I’m starting to prepare for my July seminars in Geneva [link no longer available]. If you’re still wondering whether you wish to attend, I offer the following propositions: Regarding My “Drafting Clearer Contracts” Seminar Traditional contract language is bloated and confusing, resulting in organizations wasting vast amounts of time and money and assuming unnecessary risk. It’s overwhelmingly likely that you … Read More
In this April 2011 blog post, I said that it would be a simple matter to commoditize the drafting of M&A contracts. Since then I’ve discussed this notion with a couple of friendly M&A practitioners, and here’s what’s on my mind: The Benefits of Commoditizing Both of my interlocutors think that I’d be unlikely to get any of the major … Read More
According to this account in the ABA Journal, a third-year law student at the University of La Verne who was suspended for using an online contract in her drafting class has lost an appeal in state court. As part of the student’s drafting class, she and two other students had been asked to prepare a coffee-supply contract on behalf of … Read More
A few weeks ago I was reminded of Swissblawg, the German-language blog dealing with—you guessed it—Swiss law, when it linked to some of my stuff. Because next month I’ll be giving my series of Geneva seminars [link no longer available], my thoughts are turning to things Swiss, so I figured it would be interesting to have a chat with a … Read More
Steven Sholk, director at the Newark, New Jersey office of Gibbons and a longtime source of valuable leads, sent me the Eleventh Circuit’s recent opinion in News America Marketing In-Store, LLC v. Emmel (PDF copy here). It contains an interesting lesson for anyone who drafts confidentiality agreements. Emmel was an account director for News America. Starting in 2005, the relationship … Read More
[Updated 2:40 p.m. June 15: Time for Adams to eat some crow. With respect to the first example, I agree with Paul Comeaux’s comment: the reference to “shall not be unreasonable” echoes the reasonableness standard of the requirement for consent, so it would probably be counterproductive to eliminate the double negative. Paul, thanks for setting me straight. I’m still comfortable … Read More
The New York Times has just published this depressing article by Adam Liptak on judges citing dictionaries. (To access it, you’ll need to comply with the NYT’s subscription plan.) For the reasons cited in the article, it’s generally a bad sign when a judge cites a dictionary. In particular, the notion of judges seeking to clarify the language of statutes … Read More
If you need to express that two different arrangements apply in different circumstances, it may be that the most convenient way to express those different circumstances is by using paired sets of parentheses. Here’s an example, which I’ve included in a draft article: “Total Disability” means that due to sickness or accidental bodily injury, (1) the member is unable to perform … Read More
Last week there was plenty of discussion on the blogosphere about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Stanford University v. Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. I’ll let you read others for the gory details (among many others, go here for Bill Carleton’s take and go here for IP Draughts’ take). All that interests me is the assignment language used in the … Read More
This week and next, I’ll be heading to parts where I haven’t previously given my “Drafting Clearer Contracts” seminars. On Thursday, I’ll be in Morristown, New Jersey, for my first-every New Jersey seminar. For more information, go here. I acknowledge that it’s not a particularly exotic destination, but nerd that I am, my demands for novelty are easily satisfied. And … Read More
