Practical guide to drafting contracts: from concept to closure

A Practical Guide to Drafting Contracts: From Concept to Closure, Third Edition, provides detailed coverage of contract drafting from A to Z, concept to closure. Moreover, it teaches readers how to review and adapt existing contracts and forms—including those generated by AI—to create new contracts tailored to a client’s specific needs, just as lawyers frequently do in practice. Step-by-step instruction walks readers through the contract concepts and the process for drafting a wide range of agreements. In this remarkably succinct text, authors Cynthia M. Adams and Peter K. Cramer explain and illustrate the purpose of each type of provision, and address the basic principles that apply to a wide range of domestic and international transactions.

New to the Third Edition

• An all-new chapter on drafting pre-deal documents, including the purposes, advantages, and risks of using term sheets, letters of intent, or memorandums of understanding prior to reaching a definitive agreement
• New drafting exercises that engage readers in critically reviewing and, where appropriate, effectively using provisions produced by GenAI
• Expert insights into the benefits, challenges, and limitations of GenAI-assisted contract drafting
• An extensive online contract bank, including 40 non-competition agreements, 40 license agreements, 40 lease agreements, and 40 pre-deal documents

Professors and students will benefit from:

• Practice exercises that develop readers' drafting skills and knowledge of the language and syntax of contract law
• Discussion of the strategic decisions behind contract drafting
• Experiential exercises designed to
  • raise awareness of audience, purpose, and the appropriate phrasing
  • build familiarity with commonly occurring contract provisions
  • practice reviewing and adapting provisions from existing forms and contracts
• For international students, the authors highlight key points of U.S. law regarding contract provisions and drafting issues
• A wealth of online resources, including exercises and assignments that encourage readers to mine the book’s rich contracts bank for language and provisions appropriate to use in the drafting process