I’m at Tremblant, the Quebec ski resort, at the invitation of the Canadian Healthcare Licensing Association. I just finished giving a short version of my “Language and Layout” seminar to sixty business-development people from Canadian pharmaceuticals companies. The participants included some lawyers, but for the most part this was a group of businesspeople. And although about a third of those … Read More
Some people regard the contract process as an adversarial one. I encountered a great example of that recently: someone I’ve been corresponding with used the word “opponent” in referring to a lawyer representing the other side in a deal. When the other side is the enemy, you’re free to indulge in “creative ambiguity” and other shenanigans. That’s a long way … Read More
Here’s a case of modest interest to you fans of and and or: County of Du Page v. Ill. Labor Rels. Bd., No. 105395, 2008 Ill. LEXIS 1835 (Ill. Dec. 18, 2008). It involves statutory construction, but the principles at issue apply equally to contracts. The Illinois Labor Relations Board certified a chapter of the Metropolitan Alliance of Police (the … Read More
While at LegalTech on Tuesday, I picked up a free copy of the New York Law Journal, just for the sheer novelty of reading it in newsprint. One item that caught my eye was an account of WebMD LLC v. RDA International Inc., No. 102830/08, 2009 WL 175036 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Jan. 6, 2009). (Click here to go to the … Read More
Reader Melvin told me about this item on Lexology by Jeffrey P. Drummond of Jackson Walker LLP. It’s about how the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the lower court in a qui tam action brought by a doctor against a hospital under the False Claims Act. At issue was the relationship between the hospital and an anesthesiology group that … Read More
Included in the extensive comments to my recent post “Language Requiring Deletion of Electronic Files” is a comment by Michael Fleming to the effect that it’s appropriate to impose on a party receiving confidential information an obligation to destroy all electronic versions of that information, regardless of whether that’s in fact possible to do. Michael suggested that whether the party … Read More
I’ll soon be resuming my itinerant ways. In particular, my first public seminar of 2009 is on February 24, in Houston. And 2009 just got busier, as I’ve added some new “Contract Drafting—Language and Layout” public seminar dates, namely U.S. dates for the second half of 2009 and new Toronto and Vancouver dates. Click here for the details. Remember that … Read More
To accomplish any given drafting goal, one usage will be more efficient than the others. Once you accept that notion, it follows that it would make sense for drafters to join other writers in using a manual of style. That’s why I wrote A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting. Use of a manual of style in a given population … Read More
Today Rees Morrision posted this item on his blog. It makes the point that groups are good for sharing information but not so good for making decisions. It also quotes an academic as saying that “Groups are not helpful in getting people to make better decisions, but they’re helpful in getting people to feel more confident about the decisions they’ve … Read More
This post earlier this month considered how to ensure that people on the other side of a deal don’t balk at MSCD-compliant language. But what if it’s your outside counsel that’s not playing along? In this post from last weekend I said that company law departments are best positioned to drive change, in that they’re the ones who pay the … Read More
