Publication of Chris Anderson’s book Free: The Future of a Radical Price has prompted a lot of online discussion about the extent to which a thriving business can be built on giving stuff away for free. At My Shingle, Carolyn Elefant has offered some thoughts on “Biglaw Free and the Solo.” Here’s the part that grabbed my attention: Lawyers need to … Read More
If you’ve watched my webcasts and are contemplating attending one of my live seminars, you might want to read the following: The seminars cover the same topics as the webcasts—that’s why the seminars and webcasts will, by 2010, share the same title, “Drafting Clearer Contracts.” Furthermore, currently the seminars and webcasts use the same materials, as it would have taken … Read More
I’ve recently been emphasizing, in print and in speaking engagements, that for any organization that wants to gain control of the drafting process, a necessary first step is to adopt a house style for contract drafting. (I know of three law firms that are currently working on adopting a house style.) What should such a house style look like, and how should … Read More
Today I noticed that someone said on Twitter that they were “drafting up a screenplay contract for legal revisions” (emphasis added). That sent me to Google, where the search [“drafting up” contract] resulted in 4,090 hits . The search [“draft up” contract] resulted in 12,900 hits, but they included a greater proportion of irrelevant results, such as “You screwed this draft up.” But … Read More
Webcast 7 in my Drafting Clearer Contracts series of webcasts will be launched with a live session starting 1:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 22. (“Live” means that panel members will be on hand to reply, by email, to questions submitted in writing during the session.) Thereafter webcast 7 will be available on demand. Unlike the other webcasts in the … Read More
I can’t recall ever having used the adjective contractual, meaning “of, pertaining to, or secured by a contract.” I find it an awkward mouthful. As a general matter, I’d rather simply use contract, as in contract terms and contract obligations rather than contractual terms and contractual obligations. And rather than referring to contractual instruments or contractual arrangements, why not just … Read More
The current issue of The Lawyers Weekly, the Canadian periodical, contains a nifty article on how to make contract drafting a commodity. Yours truly is featured prominently. Click here to go to a pdf copy. Any observations?
Excuse me if I mention another upcoming webcast, the sixth in my Drafting Clearer Contracts series. It runs for the first time as a “live” webcast on Tuesday, July 14, starting at 1:00 p.m. EDT. Thereafter it will be available on demand. This webcast consists of my conversation with Bryn Vaaler, longtime partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP and their … Read More
The case of Citgo Petroleum Corp. v. Ranger Enters., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58676 (Conn. Mar. 17, 2009), revolved around whether, as used in the context of a separation agreement, the word salary included bonuses. A careful drafter would want to avoid any confusion on that score. By the way, I don’t intend to devote a post to each instance … Read More
A court opinion doesn’t have to come from an exalted court in order for it to raise an issue of interest to drafters generally. A case in point is Managment Strategies v. Hous. Auth. of New Haven, 2009 Conn. Super. LEXIS 1550 (Conn. Super. Ct. June 2, 2009). In that case, the following release language was at issue: Upon completion … Read More
