Mistakes made on legal documents are reparable, but generally at a cost. We can’t stop ourselves from making mistakes, but we can minimise them.
By instinctively drafting over others precedents we expose ourselves to picking up their bad habits. It’s best practice to always start with the information we received from the client, not a precedent.
As we are always working with different facts, precedents can distract us by, superimposing, different facts than the ones we are dealing with. Precedents give us preconceived ideas about the structure, style and wording we should adopt. Once we’ve seen a precedent, it’s difficult to break away from it! The words and phrases used in the precedent override our own vocabulary, making it harder to say what we mean.
Instead of using the information we’ve been given and building up a draft, we end up using the format, and wording of the precedent as a framework. To avoid getting preconceived ideas from a precedent, we should avoid looking at one until we’ve prepared a draft of all the relevant information.
By drafting over a precedent, we may end up leaving out valuable information. Such conduct may also result in delays, costs consequences and extra non-billable tasks.
Misuse of Precedents diminish our drafting skills. Master the precedents. Don’t let them become your master.
By Mohammad Kashefi
LLB (Hons), GDLP
MK Legal Group
mk@mklegalgroup.com.au
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