Kenneth A. Adams, the leading authority on the building blocks of contract language, will be giving his day-long “Drafting Clearer Contracts” seminar in Zurich, Switzerland, on Wednesday, 15 April, and Thursday, 16 April 2015.
The seminars will be held at the headquarters of ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd., a global leader in power and automation technologies, at Affolternstrasse 44, 8050 Zurich. Each seminar will be limited to 14 participants.
Each seminar begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 4:00 p.m.; go here for the agenda. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Go here for more information about hotels and where the seminars are being held. If you have any other questions, please contact Ken Adams.
The registration fee is US$750 for one person. To register two or more persons from one organization, the fee for the second person is US$650 and the fee for all additional persons is US$550 per person. Payment is by PayPal; if you’d prefer to pay by bank transfer, please contact Ken Adams.
To register participants for these seminars, go here.
If you cancel at least one month before the seminar, we will refund your entire fee, minus any wire-transfer fees. We cannot accept cancellation after that.
The “Drafting Clearer Contracts” Seminar
Traditional contract language is dysfunctional. Ken Adams offers an antidote—a uniquely rigorous overview of the building blocks of contract language, based on his bestselling book A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting (American Bar Association, 3d ed. 2013). This book has become the standard reference work; for more information about it, go here. Participants will receive a copy at no extra charge.
This day-long seminar explores how to draft contracts that express contract terms clearly and effectively, thereby saving time and money, enhancing competitiveness, and reducing risk. Ken uses throughout examples drawn from actual contracts. Rather than simply lecturing, he uses questions and drafting exercises to encourage participation.
This seminar would be valuable for anyone who drafts, negotiates, reviews, or interprets contracts, whether a lawyer, contract-management professional, or paralegal; whether in-house or in private practice; whether junior or more senior; and whether a native or non-native English speaker. The recommendations in Ken’s book apply to all contracts drafted in English, whatever the governing law.
Many participants describe this seminar as the best continuing-legal-education seminar they have ever attended. Here are some testimonials from previous Geneva “Drafting Clearer Contracts” seminars:
Ken Adams’s seminar is a superb course. It absolutely is useful in international commercial business, and it’s superior to any other course I have participated in.
Troels Libak Stollberg, Legal Director, Carlsberg Supply Company AG
I highly recommend Ken’s “Drafting Clearer Contracts” seminar, whether you’re a native English speaker or learned English as a foreign language. Unlike many other courses I have attended, this seminar provided me with new and valuable knowledge that I have been able to apply in my work. As a result, my drafting skills have improved significantly.
Karina Pöckel Arendt, General Counsel, PwC Denmark
For any lawyer drafting English language contracts in an international environment, “Drafting Clearer Contracts” is a brilliant seminar. It offers simple and practical drafting solutions to promote clearer and universally understandable contracts.
Sandy Gros-Louis, Legal and Policy Advisor, International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Central Secretariat
This seminar encourages you to use straightforward language, do away with redundancies and obsolete jargon, and constantly question the adequacy of traditional usages. Non-native English speakers should find it especially valuable. Case examples and skillful presentation, coupled with Ken’s obvious passion for his subject and his sense of humor in conveying it, made the seminar truly enjoyable and persuasive.
Karlis Alksnis, Senior Counsel, SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SA
For any European lawyer who is routinely called on to review, revise, or explain U.S.-style contracts, Ken Adams’s seminar is a blessing. He shows you that English-language contracts can, and should, be drafted much more clearly than they currently are.
Arndt Welge, Corporate Counsel, VeriSign Switzerland S.A.
And for feedback from participants at Ken’s recent public seminar at University College London, go here.
About Kenneth A. Adams
Kenneth A. Adams is a consultant, writer, and speaker on contract drafting. He gives public and in-house seminars in the US and internationally, helps companies improve their contracts and their contract process, and acts as an expert witness in contract disputes.
According to The Lawyers Weekly, “In the world of contract drafting, Ken Adams is the guru.” And in a 2011 opinion, Chancellor Strine of the Delaware Court of Chancery, the foremost business-law court in the U.S., described A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting as “thought-provoking” and noted that “One can even share and in fact applaud Adams’ encouragement of clearer forms of contract drafting.”
The Legal Writing Institute awarded Ken the Golden Pen Award for 2014, “to recognize his exemplary work in contract drafting.” As part of its “Legal Rebels” project, in 2009 the ABA Journal, the flagship magazine of the American Bar Association, named Ken one of fifty leading innovators in the legal profession. He blogs at Adams on Contract Drafting; the ABA Journal included Ken’s blog in its 2014, 2013, 2012, 2010, and 2009 “Blawg 100”—its list of the hundred best law blogs.
From 2006 to 2012, he was a lecturer in law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is currently adjunct professor at Notre Dame Law School. Ken is also at the forefront of contract automation. He’s chief content advisor for ContractExpress, the leading document-assembly software.
Ken was raised in Europe and Africa, so he’s attuned to the particular challenges non-native English speakers can face when dealing with traditional contract language. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1989, Ken practiced corporate law in New York and Geneva, Switzerland, with major U.S. law firms.
Go here for a list of Ken’s mentions in the press. And go here for a list of his articles.