PRINCIPLES AND PITFALLS OF CONTRACT DRAFTING
We are not longer accepting registrations for this program.
Sponsored with the Social Law Library
Please Note: This course has already
been held.
Date: Thursday, September 29, & 29 2005
Location: Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont St., Boston, MA
Time: 04:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Faculty
Schedule/Agenda
Registration Information
Contract drafting is a basic skill requirement for all transactional lawyers. Unfortunately, experience may not be the best teacher, and often attorneys’ reliance on form books or templates passed down from older lawyers merely serves to perpetuate bad habits and poor draftsmanship.
This two part course will force participants to reexamine their drafting skills and to be more conscious of how to best implement and guarantee client expectations in the creation and review of contracts. Emphasis will be on practical techniques and the “dos and don’ts” of contract drafting.
Participants will be assigned to work with others in the period between the course sessions to negotiate the contract terms of a simulated transaction, which will then be analyzed and debriefed in detail in the final course session.
Who Should Attend:
This course is especially recommended for attorneys new to practice, although it can be a valuable skill refresher for more experienced lawyers who supervise other attorneys or who may not have examined and evaluated their own drafting skills and, thus, may have missed the opportunity to improve them.
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Richard G. Mintz
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Is a member of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo P.C. in the firm’s Boston office and practices in the Business Law, Trusts and Estates, and Real Estate Sections. In the real estate area, Richard handles a wide assortment of matters ranging from overall policymaking for his developer clients with respect to retail, office, and residential complexes, through day-to-day office building ownership and management, to structuring, negotiating, and implementing real estate acquisitions, dispositions, syndications, joint ventures, tax-free exchanges, etc. Richard is also extensively involved in
lease negotiations on behalf of both landlords and tenants and in dealing with valuation issues for purposes of real estate taxes, estate taxes, financing, acquisitions, and dispositions. He has developed and periodically presented a seminar on “Negotiation” as part of the firm’s on-going in-house legal education program. He attended Harvard
College (1943), and received his LL.B., cum laude, from Harvard Law School (1948).
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Richard Perlmutter
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Is a professor of law at Suffolk University Law School in Boston where he teaches courses in Contracts, Contract Drafting, Lawyer as Negotiator and Sports Law. He has also been a faculty member and director of Suffolk’s Institute in International Law, University of Lund Faculty of Law, Lund, Sweden and has presented seminars on negotiation skills for lawyers, medical administrators and other groups and on legal ethics and professional standards. Professor Perlmutter also serves as a legal and business consultant to several business organizations and has represented a number of primarily start-up restaurants and food service related businesses in the Greater Boston area. He has also
served as a court appointed receiver of a restaurant chain and banquet hall business and periodically consults with other attorneys on appellate matters relating to contracts and business matters. He is a member of the MBA, ABA and the Sports Lawyers Association.
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| S C H E D U L E / A G E N D A |
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Day One- Drafting Fundamentals
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| 4:00 |
Introduction |
- The Fundamental Elements of Good Contract Drafting
- Drafting Goals and Rules
- Use of Forms
- Plain Language Contracts
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| 4:30 |
Common Drafting Pitfalls |
- Ambiguity
- “Defensive” Contract Drafting
- Avoiding Verbosity: The Path to Brevity
- Avoiding Lawyerisms: What Is “Behoof”?
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| 5:15 |
Drafting Precise Transactional Documents |
- Use of the Active Voice
- “Shall”, “Will” and “Must”: Authority Words
- General Outline and Structure of Contracts
- Boilerplate
- Use of Defined Terms
- Cross References
- Grammar and Punctuation Concerns
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| 5:50 |
Assignments for Day Two |
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DAY TWO-DRAFTING EXERCISES AND REVIEWS
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| 4:00 |
Structuring Complex Clauses |
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| 4:40 |
Debriefing of Take Home Assignment |
| Reviewing of Drafts
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| 5:15 |
Specific Contract Clauses |
- Recitals
- Covenants, Representations, Warranties and Guaranties
- Events of Default Clauses
- Remedies and Liquidated Damages
- Arbitration and ADR Clauses
- Non-competition Agreements
Course Book
A copy of the Elements of Contract Drafting by George Kuney is included in the course tuition.
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| Date: |
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Thursday, September 29, & 29 2005 |
| Tuition: |
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Tuition is $159; $109 for Suffolk alumni, attorneys admitted to the Bar after 2002 and members of the Social Law Library.
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| Walk-Ins: |
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Space is limited. Registrations at the door are welcome, but please register in advance to reserve a seat and your written course materials or call to confirm space availability.
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| Refunds: |
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Written requests for cancellations received via fax or email 24 hours prior to the program will be granted a refund, minus a $15 charge. If you cannot attend, you can send a substitute. Otherwise you will receive the written course materials.
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| Location: |
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Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont St., Boston, MA
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| Credit: |
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Approved for CLE Credit in RI, NH, VT, ME.
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Special
Needs: |
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If you have special needs addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act, please notify us as soon as possible.
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Directions to the Law School.
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Library 
