A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting, Fifth Edition

WithA Manual of Style for Contract Drafting, Kenneth A. Adams has created a uniquely in-depth survey of the building blocks of contract language. First published in 2004, it offers those who draft, review, negotiate, or interpret contracts an alternative to the dysfunction of traditional contract language and the inertia and flawed conventional wisdome that perpetuate it. This manual has become a vital resource throughout the legal profession, in the United States and internationally.

This fifth edition contains more than 70 pages of new materials addressing many topics, making it even more authoritative and essential. The rest of the text reflects many adjustments. This manual's focus remains how to express contract terms in prose that is free of the archaisms, redundancies, ambiguities, and other problems that afflict traditional contract language. With exceptional analysis and an unmatched level of practical detail, Ken highlights common sources of confusion and recommends clearer and more concise alternatives. This manual is organized to facilitate easy reference, and it illustrates its analysis with numerous examples. Consult it to save time in drafting and negotiation and to reduce the risk of dispute.

This book was published on 02/08/2023.

Kenneth A. Adams is a consultant, writer, and speaker on contract drafting. He gives public seminars in the U.S. with West Legalworks and in Canada with Osgoode Professional Development, as well as internationally. He conducts inhouse seminars worldwide for companies, law firms, and government agencies. He helps companies improve their contracts and their contract process, and he acts as an expert witness in contract disputes. Mr. Adams is also a lecturer in law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and founder of Koncision Contract Automation, a developer of online document assembly contract templates. For information about Koncision, go to As part of its "Legal Rebels" project, in 2009 the ABA Journal, the flagship magazine of the American Bar Association, named Mr. Adams one of fi fty leading innovators in the legal profession. Mr. Adams writes extensively on contract drafting. In addition to this manual, he's author of The Structure of M&A Contracts (West 2011). He's a longtime blogger; his current blog, Adams on Contract Drafting, is at  In 2009, 2010, and 2012, the ABA Journal included Mr. Adams's blog in its "Blawg 100"-its annual list of the hundred best law blogs. A U.S. citizen, Mr. Adams was raised in Africa and Europe; he received his secondary and college education in England. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1989, he practiced as a corporate attorney with major U.S. law firms in New York and Geneva, Switzerland. He currently resides in Garden City, New York. He can be reached at .

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