A Masterclass and Workshop on Foundations of Contract Drafting: A Beginner’s Guide for First Year Law Students was organized by CCCIL (Centre for Corporate, Competition & Insolvency Laws) at Faculty of Law, SRMUH from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm on 10th April, 2024. The event aimed to provide the first-year law students with a comprehensive understanding of contract drafting essentials, facilitated by Mr. Bhumesh Verma, Managing Partner at CorpComm Legal, an esteemed resource person in the legal field. The event commenced with the introduction of the guest given by Ms Kusum, Student of first year L.L.B. (Hons.) and proceeded with a sapling presented to the guest by Head of Department Prof. (Dr.) Sandeep Kulshrestha. As we move forward, Dean, Prof. (Dr.) Vijay Kumar Singh, took over the stage and presented a brief account of the topic of the day. Mr. Bhumesh Verma initiated the session by addressing fundamental concepts of contracts and agreements. He engaged the participants by questioning whether individuals enter into agreements in their daily lives, thereby illustrating the pervasive nature of contractual relations. Emphasizing the significance of written contracts, Mr. Verma highlighted their relevance for evidentiary purposes, ensuring clarity of terms, informing third parties, establishing commitment, and addressing trust issues. The resource person explored diverse perspectives on legal drafting, elucidating its multifaceted nature. He highlighted that a lawyer’s role extends beyond mere representation to encompass proving innocence, providing solutions, and facilitating settlements. He also explained the rationale behind contract drafting, explaining the role of drafting in outlining rights and obligations, minimizing disputes, and safeguarding interests. During the session, he also shared five key tips for enhancing legal drafting proficiency which were: KISS Principle (Keep it Simple, Stupid): Advocating simplicity in drafting to ensure clarity and comprehension.

Miser with Words:

Emphasizing brevity and precision to convey information effectively. Condensation: Encouraging concise expression without sacrificing substance. Understandable: Stressing the importance of clarity and accessibility for diverse stakeholders. Value Addition: Advising participants to add substantive value to their drafts through meticulous attention to detail.

In the second hour of the session, the students were acquainted with the essential elements requisite for a valid contract, including offer, acceptance, consideration, intention to create legal relations, capacity, and legality of object. Through illustrative examples, he elucidated the significance of each element in ensuring contractual validity. In the last part of the workshop, he discussed the Ten C’s of Well-Drafted Contracts which were: Crisp, Clear, Concise, Complete, Common Sense, Correct, Don’t be a Copycat, Calibration, Customized, Compliant, Conclusion. The Workshop concluded with signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with CorpComm Legal.

Conclusion:

The workshop on Contract drafting was a valuable opportunity for the first year law students to gain foundational knowledge for effective legal drafting. The students gained a deeper understanding of contractual principles and acquired essential skills required for legal drafting.

Feedback of participants:

After the workshop concluded, the participants provided with excellent feedback and wanted to have more sessions like this in future. Some of the Feedback by the participants:

• “Attending the workshop has given me a better understanding of drafting skills”
• The workshop was very enlightening and wonderful.
• We expect more of such sessions in the future.
• We found the concepts explained during the workshop to be clear and comprehensible.