Learn the different parts of a contract from the Beatles: Baby, you’re a rich man. Baby, you’re a rich man. Baby, you’re a rich man too.
War Story: A Cocktail of Contracts and Liquor
April 25, 2012
This is a classic war story from first year contracts that shows the treachery cocktail of contracts and liquor. THE WAR: Lucy v. Zehmer Hardy and Ida Zehmer were a married couple living in Virginia in the 1950s. Together, they owned and operated a a bar, a gas station,…
Ch Ch Ch Changes – A Redlined and a Plain
February 16, 2012
I used to represent a now defunct hedge fund that had a whip smart general counsel. Her standards were high and she prized speed and competence. At one point, I was helping her get licenses to a bunch of algorithms. I drafted the first version of the license agreement,…
The King(sley) of law geeks on subletting clauses
January 3, 2012
This guy is Kingsley Martin, a lawyer and computer software programmer. On his blog, Kingsley pulls apart boilerplate and makes sense of it. In the world, he writes game changing software. I love his blog (tho I don’t have permission to use his image). Here he is on subletting clauses….
7 Ingredients in a Confidentiality Agreement
August 9, 2011
A Confidentiality Agreement (a/k/a “NDA”) is a promise to keep someone’s information secret. Like all contracts, there is no one way to create them. But, there are 7 things that you have to define: (1) Discloser; (2) Recipient; (3) Confidential Information; (4) Duration; (5) OK Use; (6) Recipient Obligations;…
How One Lawyer’s Simplification is Another’s Mistake
July 12, 2011
One of my favorite lawyers – a dashing Italian fellow who could teach all three Heathers a thing about accessorizing – said I got something wrong in my book, Birth to Buyout: Law for the life Cycle of Your Business. Kindly and almost embarrassed, he pointed out how I…
A Great Example of an Agreement Acceptance Page
July 7, 2011
I just joined Windows Live to try its blogging software. During sign up, I was so impressed by the contract acceptance page, I thought I’d share it. But, first – a law note. Law Note: Online contracts are enforceable as long as they have the three contract elements: offer,…
Birth to Buyout Hits the (Virtual) Bookshelves!
June 2, 2011
Rejoice! You can now read Birth to Buyout on your Kindle. Or Nook. Or Sony Reader. iPad or iPhone? There’s an app for that. And hey – if you roll old-school – the print version is available here. P.S. You may have noticed the use of Bossypants by Tina…
HOW TO CHANGE YOUR ONLINE CONTRACTS SO THE CHANGES STICK
March 18, 2011
Etrade’s online contract gave it the right to change terms of the contract and fees simply by posting the fees to its site. The contract essentially said that users were obligated to check now and then for amendments. A well respected federal judge in California struck that. Roling v….