Law of Contract: Legal Drafting and Identification of Provisions

Legal drafting and the ability to identify relevant legal provisions from a contract.

Assessment Brief:

This is an exercise on legal drafting and the ability to identify and tease out relevant legal provisions from a contract. The ability to navigate through a contract’s legal provisions and the art of legal drafting of a contract and the clauses within are very important skills required by all legal professionals during their respective careers. All too often documents fail in their purpose due to incorrect legal wording. Sometimes an eventuality which should have been considered is overlooked; sometimes the document is so obscurely drawn that the court must be asked to construe it. This results in extra time and financial pressures for the parties involved. Therefore, it is a practical imperative that contracts are drawn up and interpreted successfully so that legal arguments can be kept to a minimum.

Please read the employment contract attached carefully and answer the following questions.

Question 1: Who is listed as your employer within the contract and which clause outlines this?

Question 2: When does your period of employment begin? Which clause of the contract outlines this

Question 3: How much prior notice is the University required to give you, and in what form, if they wish to end your contract of employment during your period of probation? Which clause of the contract outlines this?

Question 4: If the University wishes to end your employment after your period of probation, how much prior notice is the University required to give you, and in what form? How long does the period of probation last for? Which clauses of the contract should you refer to when outlining these provisions?

Question 5: Where in the contract can you find information relating to patents? What does the contract require you to do if you wish to apply for a patent either for yourself or for someone else? What specific Act listed in the contract relates to this legal area? You must give the specific section and subsections of this Act.

Question 6: Simply state which Act and which sections of this Act relate to the law of copyright? Which clause of the contract outlines this?

Question 7: If you are unwell and unable to carry out your specific duties as listed in the contract, which Scheme applies and where can you find further information relating to this? Which clause of the contract outlines this?

Question 8: There are four specific exceptions listed in the contract relating to the formal requirements on yourself when you wish to carry out work external to your University based duties. What are these four exceptions and in which clause / sub-clause of the contract are they to be found? You must rewrite these provisions in your own words as specified within the brief.

Question 9: In which clause and sub-clause of the contract can you find information concerning the University’s IT policy? Does the contract allow for your computer activities to be observed in any way? If so, what does this supervision involve?

Question 10: Which clause deals with leave of absence due to parenthood? Who is allowed to take leave under this clause?

Question 11: This is a short exercise in drafting: You must draft a new clause within the employment contract (Section 25). This new clause will be entitled, ‘Covid 19 Contingency Plans’. In approximately 350 words you should draft this clause outlining the contractual position as it applies to working practices generally and to employees who may have contacted the virus or who are worried about vulnerable members of their families. You must use clear, concise and appropriate legal language. For example, you should include details such as the method of teaching, certain health and safety protocols and other points that you believe might be relevant in a clause such as this.

Assessment criteria

The work will be marked according to the following assessment criteria: Students will be expected

• to demonstrate an understanding of the meaning and legal effect of a basic employment contract and the possible implications for employees
• to demonstrate an ability to successfully identify and interpret a contract’s clauses and sub-clauses
• to demonstrate an ability to answer questions and problem solve and detect relevant contractual themes and provisions and omit unnecessary provisions
• to demonstrate an ability to review, edit and draft a contract clause and use accurate technical legal language, spelling, grammar, syntax and punctuation
• to demonstrate the ability to write in a clear, logical, consistent and appropriate structure

Writing Style: Do not write a bullet point list. This assessment is about addressing and answering particular questions as part of a legal contract scenario. You need to articulate a fluent text which presents your answers in a coherent and manner and in your own words as much as possible.

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