Drafting Contracts

First Level Modules 1 – 3: Clear contracts at an overall level. MODULE 1 A contract should not leave any ‘what if’ questions up in the air. If it does, the drafter has left room for disputes. Since as lawyers we are not clairvoyants, how can we guard against missing something important? Module length: 40 mins  […]

First Level Modules 1 – 3: Clear contracts at an overall level. MODULE 2 This module looks at how best to make it clear how the contract fits together. What is the best way to make it clear what provisions prevail over others? Do you need to record the commercial background? Module length: 24 mins  |  Readings: 11 […]

First Level Modules 1 – 3: Clear contracts at an overall level. MODULE 3 A contract needs to be easy to navigate. What should come first, and what relegated to a schedule? This module also covers particular issues arising when basing contracts on industry standard forms or other precedents, and drafting multi-agreement deals. Module length: 26 mins  […]

Second Level Modules 4 – 5: Clear clauses and paragraphs. MODULE 4 At this level, the drafter needs to draft sympathetically for a reader. This module looks at what readers need to be able to readily absorb contract meaning, and what frustrates them. It also looks at the benefits and risks of relying on definitions. disputes. Since […]

Second Level Modules 4 – 5: Clear clauses and paragraphs. MODULE 5 Not only does each clause need to mesh together with other clauses, but it needs itself to be internally coherent. This module discusses how to order clauses ( including conditional clauses) to help the reader, and how to amend existing drafting without causing […]

Third Level Modules 6 – 9: Clear language at a detailed level. MODULE 6 This module looks at the way the English language lays ambiguity traps for drafters who are not alert to modes of expression that lead to recurrent patterns of dispute. Module length: 23 mins  |  Readings: 8 MODULE 1  MODULE 2 MODULE 3 MODULE 4 […]

Third Level Modules 6 – 9: Clear language at a detailed level. MODULE 7 Contract disputes can arise from a single word. This module discusses how far you should rely on language familiar from other contracts, and the contrasting risks of choosing a word that is too vague or too emphatic. Module length: 25 mins  |  Readings: 9 […]

Third Level Modules 6 – 9: Clear language at a detailed level. MODULE 8 Small things matter: this module discusses the ambiguities that surround even words as simple as ‘and’ and ‘or’, especially in a negative context. Module length: 17 mins  |  Readings: 4 MODULE 1  MODULE 2 MODULE 3 MODULE 4 MODULE 5  MODULE 6 MODULE 7 […]

Third Level Modules 6 – 9: Clear language at a detailed level. MODULE 9 Lawyers often use lists to try and be sure a concept is comprehensively dealt with: this module looks at how best to be sure you have covered everything you need to. It also looks at the pitfalls that arise if not enough […]