iPleaders is organizing a contract drafting workshop on 7th and 8th October [Saturday and Sunday] at its Delhi office.
The previous contract drafting workshop was a huge success, and we realized that there are many learners who would like intensive classroom-type learning from experts.
Keeping that in mind, Bhumesh Verma, founder of Corp Comm Legal, who was earlier partner at Khaitan & Co., Paras Kuhad and Link Legal, has agreed to train people on the practical aspects of contract drafting from his practical experience and insights, spanning over 23 years. Those who are interested can register here right away. There are only 20 seats.
We have incorporated a number of learnings from our previous workshop and have an improvised format for this one.
This workshop is going to be unique in the sense that your gains will be self-evident by the time the workshop comes to an end and you will vouch for its efficacy yourself.
Here are the top 5 reasons for attending this contract drafting workshop:
#1 – Go beyond the books and passive learning
One of the drawbacks about learning from books and courses is that you don’t learn how to apply and use the information, or move beyond the mental roadblocks that come in the way of effectively drafting contracts and slow you down. We know many people who understand and know about contract law and contract drafting, yet when it comes to drafting a real contract, they are anxious and shudder out of fear. That is because of having passive tools and methods for learning (whether in classroom or e-learning).
In the workshop this weekend, you will give you enough opportunities and challenges to apply your mind and get your hands dirty by working on clause-by-clause on different kinds of contracts.
#2 – Make sure your contracts are comprehensive, consistent and of a high quality
When you professionally advise a client, every contract needs to be your best. You can’t afford to make careless mistakes. Many clients know how to write a simple contract but still consult a lawyer for his or her expertise in the matter. They don’t want to take risks. They understand that it is a lawyer’s job to ensure that contracts are comprehensive and consistent. In fact, one of the reasons clients approach larger firms is because they have standardized processes to ensure that every document is of a high quality.
Therefore, you cannot afford to experiment or take any chances with a client’s work. In the workshop, you will go through more than 30 clauses and learn how to use and customize them. You will have enough opportunities to draft clauses on your own, take inputs from others, get expert insights, compare your draft against model clauses and see where you are making mistakes. You will be able to distinguish different versions of clauses too. You will receive a checklist and model language of sample clauses so that you create contracts which are comprehensive, each time.
#3 – Foresee and minimize all kinds of risks and convert any business transaction into a contract/series of contracts
If you work in a company, you will be required to standardize and improve contracts to factor in risks more comprehensively. From time to time, you will also need to create a new set of contracts for a transaction, or invent a new structure altogether. The ability to visualize and reduce this to writing can mean the difference between a successful or a failed transaction. Your career as a lawyer can soar to new heights if you can do this well consistently.
To do this successfully, a unique kind of approach is required which law schools and contract law textbooks don’t typically teach. You need to tune your language to reflect the commercial intent of clients. You don’t need to have worked for years in a company to understand this – even if you are a litigator, it is possible to pick up this approach.
If you have already worked in a company or in a law firm, this can be an opportunity to take a fresh look at things. Note that working on the same thing for year makes us develop a certain kind of rigidity and restricts innovation, and the opportunity here is to revisit certain predefined patterns, look at things freshly and add in some innovation of your own. The idea here is to unlearn and relearn few things.
You will be working on each clause alongside an expert and have the opportunity to have a second opinion from someone who has done this day in and day out for different kinds of deals and organizations. If you have identified areas where your contracts fail to protect your client or organization’s interest, bring that here. There will be an opportunity to debate and reason out how you can improve the effectiveness of those contracts by adding or improving specific clauses.
#4 – Use Precedents and Templates Like a Pro
While precedents and templates are available online and in your company’s or law firm’s database, knowing what to use, when to use it and how is not always easy. Deciding which document to use can be a big challenge.
To get comfortable with this, you should first be able to read multiple versions of a clause and then identify what works and what doesn’t with ease. That requires a lot of practice. What is needed is a virtual gym to practice, discuss and learn from your mistakes, without a mistake costing you millions.
This workshop intends to provide you an opportunity to improve, critique, question different clauses, get feedback and develop superior drafting skills You will be able to use multiple templates and create a contract quickly. You will also be able to create new templates and standard documents for your organization, and train others in your team to use them to minimize risks. You will receive handouts to ensure you can retain what you have learnt forever.
#5 – Let go of fear, doubt and uncertainty
Nothing can be compared to writing a clause by hand (without any template) on the whiteboard. That is the most courageous way to improve your writing skills. If you can do this easily, you are ready to start drafting on your own. A great lawyer can use a template to support his writing but its absence must not in any way cripple him.
In the workshop, this is exactly how you will learn when you draft individual clauses and even a joint venture agreement on your own. You will have no support of templates to cover up any mistakes. You will also be able to distinguish what kinds of changes add value commercially and which ones do not in the exercise where you are reviewing and marking up a contract.
The workshop inherently contains the following tasks so that you have experience power and are free from any fear, doubt or uncertainty while drafting contracts:
- Draft multiple clauses from scratch
- Edit an agreement
- Identify loopholes in another person’s draft
- Create an entire joint venture contract.
Interested? Check out the syllabus and register here.
