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5 signs the contract you are reading is utter rubbish

Multi-level numbering for website contracts

This is is both high up on my list of really annoying trends and points to an important issue which few lawyers pay much attention to: design. Don’t take serious design advice from me but please do seriously reconsider taking a Word version of a contract with multi-level numbering and pasting that onto a Web page. That numbering system is designed as in internal referencing system for paper-based documents. It also gives a contract structure but the primary purpose is so you can reference clauses in the contract easily. It is probably the best referencing system if you are dealing with a static contract which you have printed out and are working with. When you move a contract to the Web that referencing system becomes a visual nightmare, especially if formatting elements like font size and line spacing are not adjusted.

The Web has a different way to navigate documents: hyperlinks. Instead of referring to clause 12.3.4, why not just insert a hyperlink to that clause instead. You can manage document structure with heading styles, at the very least. The point is that the way you formulate a paper-based contract isn’t necessarily the most effective way to write for a Web-based or even digital contract. You are no longer constrained by paper’s inherent limitations so find more dynamic and effective ways to present contracts. Better contract design is the companion to the plain language requirement. Both are really important if you want to create more accessible and intelligible contracts which are generally easier to implement, manage and, if the need arises, enforce.

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