Blog

Making a Test Part of “Masterclass”? For Companies, Sure, But Probably Not for the Public Version of the Course

In this blog post I display the digital badge I’m implementing for my course Drafting Clearer Contracts: Masterclass. I explain that the digital credentials aren’t intended to indicate a level of competence. Instead, they’re intended to start a conversation. The course already includes quizzes; the issue under discussion now is whether to add to self-assessment the kind of assessment that … Read More

Document Assembly Is Easy, Contracts Are Hard

The image above is one of 12 panels from this tweet by Jordan Furlong containing his graphic entitled “Types of Future of Law Paper.” It’s a riff on this xkcd webcomic entitled “Types of Scientific Paper.” Document Assembly Has Underperformed Obviously, for that one panel to work, it has to be grounded in reality. Document assembly is a straightforward technology … Read More

Rebranding: New PowerPoint

Above is a sample cover slide from my new PowerPoint deck. At the bottom of this post is the cover slide I’ve been using for years, so yes, the new design is a big upgrade. The photo in the cover slide is customizable, so I contemplate changing it for different clients and different kinds of presentations. By itself, a new … Read More

Rebranding: Digital Credentials

I’ve decided to offer digital credentials—a certificate and a badge—to participants in my course Drafting Clearer Contracts: Masterclass. You’ll be able to click on the certificate to confirm that it’s authentic and get details of the course. And you’ll be able to upload the clickable badge on LinkedIn and elsewhere. The digital badge is in the image above; it was … Read More

Rebranding: New Website

Since 2013, I’ve had only one web designer—Selene Bowlby of iDesign Studios. Working with her has been gratifyingly straightforward: I tell her what I want and she builds it, using her technical and design skills to give specific form to my very general wishes. I’ve always been pleased with the results. And in between sporadic rebuilds, she looks after things. … Read More

Rebranding: New Logo

The engine driving my rebranding (described in this blog post) was my new logo, by my new graphic designer, Gothard. Yes, that’s it, above. (I also have four Drafting Clearer Contracts variants.) I think it’s great. I got it through a contest I ran using 99designs. I chose to do a “Platinum” contest, the most expensive level—I had one shot, … Read More

Hey, I’ve Rebranded!

Take a look around—I’ve rebranded! “Rebranding” sounds vacuously corporate, but what the heck—I’m going with it. I’ve overhauled my look enough that the sum is modestly greater than the parts, so “rebranding” it is. These posts describe the elements: Rebranding: New Logo Rebranding: New Website Rebranding: Digital Credentials Rebranding: New PowerPoint I like to think that because the design face … Read More

The New York Appellate Division Finds Ambiguity Where There Is None

Thanks to a tip from @NY_Contracts, here’s yet another story of a court failing at textual interpretation. The opinion in question is Dan’s Hauling & Demo, Inc. v. GMMM Hickling, LLC, No. 1068, 2021 WL 1711512 (N.Y. App. Div. 30 Apr. 2021) (PDF here). It’s from the Fourth Department of the Appellate Division, New York State’s intermediate appellate court. The plaintiff … Read More

In the Delaware Chancery Court, a Cautionary Tale on Consent-to-Jurisdiction Provisions and the Perils of Redundancy

In NB Alternatives Advisers LLC v. VAT Master Corp. (Del. Ch. 22 Apr. 2021) (PDF here), the defendants wanted to litigate a matter in Wisconsin; the plaintiffs sought a permanent injunction. On an expedited basis, the Delaware Court of Chancery granted the injunction. Hall-of-fame tipster Glenn West then told me about it, so on an expedited basis, here we go. … Read More