Poor contract drafting can lead to confusion, which in turn can result in disappointed clients or even to litigation, warns Kenneth Adams, author of A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting. Adams made his comments in an interview available via the ABA's Section of Business Law.

During the podcast, Adams, who is a lecturer in law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, offers instruction on overcoming the perils of poor drafting to improve contracts.

According to Adams, to date, discussion and writings about contract drafting have focused on what to say, but not how to say it. To create a document that is as concise as possible, a lawyer should not take contract language on faith, suggests Adams. He points out that a lawyer needs to understand what works and what does not. One example Adams presents is the often unnecessary wordiness of a contract lead-in that can create questions or confusion where none existed.

Adams cited a case between Rogers Communications and Aliant Inc. in which the ambiguity of one comma caused a costly dispute. Still, Adams said, there's a reluctance to change "tested" contract language.

“It would be my hope that contract drafting would become a commodity," Adams said. When asked if this goal was realistic, Adams noted, “This approach allows law firms to do more with shrinking budgets. If you're more efficient, you can be more profitable.”

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