In any contract, may can be used to convey two meanings. (I’m not counting the superfluous may discussed in MSCD 3.58.) May primarily serves to convey discretion, as in The indemnified party may at its expense retain separate co-counsel. But may can also be used to convey the possibility of something coming to pass, as in Acme may be subject … Read More
In this post, Rees Morrision of the Law Department Management blog notes how some law firms are helping law departments implement document-assembly initiatives. I’m glad to see that document assembly is gaining ground. But given the questionable quality of mainstream contract drafting at even the biggest law firms, I suspect that such arrangements are susceptible to GIGO.
[Update: For my 2012 take on this topic, see this post.] In an October 2006 post I discussed the terms hold harmless and indemnify. I noted that Black’s Law Dictionary states that the two terms have the same meaning whereas Mellinkoff’s Dictionary of American Legal Usage says that one can also distinguish the two terms—that “hold harmless is understood to … Read More
On April 11–13, the American chapter of the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM to its friends) will be holding in New Orleans its “5th Annual Forum on Commitment Management: Shaping Change and Driving Value Through Lean Contracting.” (Click here for more information.) IACCM is an organization geared to the needs of contract-management personnel. As I looked through … Read More
[Go here for my most recent post on this subject, from 2016.] This blog has revisited sporadically topics that I’ve decided aren’t covered adequately in MSCD. Here’s another one—the verb include. Illustrative Versus Restrictive Including and includes have traditionally been used to introduce a nonexhaustive list. Here’s how Black’s Law Dictionary defines include: “To contain as a part of something. … Read More
