A few days ago, in a comment to my post on justified text, reader j-lon had, in part, this to say: Actually, a lot of stuff in your book is [a tough sell to people sometimes]. Much of it makes sense to me, and I agree with it. But I also spent a number of years teaching legal writing, so … Read More
Late last year I created the “Software” page of this site to describe how the Numbering Assistant—a popular paragraph-numbering utility offered by Payne Consulting Group—has added to its preloaded enumeration schemes the “articles” and “no articles” versions of the enumeration scheme recommended in MSCD. The Numbering Assistant offers, at a nominal price, a painless way for any drafter, and any … Read More
In most printed text that I read, whether in books, magazines, or newspapers, the margins are justified. Here’s how James Felici, The Complete Manual of Typography (2003), defines “justified margins”: justified margins A text alignment in which the type in each line of a column completely fills the measure. This creates straight, (usually) vertical margins on both left and right. … Read More
In a previous post on this blog, I discussed the distinction between conditions and obligations. I said that if you express conditions using language associated with obligations, you shouldn’t be surprised if a court concludes that what you had thought was a condition is in fact an obligation. A recent case, Cumberland Farms, Inc. v. Rian Realty, Ltd., 2007 U.S. … Read More
Because so much litigation has its roots in deficient drafting, I keep half an eye on new case law, and I can be counted on to leap on anything that has a bearing one of my pet subjects. But I suspect that most cases that arise out of poorly drafted contracts don’t involve hot-button drafting issues such as the meaning … Read More
Given the attention I’ve been paying lately to my public seminars, my redrafting department—me—has asked for some airtime. Whoever you are, it’s a very safe bet that the contracts you work with could do with some significant help. As one of my services, I redraft clients’ contracts. By eliminating the broad range of problems that afflict contract prose, I make … Read More
I have more information regarding the “Contract Drafting—Language and Layout” seminars that I’ll be giving this summer with West Legalworks. For one thing, here’s the brochure. And the “Public Seminars” page now contains links to the relevant pages of West Legalworks’ website.
One of the pleasures of contract drafting is that the parties are as a general matter left to their own devices. Of course you have to structure any given transaction in a way that takes into account legal, tax, regulatory, or other considerations, but as a rule how you do that is up to you. But sometimes outsiders are going … Read More
Last week a reader asked me whether I knew of any cases discussing the distinction between saying “to the Seller’s knowledge” and saying “to the best of the Seller’s knowledge.” It’s commonplace for drafters to use the phrase the best of when referring to someone’s knowledge. For example, in the past month 98 contracts filed on the SEC’s EDGAR database … Read More
Today’s issue of the New York Law Journal contains, in the “GC New York” section, my second bi-monthly “Contract Drafting” column. Entitled “Sending Contracts Offshore,” this column explores the possible benefits to U.S. companies of having their contract-related work performed outside the U.S. It also discusses factors to bear in mind when deciding whether to have such work performed by … Read More
