“Commits To”: Another Half-Baked Way of Stating Obligations

Behold commit to used to express obligations:

each of the Guarantors hereby … commits to make a contribution to such Guarantor’s capital in an amount at least equal to

The Employee commits to perform his/her duties pursuant to this Agreement on full time basis and not to engage in any other endeavors without the express permission of the Board of Directors of the Employer.

In connection with the Leawood Settlement Agreement, Cohen agrees and commits to pay all of Alesco’s legal fees …

So add commits to to the list of verkakte ways of expressing obligations.

And shall not commit to is used as a clumsy alternative to shall not agree to:

No Company shall make or commit itself to make any Restricted Payment at any time, except that…

About the author

Ken Adams is the leading authority on how to say clearly whatever you want to say in a contract. He’s author of A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting, and he offers online and in-person training around the world. He’s also chief content officer of LegalSifter, Inc., a company that combines artificial intelligence and expertise to assist with review of contracts.

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