I cast my lot with Delta Airlines in 2007. I much preferred their livery to that of American Airlines—we sometimes make for the slightest of reasons what turn out to be nontrivial decisions. A couple of years ago I became a Delta Million Miler. And in 2020 I’ll add another year to my streak of being a Diamond Medallion member—the … Read More
Warning! This post is for seminar aficionados only. It contains minimal cultural insight and nothing on contract drafting. Instead, this post celebrates my 14 November 2019 “Drafting Clearer Contracts” seminar in Seoul. Out of the hundreds of seminars I’ve done over the past 14 years, it was the spiffiest. How so? For one thing, it was held at the Grand … Read More
This is where I’ll be doing public “Drafting Clearer Contracts” seminars in the United States in 2020: Chicago, March 12, 2020 Boston, May 7, 2020 New York, September 24, 2020 San Francisco, Dec 3, 2020 I’ll put registration information up once it’s available. Four locations is the fewest since, well, forever. I’m disappointed that Texas is again missing, and Seattle … Read More
At noon Eastern time on Monday, 9 December 2019, I’m doing a free webinar for Law Insider on “Contract Review Strategies and Best Practices.” Everyone is welcome. Go here to register. We’ll be discussing what’s involved in reviewing contracts to avoid confusion and to make sure the deal addresses your interests. As part of that, we’ll consider how automation in … Read More
[Updated 8 Dec. 2021: Ignore this post! I got it wrong! I misunderstood the function of not be entitled to. It would make sense to delete this post, but instead I’ll keep it here as a monument to my frailty. Or something.] Let’s talk dual verb structures. I’ve written about them previously. For example, see this 2007 post about be … Read More
Here are two autonomous definitions: “Salvage” is cargo which has been damaged, alleged to be damaged, refused or undeliverable that has been sold, disposed of or turned over to a competent salvage agent for selling after proper On–Hand notice has been given. “Confidential Information” is any information that … Both use is as the definitional verb. That’s unorthodox. That’s … Read More
Regular readers will know that I’m an advisor to LegalSifter, the artificial-intelligence-plus-expertise company that helps with review of the other side’s draft. In that capacity, I help decide what issues to look for, and I figure out how those issues are expressed in contracts. In doing that work, I get to explore systematically all sorts of topics. Recently, one such … Read More
[Updated 1 March 2020: On 4 February 2020 the insurer filed its brief. Go here for a copy. Here’s what they said about this post: With the law and rules of grammar against them, the insureds scour the Internet in search of support for their efforts to transform a stylistic choice into an ambiguity. The insureds settle on a blogger—one … Read More
Check out this item on the blog Above the Law. It’s by Olga Mack, and it discusses my work. It won’t come as news to regular readers, but it summarizes what’s on my mind at the moment.
While poking through the wreckage of Bryan Garner’s new book on contract drafting (see my review here), I found only one idea worth considering further, namely his recommendation regarding use of the section mark (§). Here’s what he says: We’re after efficient communication and error prevention. Thirty-three percent is slower, more cumbersome, and more prone to error than 33%. And … Read More
