia, speaking at the first conference for in-house counsel organized by DELVACCA, the Delaware Valley chapter of the Association for Corporate Counsel. Some three hundred in-house lawyers are expected to attend this all-day CLE event, but it’s almost sold out, so you’ll have to be quick if you want [...]
I’ve belatedly updated the testimonials on the MSCD page of this site. To spare you having to click on the link, I’ve copied the testimonials below. I thank all those who were kind enough to provide testimonials. I have a particular soft spot for the one that potential MSCD readers are least likely to pay [...]
I’m at the tail end of a productive week spent in Calgary. Last Thursday I gave a seminar for Petro-Canada and its outside counsel, Fraser Milner Casgrain. On Friday I gave a lunchtime presentation for the Canadian Bar Association Alberta. And today, I gave a seminar for the law department of Enbridge Pipelines. Based on [...]
The current issue of the Canadian periodical The Lawyers Weekly contains an article entitled “Plain Language Movement Gaining Steam.” It’s a useful introduction, although regular readers of this blog won’t be surprised by what it has to say. And it quotes some contract-drafting guy …
Incidentally, I explained in this November 2006 post why I refer [...]
The New York Law Journal has published, in its “GC New York” section, my article entitled “Retooling Your Contract Process for the Downturn.” Click here to go to a nifty PDF reprint and click here to go to the online version (free registration required). I suspect you’ll find that a hard copy of the reprint [...]
On Wednesday, February 25, I’ll be in Houston, cooling my heels between seminars. If you’re in the Houston area and you’d like to meet with me to discuss what I do and whether I might be able to assist your organization, don’t hesitate to contact me.
The first few months after the ABA publishes a book, you can purchase it only through them. Thereafter, they start to distribute it through the usual online sellers. Consistent with that, the second edition of A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting is now available on Amazon; click here to go to the Amazon page [...]
After a long absence, I’ll be in London over the holidays, visiting family and giving my daughter a brief introduction to the land where I spent fifteen years before sloping off to law school in the U.S.
I had planned on returning to the U.S. early in January, but I find myself discussing with clients the [...]
I’ve updated the public seminars page with information about the U.S. “Language and Layout” seminars I’ll be giving with West Legalworks in the first half of 2009. In the next few days I’ll update the West Legalworks banner links with the same information.
Later this month I’ll be on two ABA panels on consecutive days.
First, I’ll be on the panel for a November 20 ABA-CLE webcast entitled “Getting the Business Deal into the Contract.” It’s an encore performance of a panel discussion held at the ABA’s 2008 annual meeting. The other members of the panel are Tina Stark, [...]
The lead item in the September 2008 YourABA, the ABA’s e-newsletter for members, is a Q&A with yours truly. Click here to go to it. Regular readers of this blog will not be astonished at what I have to say.
The September 8, 2008, issue of the National Law Journal contains my opinion piece “Dysfunctional Drafting.” Click here to go to the online version.
By the way, check out the little illustration accompanying the piece.
The ABA Web Store now has in stock copies of the second edition of A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting. Click here to go to the relevant page. And note that the ABA is offering free ground shipping through the end of August. The ABA is currently the only place you can purchase the [...]
If you’re attending the 2008 American Bar Association annual meeting and you’re in a contract-drafting frame of mind, here’s what I’ll be doing there:
Thursday, August 7, 2:00PM–3:30PM, “Meet the Author,” ABA Source, Hilton New York (Second Level of the Conference Area), 1335 Avenue of the Americas
Friday, August 8, 2:30PM–4:30PM, Panel Discussion, “Getting the Business Deal into [...]
For those who like planning in advance, here are my West Legalworks seminar dates for 2009:
Feb. 24, Houston
Mar. 3, Atlanta
April 9, Cleveland
May 7, Chicago
June 2, Philadelphia
July 16, Seattle
Sept. 15, Los Angeles
Sept. 24, Washington, D.C.
Oct. 13, Minneapolis
Oct. 27, Boston
Nov. 17, New York
Dec. 8, San Francisco
I’m pleased that West Legalworks opted to re-up for another year. That [...]
Publication of the second edition of A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting is fast approaching. One sign is that a page for the book is now up on the ABA’s Web Store. (For the first six months, it will be available only through the ABA.) Check out the sharp new cover!
Even more to the [...]
On July 17 I’ll be in Seattle giving my West Legalworks seminar. Afterwards, starting at 5:00 p.m., I’ll be meeting a few friends for drinks at the restaurant Sazerac, at 1101 Fourth Avenue, at the corner of Spring Street. It’s a few blocks from the Grand Hyatt, where the seminar is being held. If you’re in [...]
Maybe it’s sunspots. Or something in the water. At any rate, another second edition of a book related to contract drafting has just been published. This time it’s Charles Fox’s Working with Contracts: What Law School Doesn’t Teach You. (Click here to go to the Amazon page. Note that Amazon’s a little confused, in that the cover [...]
FYI, I’ll be on the panel for a CLE session at the ABA 2008 annual meeting, which is being held in New York. The topic is “Getting the Business Deal into the Contract—Choosing the Right Words.” It’s being held at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, August 8. Also on the panel will be Tina Stark, professor [...]
I’m back after a three-week break from blogging. I’m not exactly refreshed, as I was traveling hither and yon doing seminars and, during down time, reviewing page proofs of the second edition of MSCD.
I have a relatively tranquil summer ahead of me, so I’ll be recharging my batteries, mainly by turning to man-about-the-house duties that I’ve [...]
With age, birthdays become less important, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that on the second anniversary of this blog (give or take a few days) I’m less inclined to wax lyrical than I was after the first anniversary. But a few stray thoughts come to mind:
I pay little attention to my blog’s statistics. [...]
In case you’re interested, here’s the latest on MSCD2:
I wasn’t satisfied with the design of MSCD, so I was ready for a fight over the design of MSCD2. But I’ve just seen some sample pages, and they look great. I’m already looking forward to seeing the finished product.
I’m currently working on the last item that [...]
Here are the U.S. cities where I’ll be giving my “Contract Drafting—Language and Layout” seminar with West Legalworks in the second half of 2008:
Seattle, Thursday, July 17
Washington, D.C., Wednesday, September 24
Minneapolis, Thursday, October 16
Boston, Wednesday, October 29
New York, Tuesday, November 18
San Francisco, Tuesday, December 9
Click here to go to the relevant page of West Legalworks’ [...]
I’m now home after a whirlwind visit to Bahrain. I arrived from Oman on Wednesday afternoon, did a seminar on Thursday, then left on Friday morning.
The seminar was under the auspices of the ABA’s Rule of Law Initiative. My chaperones were James MacPherson and John Porter, who has just replaced James as the ABA’s resident [...]
Ah, the glamorous life of the contract nerd! Vancouver one week! Oman and Bahrain the next! Philadelphia in between!
But more mundane work goes on: I spent my first day in Oman in my hotel room, working on the manuscript for MSCD2. Thanks to the valiant efforts of the all-volunteer AdamsDrafting proofreading irregulars, it’s in great [...]
This post comes to you from Muscat, Oman. I’m here under the auspices of the Rule of Law Initiative of the American Bar Association, at the request of the Sultanate of Oman Ministry of Legal Affairs.
Yesterday I held my “Language and Layout” seminar for a team of Ministry lawyers responsible for reviewing and drafting contracts [...]
As I noted in this post, from April 21 through April 25 I’ll be giving my “Contract Drafting—Language and Layout” seminar at the Geneva, Switzerland offices of Hogan & Hartson.
Well, I’ve now upgraded the registration system. For one thing, you can now pay by credit card, if you wish. To go to the registration page, [...]
I’m pleased to announce that from Monday, April 21, through Friday, April 25, I’ll be giving five consecutive one-day seminars on “Contract Drafting—Language and Layout” at the Geneva, Switzerland offices of the global law firm Hogan & Hartson.
All are welcome to register. The seminars are being supported by ACC Europe and by the International Bar [...]
Today’s issue of the New York Law Journal contains my article on the recent litigation between Cerberus and United Rentals. Click here to go to a PDF copy. It’s also available at the NYLJ website if you’re a subscriber.
Kevin O’Keefe’s Real Lawyers Have Blogs has posted a Q&A with yours truly. Click here to go to it.
As I mentioned previously, Alliance Data Systems and Blackstone Group are in litigation over Blackstone’s proposed acquisition of ADS.
More specifically, ADS has filed a complaint alleging that Blackstone breached its obligations under the merger agreement by failing to use its “reasonable best efforts” to obtain the approval of the Office of the Comptroller of the [...]
On April 1 I’ll be giving my “Contract Drafting—Language and Layout” seminar in Vancouver, B.C., for the first time. Click here for the brochure.
As with my Toronto seminars, my host will be Osgoode Professional Development. The Toronto seminars have gone very well, so I expect the same for Vancouver. Come one, come all!
On Wednesday, January 9, at 1:00PM Eastern Time, the Law Department Management Committee of the Association of Corporate Counsel will be holding their monthly teleconference. I’ll be the featured speaker—starting around 1:30PM I’ll be talking, for 15 minutes or so, about “Issues of Quality and Process in Handling Your Contracts.” That will be followed by [...]
The December 14, 2007, issue of the Canadian periodical The Lawyers Weekly contains an article about yours truly. Click here for a pdf copy (note that the first page is just the photo; the interview itself is on the second page). And click here for the online version of the article.
On December 5 I do my final West Legalworks seminar of 2007, in Miami. But in case you thought that was it, here are—drum roll, please—dates for additional U.S. “Contract Drafting—Language and Layout” seminars for the first half of 2008:
February 13, Phoenix, AZ
February 28, Houston, TX
March 6, Orlando, FL
March 12, Richmond, VA
April 3, Philadelphia, PA
May [...]
The December 2007 issue of the ACC Docket, the magazine of the Association of Corporate Counsel, contains the article “Transitioning Your Contract Process from the Artistic to the Industrial,” by Brian Quinn and yours truly. It provides an overview of issues that companies face in controlling the contract process and discusses some useful tools that [...]
I’ll be in Chicago October 28–31, attending the annual meeting of the ACC (the Association of Corporate Counsel). And I’ll be attending as part of the DealBuilder team.
DealBuilder is the leading logic-based document-assembly software. It’s developed by Business Integrity, a company with an impressive roster of clients.
I’ve long said that only by embracing document assembly [...]
Today’s issue of the New York Law Journal contains my article “Making Sense of ‘Shall.’” Click here to go to the PDF reprint. And click here to access it for free—at least for the time being—on the NYLJ’s website. My thanks to those who were kind enough to review drafts of this article.
The topic of [...]
