Drafting Business Contracts: Advice From Litigators to Prevent Ambiguity

This CLE course will provide guidance and best practices to transactional attorneys from a litigation perspective that assists contract attorneys in spotting the common traps, critical clauses, and most significant landmines that lead to defense or offense issues when presented in court. The expert panel will introduce tips for addressing these problem areas and creating the best defense or offense for a client's contracts.

The divide between transactional attorneys that negotiate and draft agreements and litigation counsel that seeks to enforce those same contracts (or defend against improper enforcement) has always been a false narrative. Thoughtful practitioners drafting an agreement can and should consider the elements of prosecuting or defending a claim when drafting each clause.

With a willingness to keep an open mind and a chance to take a different view on contract drafting, our expert panel of litigators will provide tips and recommendations for contract drafting for the other side of the legal house. Counselors can prepare to create better arrangements by understanding that limited and straightforward language may best suit a particular purpose and that the client itself may provide the best description of what the agreement seeks to achieve.

Litigators can also advise on issues that may cost clients money when agreements move to the courts. Transactional counsel can limit the potential scope by knowing how to advise clients and amend clauses related to force majeure, forum selection, choice of law, arbitration, waiver of jury trials, fee-shifting, and indemnification and limitation of liability of litigation.

Listen as our authoritative panel provides practical tips and real life examples of simplifying contracts to meet clients' needs while providing a solid foundation to litigate upon if and when the need arises.