In this March 2022 post, I examined an article by Eric Martinez, Frank Mollica, and Edward Gibson about their study showing that contracts are poorly written. I said that this article tells us nothing we don’t already know. The same authors are now back with another article, this one entitled Even Lawyers Do Not Like Legalese (here), published in the … Read More
This morning, while I was banging out an email, Grammarly saw fit to offer the following suggestion: Hmm. Interesting. Should we say data-sharing agreement, not data sharing agreement? Some background is in order. This is from Garner’s Modern English Usage 827 (5th ed.): When a phrase functions as an adjective preceding the noun it modifies … the phrase should ordinarily … Read More
Yes, in recent weeks you’ve heard plenty about my Drafting Clearer Contracts training, but feedback suggests a summary would be helpful. So here you go! If you think of ways I could improve it, please let me know. For the “More information” URLs in the chart, click here for presentations and here for Masterclass.
Series of Drafting Clearer Contracts: Masterclass continue to sell out, and the feedback continues to be positive, so why stop now! I’ve just made available three new series of Masterclass: The goal of Masterclass is to help you become a better-informed consumer of contract language. It’s the antidote to the copy-and-paste machine and its doppelganger, generative AI. For more information … Read More
A recent post on LinkedIn (here) attracted more attention than usual (by my modest standards), so here’s a screenshot: The blog post mentioned is here.
In this 2018 blog post, I made available what I called the “quick reference” chart outlining my “categories of contract language” framework. Yesterday someone asked me whether that was still the most current version available for download, so I thought it appropriate to make available the version from the fifth edition of A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting. So … Read More
As a change from my default option—the written word—here’s a video of me explaining, briefly, what my Drafting Clearer Contracts training is about. The next series of Masterclass starts on 8 June 2023; the first instance of Presentation is on 27 and 28 June 2023. I hope to see some of you at one or the other! For more information, … Read More
I’ve previously mentioned, in this blog post and in this LinkedIn post, my “blue-sky bolt”—a design that has morphed into an enamel pin. Well, soon I’ll start sending enamel pins as a thank-you gesture to those who do something to further the cause or help me out in some manner. For that, I’ll need a card, so here it is … Read More
Occasionally I see someone invoke Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style in connection with drafting contracts. Two things come to mind, one specific, the other general. First, Strunk & White doesn’t have an unblemished reputation. Linguist Geoff Pullum did a number on it in this article, in which he says this: I believe the success of Elements to be … Read More
In this blog post I reminded myself and you all that A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting has a life independent from me: just as you don’t need me to read MSCD, you also don’t need me to teach MSCD. In that spirit, would you be interested in presenting my course Drafting Clearer Contracts: Masterclass to a group from … Read More
