Good advice when creating contracts: You can draft a contract with the aim of making it either fool-proof (by drafting it in simple terms) or rogue-proof (by drafting complex, detailed terms), but not both This comes from a speech from Max Abrahamson, whose principles of risk management in construction contracts
The UK Supreme Court have recently revisited the thorny issue of fitness for purpose (and millions of Euros depend on the answer). How can you avoid the embarrassment of publication riches afforded by a Supreme Court decision, as well as months in court (the decision was given 8 years after
Weirdly, avoiding disputes does not seem to be a key factor driving the drafting of contracts (although PPC2000 might be an exception). However, given the rising cost and time involved in resolving disputes, as well as the damage to reputations and the sustainability of a company, it should be. My
I love the idea that we could create contracts that ordinary people will read, understand and use. Verity White’s Secret of Productive Contracts is another step in the right direction. Verity’s focus is on paperless contracts to speed up the contracting process. I was both delighted and a little bemused
Showstoppers are A clause or term that could bring negotiations or your contract to a juddering halt Over the past 9 months, my newsletters have proposed a series of tips, tools and techniques to spot and solve showstoppers. What should you do? Do you work with or for your clients?
I have been reading The Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth (author of the Etymologicon) in which he explains and illustrates some of the figures of rhetoric. I was struck by how many of these are beloved of lawyers and contract writers, without their users even being aware that they
Now you are convinced of the benefits of readable contracts [read more], this post describes a process for writing those contracts with ideas from ‘The Art of Readable Writing’ (1949) by Rudolph Flesch. Effective Writing It is common ground that the [contract] in this case would win no drafting prizes
In ‘the Art of Readable Writing’ (1949) Rudolph Flesch provides advice that applies to writers of legal documents as well as blog posts, books, and other media. Here are some of his tips, with relevant legal examples, to help you write contracts that others can read, understand and use. Benefits
In a series of articles for journals and LinkedIn, I have outlined my view of contracting as a process, rather than treating contracts as stand-alone documents and their creation as drive-by events. A contract process maturity model This is a tool designed to refine this idea and future-proof your contracting
An indemnity is a promise to pay A’s losses if a trigger event occurs [read more]. But how do they pass risk on construction projects? Managing risk If someone else fails to spot your defective work, does it reduce the amount of your indemnity? No. Greenwich Millennium v Essex Services