Process

Rethinking Your Templates Instead of Just Redrafting Them

In this post I critique Shawn Burton’s article in the Harvard Business Review in terms of the guidance it offers on making your contracts clearer. But it also offers a useful reminder of the benefits of overhauling your templates top to bottom. Usually when I work on a template for a consulting client, I start by redrafting their version of … Read More

The Notion of “Tested” Contract Language Has Friends in High Places

The most prevalent defense of traditional contract language is that it has been “tested” by the courts. Heck, I even encountered an ardent proponent of the notion on my recent trip to Saudi Arabia. So I wasn’t surprised to encounter this comment on LinkedIn that endorses the notion. But I was intrigued that the comment was by the general counsel … Read More

You Want Contracts to Be Simple? Aim for Clarity and Efficiency Instead

Today I noticed this post on LinkedIn by Nir Golan, a legal-tech guy based in Israel. He opens his post by saying “It is time for simple legal docs.” I assume that by “docs,” he primarily means contracts. He also says this: Instead of spending millions of dollars developing tech to help us understand complicated legal docs, why not finally … Read More

Getting Away With Mediocre Templates

You’re in charge of contract templates at a big company. When it comes to creating and maintaining a company’s contract templates, often one has to make do. But that doesn’t apply to your company. You’re too big for that excuse to work. Besides, your company is fond of proclaiming how it strives for “excellence.” But in terms of what they … Read More

Recording Now Available of the “Modern Contract Drafting” Panel Discussion at UCL Faculty of Laws

I was in London last week. I rounded out a busy couple of days with a panel discussion hosted by UCL Faculty of Laws. It was entitled “Modern Contract Drafting: Improving Content, Upgrading Your Process, and Overcoming Inertia,” and it was held in the grand Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre. For the recording, go here. You can find more information about the … Read More

Does Contract Drafting Make You Sad?

Today I saw the following tweet: https://twitter.com/15lauren/status/921947032788414464 Here’s how I responded: You're doing it wrong :-) https://t.co/hKurJeRTmX — Ken Adams (@AdamsDrafting) October 22, 2017 The smiley in my tweet was to indicate that I was being facetious. Why was I being facetious? Because the process of drafting contracts, as it’s traditionally handled, would make anyone sad: You find, or are … Read More

Law Departments, Law Firms, and the Kettle Calling the Pot Black

In addition to the ACC annual meeting taking place in Washington, DC (I was on a panel), there’s the Legal Geek Conference happening in London. It came to my attention because of the following tweet: Yep…legal profession as the last vestige of the medieval guild system to survive. And #legaltech is here to change it #legalgeek pic.twitter.com/9NppMAzw6h — Joya (@joyavanhout) … Read More

“Clarity” Is More Than a Slogan: Thoughts on an Article Published by IACCM

I came across this article in the Contracting Excellence Journal, published by the International Association for Contract & Commercial Management (IACCM). It’s by Rob Waller, Helena Haapio, and Stefania Passera, and the title is Contracting Simplification: The Why and the How. I could hardly argue with the premise for the article. Traditional contract drafting doesn’t work? Check. Confusing contracts can lead … Read More

Whether You Can Change Your Contract Templates Depends on Your Attitude

I’ve found that those in charge of contract templates at companies are experts at finding obstacles to changing their templates. I’ve heard all sorts of reasons why change is hard: “We don’t have time.” “The customers won’t like it.” “We’re all so used to the current templates.” “You don’t understand the business constraints.” And so on. Even when they opt … Read More

Who Is Best Placed to Make Decisions About a Company’s Contracts?

Who is best placed to make decisions about a company’s contracts? I don’t know; I guess it depends. How about the general counsel? After all, they should have the broadest perspective, and they should be able to think long-term: How much longer does each deal take because our contracts are wordy and confusing? What’s the risk of our exposing ourselves … Read More