Via this post on Legal Writing Prof Blog I learned of a recent opinion of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals that involved an odd instance of confused enumeration in a contract. The case is Karmely v. Wertheimer (here). It’s discussed in this post on allgov.com. The facts are way too involved for me to get into, but here’s the … Read More
I recently received the following from a reader (I redacted information identifying a law firm): I practiced at big firms for a few years, but after being an in-house counsel at small companies for a decade or so, and being in business, I’ve started my own practice focusing on startups and small companies. I appreciate MCSD and your blog. I … Read More
Last week reader Andy posted here a comment asking for advice regarding unplanned changes to a new apartment. Usually I can’t do much with such comments, as I’m not about to get involved every dispute that comes along. But I thought this comment raised an interesting issue, so here it is: I have a question relating to the word “reasonable”. … Read More
I was interested to learn, via @martinertl, of an article on Slate.com by Jessica Olien (@jessicaolien) entitled Inside the Box: People Actually Don’t Like Creativity (here). I recommend that you read the entire article, but here are some bits that caught my eye and seemed relevant to what I’m trying to do: This is the thing about creativity that is … Read More
A modest suggestion: When you’re dealing with real estate, eliminated demised from your contracts. For purposes of real-estate contracts, demise means “to convey by will or lease.” There’s always a simpler word. The following example is from the contract providing for Jeff Bezos’s acquisition of the Washington Post (discussed in this post): The Seller shall lease to the Purchaser sufficient … Read More
This has been a week of enforced idleness: I’ve been reminded, yet again, that capping off a demanding seminar tour by spending an entire day with the teeming masses in various airport terminals and airplanes is a great way to get sick. But during my convalescence, I bring you the following tidings: Amazon is now selling the print edition of MSCD (go … Read More
So here I am, whiling away some hours in Dubai International Airport, waiting to catch a flight to Paris, where I will catch another flight home. (Yes, I’m missing Thanksgiving. Happy Turkey Day, y’all.) Since my previous “Notes from the Road” post, I’ve been to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai. During other trips I wrote about the first … Read More
I’m delighted to be able to tell you that I’ll be going back to Australia in February 2014 to do another series of “Drafting Clearer Contracts” seminars with my friends at Melbourne Law School. I’ll be doing a seminar in Melbourne on 17 February (here), in Canberra (for the first time) on 18 February (here), and in Sydney on 21 … Read More
I heard yesterday that this blog has been included in the ABA Journal’s 2013 Blawg 100—its list of the hundred best law blogs. (Go here for the complete list.) I celebrated by ordering a room-service sandwich at the Hilton Abu Dhabi. “Best of” lists are generally silly, but the Blawg 100 is a bit less silly than most. It’s to … Read More
Generally, if something looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then for purposes of contract drafting it’s best to refer to it as a duck. That sounds straightforward enough, but offhand I can think of few instances of caselaw where a court has said just that, although not in so many words. So I’m looking for some more … Read More
