Category Archives: Drafting as Writing

The Limits of Part-Versus-the-Whole Clarity

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Kenneth A. Adams

I currently find myself wrestling with what might seem interstitial stuff. It falls within “the part versus the whole”—my umbrella term for uncertainty over which members of a group you’re referring to. Consider the following: If Acme breaks a Widget …

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“Strictly”

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Kenneth A. Adams

When you add verbiage to a contract provision not to change its meaning but to make it more emphatic, you’re indulging in “rhetorical emphasis.” Contract prose is better off without rhetorical emphasis, as contracts don’t serve to persuade. I’ve mentioned …

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“In No Way”

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Kenneth A. Adams

Do yourselves a favor and strike in no way in favor of does not or will not, as in the following examples: Borrower hereby agrees that this Amendment in no way acts [read does not act] as a release or relinquishment of the Liens …

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