About
In addition to the many sources with sample or real agreements and contracts, law students need a good sense of the basics of drafting. Three types of drafting sources are available:
- General
- Specific Contracts and Agreements
- Legal Writing and Drafting Generally
The Law Library has more than 200 books on legal writing and composition. To identify these items, search the Law Library catalog by the Library of Congress subject heading "legal composition." See also the Gallagher guide on Legal & General Writing Resources.
Drafting Contracts - General Sources
Contract Drafting: Powerful Prose in Transactional Practice, 3d ed. by Publication Date: 2019
Drafting Contracts: How and Why Lawyers Do What They Do, 2d ed. by Publication Date: 2014
Drafting Effective Contracts: A Practitioner's Guide, 2d ed. by Publication Date: 1999 to present
The Elements of Contract Drafting with Questions and Clauses for Consideration, 3d ed. by Publication Date: 2011
Drafting Effective Contracts : a Practitioner's Guide, 3d ed. by Call Number: (online, via VitalLaw platform)Publication Date: 2017-
Garner's Guidelines for Drafting and Editing Contracts by Publication Date: 2019
Legal Drafting: Litigation Documents, Contracts, Legisltion, and Wills by Publication Date: 2012
A Manual of Style for Contract Drafting, 4th ed. by Publication Date: 2018
- Negotiating and Drafting Contract Boilerplate (Lexis)Contains boilerplate language for many types of contract provisions, such as arbitration, assignment and delegation, confidentiality, force majeure, severability, transaction costs, and waiver of jury trial.
A Practical Guide to Drafting Contracts: From Concept to Closure by Call Number: (online)Publication Date: 2020
Real World Document Drafting: A Dispute-Avoidance Approach by Publication Date: 2d ed., 2010
Working with Contracts: What Law School Doesn't Teach You, 2d ed. by Publication Date: 2008
Drafting Specific Types of Contracts & Agreements
The following titles are examples only.
Drafting Technology Patent License Agreements by Publication Date: 2007 to 2014
Premarital Agreements: Drafting and Negotiation, 2d ed. by Publication Date: 2017
Legal Writing & Drafting Generally
Contracts in the Real World: Stories of Popular Contracts and Why They Matter, 2d ed. by Publication Date: 2016
Hereof, Thereof, and Everywhereof: A Contrarian Guide to Legal Drafting, 2d ed. by Publication Date: 2008
Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text with Exercises, 2d ed.ition by Publication Date: 2013
Plain English for Drafting Statutes and Rules by Publication Date: 2012
Plain English for Lawyers, 6th ed. by Publication Date: 2019
Preparing Plain Legal Documents for Nonlawyers by Publication Date: 2015
CALI Lessons
The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) has numerous lessons on contracts, including:
- Drafting with "And" and "Or" [CALI]30 minutes
Other useful CALI lessons: