Adamsdrafting

This blawg is part of the author's crusade to rid mainstream contract writing of the redundancies, archaisms and misconceptions that often lead to costly lawsuits over minor drafting glitches. Posts will cover the use of certain phrases in treatises, link to articles and blog posts and add related analysis, and keep readers updated on the author's projects and speaking engagements.

Author: Ken Adams is a consultant to companies seeking to improve their contract drafting, teaches a contract drafting class at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and is the author of A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting, published by the ABA.

Blawg Related Categories: Contracts • University of Pennsylvania • Consultant • Law Professor • Legal Research and Writing

Recent Posts from AdamsDrafting

“Remit” and “Remittance”
The words remit and remittance occur relatively often in contracts. Black’s Law Dictionary gives as one definition of remit “To transmit (as money) (upon receiving the demand letter, she promptly remitted the amount due).” And…
Drafting Without Punctuation?
A participant at my recent seminar in Ottawa reminded me of something I’d never paid much attention to—the idea that one should draft without punctuation. It’s a hoary old notion that still lingers in Commonwealth…
“Hereby Grants” or “Hereby Grants To”?
Warning: grammar nerdiness ahead. In license agreements I see the following two alternative constructions: Acme hereby grants Widgetco a license to … Acme hereby grants to Widgetco a license to … The second alternative represents the…
“To Not” or “Not To”?
Sometimes one encounters in contract drafting issues that are of broader relevance. In MSCD, discussion of such issues is grouped in chapter 16, and on this blog they’re grouped in the category “Drafting as Writing.”…
“Addendum”
Someone recently asked me what I thought of using the word addendum in connection with contracts. I’m not crazy about it. Black’s Law Dictionary defines addendum as “Something to be added, esp. to a document;…
Seeking Input on Creating a Searchable Digital Archive of Existing Contracts
I’m occasionally asked about how one might go about creating a searchable digital archive of a medium-sized company’s hard-copy contracts. It’s nothing I’ve had any direct experience with. If you have any suggestions, I’d be…
Wall Street Journal Article and Video on “Throughout the Universe”
The Wall Street Journal has published this article on use of the phrase throughout the universe in contracts. And below is the accompanying video. I’m featured fleetingly in both. Most of my interview ended up…
“Irrevocably”
Recently the word irrevocably attracted my attention. It means “unalterably.” And more often than not it’s redundant. That’s because generally when a contract party takes an action, it follows that absent anything in the contract…
Some Webcast Feedback
From the perspective of the presenter, one key way in which webcasts differ from live seminars is that feedback is hard to come by: since launching my series of webcasts with West LegalEdcenter, I’ve heard…
The Problem with Law-Firm Template Initiatives
The history of law-firm template-contract initiatives is not a happy one. Various factors conspire against a law firm successfully implementing and maintaining rigorous templates: Law firms are generally asked to draft a broad range of…