Contract parties are free to structure their relations as they see fit, but within limits set by statute or by the courts. That raises the question, does it make sense to state in a contract that you’re complying with a given legal requirement? After all, as a general matter courts won’t take at face value a contract statement to the … Read More
A few days ago I received a copy of Ross Guberman’s new book Point Made: How to Write Like the Nation’s Top Advocates. In it, Ross cites examples drawn from the work of fifty top advocates, and he uses them to illustrate fifty practical writing tips. Hats off to Ross Guberman, that in a field so thoroughly plowed as that of litigation … Read More
Chris Lemens, longtime reader and now member of Koncision’s confidentiality agreement editorial board, steered me to the Ninth Circuit’s recent opinion in MDY Industries v. Blizzard Entertainment. (Go here for a PDF copy.) He correctly thought I’d find it of interest because of the court’s discussion of the importance of distinguishing between conditions and obligations (or as the court refers … Read More
[Updated January 11, 2012: The price is now $39, and instead of being in PDF, the book is now available only on ProView, West’s ebook format. You can purchase it by going to this page of the Westlaw store.] [Updated 5;00 p.m., February 14, 2011: After problems last week and this morning, West LegalEdcenter’s phones are now fully manned. If … Read More
A suggestion: Don’t use the word merely in your contracts. It has a dismissive and antique quality (Merely a flesh wound!) that makes it unsuited to contract language. I’d use it only in writing that seeks to persuade. And even then, I’d be careful. Depending on the context, the fix for merely in contracts might be simply to delete it, … Read More
Koncision Contract Automation moved an important step closer to reality today, as I’ve just released a prototype for testing. The prototype is a one-way due-diligence confidentiality agreement; it will be tested by the confidentiality agreement editorial board. (Sorry, I won’t be releasing it for broader testing.) I’ll then adjust the prototype in various ways to fill out the confidentiality-agreement product … Read More
It’s good to be precise. But when the future is sufficiently uncertain that you can’t be precise, vagueness comes in handy. But there’s vague and there’s vague. Consider reasonable. Because reasonableness isn’t determined by objective criteria, determining whether a given act is reasonable requires (1) a potentially messy inquiry into the surrounding circumstances and (2) measuring the findings against one’s … Read More
I’ve been wondering about to the extent permitted by law. Let’s consider the contexts in which it might be used in a contract between Acme and WidgetCo: You can use it in language of discretion, as in To the extent permitted by law, Acme may terminate the Target Employees. If Acme terminates any Target Employees unlawfully, it will have to … Read More
A standard piece of boilerplate is a provision stating that the prevailing party in any dispute is entitled to recover costs. Such a provision might look something like this: Recovery of Expenses. In any adversarial proceedings between the parties arising out of this agreement, the prevailing party will be entitled to recover from the other party, in addition to any … Read More
I expect I could count on the fingers of one hand the times I’ve gone off-message and blogged about something other than contract drafting and the contract process. Add this post to that short list. This evening I drove east on Jericho Turnpike, a few miles from my Long Island home, to see Vickie Pynchon—author, lawyer, mediator, negotiation trainer, and … Read More
