Category: General
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Template Drafting vs Transactional Drafting (Part 2)
This is the second of two posts that compare template drafting with transactional drafting. If you missed Part 1, by template drafting, I mean the process of creating the template contracts and standard terms that are used as the starting point for most transactions. Transactional drafting, on the other hand, describes the process of adapting…
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Template Drafting vs Transactional Drafting (Part 1)
These days, my job involves helping clients simplify, improve and digitise their standard contracts. In other words, I help them develop better contract templates to use as the starting point for common transactions. (You can read more about what I do – and why I do it – here.) Naturally then, I spend a lot…
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L2L Contracts: Thinking beyond B2C and B2B
It’s very common to categorise contracts as either B2C (business-to-consumer) or B2B (business-to-business). I’d like to introduce another category: L2L contracts, or lawyer-to-lawyer contracts. I’ll admit straight away that I’m not using ‘L2L’ in quite the same way as ‘B2C’ or ‘B2B’ are typically used – but there are strong parallels (as I’ll come to).…
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Contracts: The Case for Kindness
Let me start by saying this post is targeted partly – if not wholly – at myself. When God was dishing out quotas of snark and cynicism, I received a generous dose. And it’s healthy to keep that in check, so please forgive a little indulgence on the topic of contracts and kindness. When I…
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Contract Improvement Personas: the Drafters, Designers, Digitisers and Doers
Lots of people are working hard to improve the way contracts are created, agreed and managed. It’s a fascinating hive of activity. Now, if you’ve worked with me you’ll know I like nothing more than to come up with a model or diagram to explain things around me. It’s my way of bringing order to…
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Lawyers: Creative Social Architects?
My children occasionally ask: “What do lawyers do?”. I always struggle to find an answer. Not because there isn’t one; because there are many. Whenever my mind wanders towards questions like this, I’m reminded of one of my favourite quotes: “The lawyer is constantly engaged in fitting into some workable design the relations of men…
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Contracts: Starting With Why
I was recently reminded of the popular Ted Talk by Simon Sinek, called Starting With Why. It’s worth a watch. Sinek describes how, very often, organisations fall into the trap of focusing on what they do and how they do it but forget to ask the question ‘Why?’. As a commercial lawyer, I spend a lot…