Month: May 2017

In Contract Drafting, “Grunt Work” Isn’t a Valuable Training Tool

[Update 13 May 2017: I should make it clear that I’m not suggesting that automated contract drafting is by itself enough to make one an informed drafter. Instead, my point is that comparing the two means of generating the bulk of contract text, automated contract drafting is a better vehicle for training than is copy-and-pasting. But by itself it’s not … Read More

The First Question to Ask About My Consulting Services

Even if you’re aware of what I do, I suspect you haven’t considered whether to hire me to redo your template contracts. Allow me to make that easier by breaking down for you the factors to bear in mind. Let’s think of them as questions. What’s the first question? Well, I suggest it shouldn’t be, “Can Adams improve our templates?” Unless your … Read More

MSCD as a Credential?

Here’s an email I received from a reader: I was interviewing for a new job 6 months ago and mentioned I am a big MSCD fan. The GC said “That is the most impressive thing you could have said.” Needless to say, I got the job. THANK YOU! I take two things from that. First, that MSCD is an established … Read More

Four Contract-Drafting Axioms

To coin a phrase, We hold these truths to be self-evident: It’s preferable to draft contracts consistent with a set of guidelines for contract language, as opposed to relying on conventional wisdom, improvising, or simply copying. That’s why I wrote MSCD. It’s the only such set of guidelines, and with each new edition it becomes more entrenched. I’d be surprised … Read More

What Has to Come Next

The fourth edition of A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting is now in production. That side of my work will certainly continue, but the bulk of it is done. So even though you won’t see the fourth edition for another four months, I’m already focusing on what comes next. Allow me to go out on a limb: To make … Read More

Using MSCD in Law School

At my recent “Drafting Clearer Contracts” seminar in Portland, Oregon, I met David Hill. Dave teaches contract drafting at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, so we chatted about what he does. By email, he followed up with some thoughts about how he uses A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting as part of his course: I designed … Read More

On Reviewing a Contract

Recently I received the following email: I have been following your blog for a long time and your insights are really helpful for young lawyers. I am a young lawyer from India who has recently started working with a law firm. Though there are senior lawyers to guide me, I would like to have your views on contract review. Here … Read More