Drafting Contracts

Contracts are one of the most important documents translators are often faced with. Translating them is not an easy task: not only must the parties’ intent be unequivocally conveyed, as wells as the terms on which they have agreed, but also the contract’s wording must be clear and accurate so that the contract is readable and effective.

There are two main approaches to contract drafting. The supporters of the traditional approach believe that contracts must include legalese, that is, legal jargon, words that have been used by judges, attorneys and legal authorities for ages and should, therefore, remain being used. On the other hand, those who favor plain English believe that contracts should be understood precisely by the parties involved, by those enjoying the rights and undertaking the obligations provided for in the contracts they make.

In this seminar we will take a look at the pros and cons of these approaches and at several useful tools that translators may use to draft readable contracts, such as restructuring poorly drafted provisions.

Topics Include:

• Legalese versus Plain English
• Structuring clauses, paragraphs, sentences
• Phrasing sentences:
• omit needless words
• prefer the active over the passive voice
• avoid multiple negatives
• use parallel phrasing for parallel ideas
• avoid doublets and triplets
• ‘Shall’, ‘will’, ‘must’, ‘may’
• Avoiding ambiguity
• Replacing archaisms and legal jargon: avoiding the use of words such as herein, hereto, hereof.

After taking this seminar, you will learn to:

• increase your awareness of style and language in legal writing
• learn to spot and overcome common drafting problems
• improve your skills in drafting clearly, concisely and precisely
• bring your drafting into the 21st century

Para recibir mayor información sobre nuestros servicios, por favor contáctenos vía e-mail a info@thetrcompany.com o telefónicamente al (54.11) 4896.2693 o al 4784.5445