In an opinion issued this week (here) the U.S. Supreme Court considered the alternative possible meanings of “not an.” Here’s the relevant passage: Truth be told, the answer to the general question “What does ‘not an’ mean?” is “It depends”: The meaning of the phrase turns on its context. “Not an” sometimes means “not any,” in the way Novo claims. If … Read More
Last week saw the launch of the ACC’s “Contract Advisor.” Lawrence Hsieh (aka @ContractAdviser—no relation!) craftily suggested on Twitter that he was looking forward to hearing my views on Contract Advisor. Now here I am, taking the bait. That’s because the only reaction I’ve seen thus far is Bob Ambrogi’s just-the-facts assessment (here) and some hyperventilating tweets. Someone should take … Read More
I’d like to revisit a notion that I alluded to in this brief 2010 post on AdamsDrafting: offering certification in contract drafting. Here’s how it would work: Contracts professionals could get a certificate of proficiency in drafting and review of contract language by (1) attending one of my “Drafting Clearer Contracts” seminars or watching my “Drafting Clearer Contracts” webcasts and … Read More
I find it particularly interesting when an institution adopts a novel approach to stating obligations. Who can forget the Construction Specifications Institute’s recommendation, stated in its Project Delivery Practice Guide (formerly Project Resource Manual), that in architectural specifications you use the imperative mood, not the indicative mood, to express obligations. (That’s something I discussed in this 2009 post on the AdamsDrafting … Read More
Last week I received the following inquiry from reader Vance Koven: I am moved to put this issue to you, as it is in some ways related to your comments in MSCD and elsewhere on back-dating contracts, which I agree is a no-no, especially for public companies, or making contracts “retroactively effective” in similar ways. I have come across a … Read More
In conjunction with the Brooklyn Law Incubator & Policy Clinic’s “Legal Hackathon,” today Docracy is launching a “hacking contracts” contest. To enter, use Docracy to revise one of four contracts (described as easy, medium, or hard). You’ll have two weeks to submit entries. The winner gets a Kindle Fire. And no, you don’t have to go to Brooklyn to enter! … Read More
[Updated April 14, 2012: I’ve uploaded a new version of the template. Besides the changes mentioned below, I also belatedly fixed an annoying numbering glitch lurking in the first subsection of the “Notices” provision of the “BasicWord” version of the template. (“Listnum,” anyone?) I apologize for the inconvenience that has doubtless caused some of you.] Yesterday an interested observer sent … Read More
I’ve had occasion recently to consider cover sheets for contracts. That’s what I call the page that’s slapped on the front of a contract containing a table of contents—the first page of a table of contents isn’t what you’d want to show the world. In my days as a law-firm foot soldier, I’d cobble together rudimentary cover sheets. They consisted … Read More
*This isn’t an April Fools’ prank!* I had been vaguely aware of the “Fifty Shades” trilogy, described in this Maureen Dowd column as “bondage-themed romanticas that have evoked hysteria, whipping up a frenzy with the housewives of Long Island and rippling out from there.” They feature a dashing mogul, Christian Grey, and the object of his stern affections, the winsome Anastasia … Read More
For all sorts of reasons (see here) I’m partial to Canada. And Canadians have expressed an interest in my stuff that is beyond what you’d expect given the size of their legal market as compared to the U.S. legal market. So I’ve decided to create a Canadian version of Koncision’s confidentiality-agreement template—I don’t want Canadians to feel left out! To … Read More
