Book Description

"Contract Drafting Introduction to Transactional Practice" is a brief but comprehensive guide to everything you need to know about drafting contracts from scratch and revising complex form agreements. This is an excellent supplement for a class on transactional drafting. It is written in a concise and unpretentious style, and is more comprehensive than most textbooks on this subject, covering the following topics: (1) Getting up to Speed (familiarizing yourself with the client's business and interviewing the client to flush out all the terms of the deal); (2) Drafting Covenants, Rights, Prohibitions and Descriptions (using "will" or "shall" and "may"); (3) Avoiding Potentially Ambiguous Words and Phrases (time periods, numbers, misplaced modifiers, indefinite pronoun references); (4) Organizing a Contract's Beginning Sections (title, exordium, background, definitions, reps and warranties); (5) Organizing Core Covenants and Other Deal Provisions (core covenant, duration, additional provisions); (6) Organizing a Contract's Ending Sections (termination, cancellation, boilerplate, testimonium, signature blocks); (7) Brainstorming (additional provisions to better protect the client, indemnity, insurance, waivers, liability limits); (8) Drafting with Precedent Language and Documents (putting a document together from sample provisions); (9) Tailoring Form Documents (revising a complex form document); (10) Revising the Other Side's Completed Documents (qualifying language, limiting scope, inserting conditions); (11) Negotiating Contract Provisions (preparation, advancing the client's interests without killing the deal); (12) Closing the Deal (closing agendas, verifying signature authority); (13) Dealing with Ethical Issues in Contract Drafting (revisions to signed documents, unenforceable provisions, notarization after the fact); (14) Drafting a Contract Amendment (sample form for amendments); (15) Using Computers to Draft Contracts (document assembly programs, on line execution, artificial intelligence) This book is also a great introduction to transactional practice for any attorney who is new to this area of law. If your practice involves contract drafting and you didn't get the training you need from law school, this book will help you learn what you need to know as quickly as possible. Numerous examples of contract provisions, checklists, exercises and sample documents are included to help you start building your portfolio of provisions and documents.