In this 2020 blog post, I say that no one takes me on in the marketplace of ideas. Nothing has changed in the years since. I’ll spare you any editorializing. Instead, I offer you … a contest! I invite you
Adams on Contract Drafting
Adams on Contract Drafting, published by Adams Contacts Consulting LLC, focuses on the nuances and precision of contract language and drafting techniques. The blog discusses interpretation issues such as ejusdem generis and defined terms, the implications of specific word choices like "reasonably agree" or "once," and the roles of entities acting on behalf of parties in agreements. It addresses practical drafting challenges and stylistic considerations to improve clarity and effectiveness in contract documents. The content is aimed at legal professionals interested in refining contract drafting skills and understanding the impact of language in legal agreements.
Latest from Adams on Contract Drafting - Page 3
Certainty Is a Ridiculous State, Particularly If the Certainty in Question Is That Mainstream Contract Language Is Righteous
By Ken Adams
This Voltaire aphorism has been doing the rounds on social media: “Doubt is not a very agreeable state, but certainty is a ridiculous one.” In addition to applying to a zillion other circumstances of modern life, it applies to *drum…
“Is Defined Herein”
By Ken Adams
The phrase is defined herein is never a good sign. First, in the extract below, is defined herein to mean is a bloated version of means. Use means instead. Second, which is defined herein to mean, with or without parentheses,…
“Intends That”
By Ken Adams
This post is a companion piece to my post on intends to (here). It looks at unhelpful uses of intends that, looks at uses that seem legitimate, and then suggests how all this change the MSCD categories-of-contract-language framework. Compliance One…
“Intends To”
By Ken Adams
25+ years into this contract-language racket, I asked myself, What’s up with intends to? I intend to answer that question in this post. Let’s start with an example of intends to: PetVivo intends to utilize any proceeds from this offering…
Dual Verb Structures: “Intends to X and Shall X”
By Ken Adams
I’ve collected a handful of dual verb structures, all of which are bogus. Go here for those blog posts. Here, after a years-long gap, is another one: intend to X and shall X. Here’s an example: The Parties intend to…
How Not to Use Enumerated Clauses
By Ken Adams
See the accompanying screenshot? It features unhelpful use of enumerated clauses. MSCD recommends using enumerated clauses when you have introductory language followed by a series of parallel clauses and those parallel clauses are long enough, or there are enough of…
“Unreasonable Efforts”
By Ken Adams
Hot on the heels of my post on material efforts, here are two contract extracts that feature the phrase unreasonable efforts. The first (immediately below) is redundantly tacked on to a reasonable efforts obligation. And generally, using a reasonable efforts…
Hey Big AI, I’m Open to Doing the Ken-Bot Thing
By Ken Adams
I think it was in 2024 that I first encountered someone asking AI to revise contract language to reflect the guidelines in A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting. (See this blog post.) Well, I’m hearing that increasingly often. Three…
“Material Efforts”!!!
By Ken Adams
Excuse me for interrupting the nonstop fixation on AI, but I feel compelled to report another front in the efforts wars. It took me 20+ years to get around to it, but on a whim I searched on EDGAR for…