Thanks to Glenn West, I learned about the recent opinion of the Texas Supreme Court in Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Co. LP v. Texas Crude Energy, LLC (PDF here). The fight was over a technical oil-and-gas issue that’s way above my pay grade. Both parties claimed the language was unambiguous and each offered a vastly different interpretation. The court … Read More
I’m pleased that on Monday, 4 November 2019, I’ll once more be doing a “Drafting Clearer Contracts” seminar in London, hosted by UCL Faculty of Laws. For more information, go here. And go here for feedback from participants at the 2014 seminar. While I’m at it, here’s a grab-bag of stuff with an English nexus: Go here for the Law Society … Read More
After almost a year working on the factory floor at LegalSifter, it has become clear to me that contract review and contract drafting are closely allied functions. … This post is on LegalSifter’s blog. To read the rest of it, go here.
Via Dave Hoffman (aka @HoffProf) I learned of this post by Matthew Stiegler (aka @CA3blog). It involves and and or, so you know it’s headache-inducing. I won’t attempt to set the scene. Instead, let’s cut to the chase. Matthew’s post involves the Third Circuit’s recent decision in Sköld v. Galderma Labs. Here’s the court quoting the contract provision at issue: The … Read More
Last April I told you in this post that I had become an advisor to LegalSifter, the company that’s developing software to help you review the other side’s draft contracts. What do I have to announce now? Well, nothing in particular. I’m simply continuing to do my part. In addition to doing consulting work, and roaming around giving seminars, and hacking away at … Read More
Go here for my podcast with Sarah Carlin, Director of Recruiting at Hire Counsel, a national leader in legal staffing. Like the blurb says: Ken and Sarah discuss how Hire Counsel helps companies with their contracts process, and what the work of a contract manager consists of on a daily basis. They discuss the backgrounds that make for a successful … Read More
Generally it’s a bad sign when one talks about dreams, but bear with me. This morning I woke with a start. In my sleep I had been running through verbs in my mind. When it was the turn of abstain, what’s when my eyes popped open. Of course! Why hadn’t I thought of abstain before! I reached for my laptop. … Read More
A few days ago I announced that in May I would be doing “Drafting Clearer Contracts” seminars in Geneva, Switzerland. Well, I’ve just cancelled them. One reason was that I hadn’t given people enough notice. But there’s a bigger issue. Over the last few years, my Geneva seminars have been the only seminars I do without a partner to provide … Read More
I’m still in the weeds on efforts, so please indulge me. Consider the following (emphasis added): In UBH (Mechanical Services) Ltd v. Standard Life Assurance Co. T.L.R., 13 Nov. 1986 (Q.B.)., the court said that “the phrase ‘all reasonable endeavours’ is probably a middle position somewhere between the other two, implying something more than reasonable endeavours but less than best … Read More
A tipster told me about this article in the Economist. It concerns arbitration of a dispute over credit-default-swaps documentation. I’m not clear on the details, but here’s the gist of it: A contract used the defined term “Obligations” to mean an entity’s bonds. But in one crucial provision, the contract used the word “obligations,” without the initial capital. The arbitration … Read More
