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On Demand

7 Sources of Syntactic Ambiguity that Cause Contract Litigation, and How to Avoid Them


Total Credits: 1 CLE

Average Rating:
   13
Categories:
Miscellaneous |  Business & Commercial Law |  Skills
Faculty:
Lenne' Espenschied
Format:
Audio and Video
Original Program Date:
Oct 03, 2023


Description

Questionable associations create syntactic ambiguity in contracts, so it's no surprise that they are one of the most common causes of contract litigation. A "questionable association" means it is unclear what a particular word or phrase is modifying. Learn to spot and avoid 7 common culprits, including ambiguous modifiers, phrases at the beginning or end of lists, careless references, and "notwithstanding the foregoing."

Faculty

Lenne' Espenschied, Next Level Contracts  

About the speaker:

Lenne' has earned her status as one of the two most popular contract drafting speakers in the U.S. by continually striving for excellence and providing innovative, practical skills-based training for transactional lawyers.  She practiced law in Atlanta, Georgia for 25 years, focusing on corporate and transactional representation of technology-based businesses.  She is the author of two books published by the American Bar Association:  Contract Drafting:  Powerful Prose in Transactional Practice (ABA Fundamentals, 3rd Ed.  2019), and The Grammar and Writing Handbook for Lawyers (ABA Fundamentals, 2011).  After graduating from the University of Georgia School of Law magna cum laude, Ms. Espenschied began her corporate practice with a large, national law firm; she also served as Senior Counsel in the legal department of Bank of America before eventually opening her own law office.  As a law school professor, Ms. Espenschied taught commercial law, contracts, and contract drafting; she is a contributing faculty member at West Legal Ed.  She speaks nationally at continuing legal education seminars and provides private training at law firms and corporate legal departments.  Her passion is helping lawyers acquire the skills they need to be more successful in transactional practice.

Handouts

Faculty

Lenne' Espenschied Related Seminars and Products


Lenné Espenschied has earned her status as one of the two most popular contract drafting speakers in the country by continually striving for excellence and providing innovative, practical, skills-based training for transactional lawyers. She practiced law in Atlanta, Georgia, for 25 years, focusing on corporate and transactional representation of technology-based businesses. She is the author of two books published by the American Bar Association: Contract Drafting: Powerful Prose in Transactional Practice (ABA Fundamentals, 3d Ed. 2019), and The Grammar and Writing Handbook for Lawyers (ABA Fundamentals 2011). After graduating from the University of Georgia School of Law magna cum laude, Ms. Espenschied began her legal practice at the firm now known as Eversheds Sutherland; she also served as Senior Counsel in the legal department of Bank of America before eventually opening her own law office. As a law professor, Ms. Espenschied taught commercial law, contracts, and contract drafting. Her passion is helping lawyers acquire the skills they need to be successful in transactional practice.


Reviews

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1

Overall:      4.8

Total Reviews: 13

Comments

Scott E

"It was well organized, the information was high quality, and it's good to be reminded of these things, even for lawyers with a lot of experience drafting contracts. As someone who has taught contract law at the University of Arizona and drafts business contracts fairly frequently in my law practice, I thought she left a few important things out. But overall this is a high quality CLE."

Michael D

"It was as described."

Yvonne H

"Clear and concise explanation of grammatical pitfalls. "

Christine B

"Met my needs "

James M

"nothing left to the imagination. all was clear."

Stephanie F

"This seminar should be required for all attorneys. The examples are practical and make the material very easy to follow."

Lance M

"Lenne's presentation was great. I enjoyed it."

Mark D

"Thorough, precise presentation."