[Updated 13 September 2016] I recently picked up a useful tip from an unlikely source—one of my own webcasts. Osgoode Professional Development has been running my “Drafting Clearer Contracts” webcasts for a Canadian audience, and I’ve been on hand at the end of each webcast to answer any questions. I joined a bit early the webcast on categories of contract … Read More
Yes sir, I’m a denizen of cyberspace! You can find me in my home office, endlessly hunched, gargoyle-like, over my laptop. My wardrobe varies from casual to too casual to indecent. My face can go for an extended period without encountering a razor. Some days, my exposure to the outside world is limited to very leisurely walks with Max, the … Read More
People who work with contracts have available to them an increasing number of information-technology tools that seek to improve your contracts or speed the contract process, or both. I recently became aware of a new entrant, Ridacto. To find out more, I had a conversation with Max Mednik, Ridacto’s founder and CEO; you’ll find it below. *** Ken: What’s your … Read More
I confess that while I was at LegalTech I did only a minimal amount of prospecting at other booths, so I didn’t get to speak with anyone about “Westlaw Drafting Assistant – Transactional.” (Including an en-dash, with spaces, in your brand? That takes some gumption.) It’s described in this item as being “the first comprehensive set of automated tools and … Read More
On Monday I had the pleasure of meeting at LegalTech Ari Kaplan, prolific observer of the legal scene. He did an impromptu guerilla interview of me that you can see here. I recommend you not watch it if any impressionable children are in the room—they might be traumatized by my snaggle-toothed leer and looming schnoz.
Today (Monday, January 30) and tomorrow I’ll be at LegalTech New York, one of legions manning the new, double-wide Business Integrity booth (324/326). If you’d like to have a chat, call or text me at (516) 318-6956, email me, direct-message me on Twitter at @KonciseD, send smoke signals … One bit of news we’ll be imparting to visitors to Business … Read More
Reader Bradley Clark, proprietor of the Texas Law Blog, let me know about the recent Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ opinion in Carey v. 24 Hour Fitness, USA. Here’s the gist of it: The district court held that the binding arbitration provision relied upon by 24 Hour Fitness is illusory because 24 Hour Fitness “retain[ed] the unilateral right to modify … Read More
Readers of this blog will be familiar with Glenn West and his articles on extra-contractual liability (click here for a copy) and on consequential damages (click here for a copy). You may recall that Glenn is one of my co-presenters in Koncision’s webcast “Drafting and Reviewing Confidentiality Agreements.” Well, The Business Lawyer has just published another Glenn article (with co-author Natalie … Read More
MSCD 12.349 notes that in contracts not only is such is used to mean “of this/that kind” (its meaning in standard English), it’s also used instead of the “pointing words” this, that, these, and those. The latter use is unhelpful, in that it goes against the basic principle that in drafting you don’t want to use one word to convey … Read More
In this recent blog post I said that usually in contracts the verb guarantee is followed by a noun rather than a that-clause. But I’m not sure I can explain the aversion to guarantees plus that-clause. I think it’s safe to say that “Acme guarantees that Widgetco will comply with its obligations under this agreement” conveys the same meaning as … Read More
