About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

2009 Transactions: Tenn. J. Bus. L. 253 (2009)
Transactional Skills Training: Contract Drafting - Beyond the Basics

handle is hein.journals/transac2009 and id is 257 raw text is: TRANSACTIONAL SKILLS TRAINING: CONTRACT DRAFTING-BEYOND THE BASICS SCOTT J. BURNHAM* My topic is ambiguity. Let me put this in context. One thing that can't be said enough is that when we talk about a transactional approach, what we are really talking about is the practice of preventive law. We are the ones preventing the problems from arising. Ambiguity is really an aspect of interpretation, and interpretation is actually the number one litigated issue in contracts. So by preventing ambiguity, what you are doing is preventing litigation from arising over the meaning of contract terms. By the way, it is worth pointing out that the incentives are all wrong-the heroes in the legal world are the litigators who win the big case for the client. But the real unsung hero is that person in the back room who, with a couple of littie key strokes or by changing one word in the transaction prevented the problem from arising in the first place. Unfortunately, we don't get to reward that person as often we should. So I hope you will provide those incentives and try to reward that individual. I am going to give you a few examples of ambiguity and how to cure it. But of course the real problem is to spot it. Ambiguity means there are at least two possible meanings and, to solve the problem, you have to recognize it. So can you see that there are two different meanings? * Scott J. Burnham is a Professor of Law at The University of Montana School of Law Professor Burnham teaches Contracts, Commercial and Consumer Law, and Copyright Law. He teaches from the perspective of a practicing attorney, emphasizing preventive law rather than litigation. Before he began his teaching career at The University of Montana, he practiced in New York City from 1975- 1981. Professor Burnham has been a visiting professor at the law schools at Santa Clara University, the University of Tennessee, Western New England College, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Hawaii, Cardozo, and Vytautas Magnus in Lithuania. As a Fulbright Senior Specialist, he has taught at the University of Montevideo in Uruguay and Can Tho University in Vietnam. Professor Burnham is a member of the American Law Institute (ALl). He received his J.D. and LL.M. degrees from New York University in 1974 and 1981 respectively.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most