In Brief
The Problem
Contracts that take forever to negotiate, are unclear to everyone but lawyers, and generate all too many disputes between parties.
The Causes
Legal jargon; long-winded explanations of the reasons for transactions; pages of definitions; strings of synonyms; all-cap, italicized, bolded sections; and awkward sentences filled with semicolons.
The Solution
Radically shorter “plain-language” contracts that a high schooler could understand.
What do you call a dense, overly lengthy contract that is loaded with legal jargon and virtually impossible for a nonlawyer to understand? The status quo. For the most part, the contracts used in business are long, poorly structured, and full of unnecessary and incomprehensible language.