Hardback
Research Handbook on Contract Design
This Research Handbook inspires a new vision of contracts, with practical illustrations of how they should be designed, rather than just drafted. The contributors offer a proactive approach, merged with innovative design, to show how contracts can be both user-friendly and legally functional.
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Critical Acclaim
Contributors
Contents
More Information
This Research Handbook inspires a new vision of contracts, with practical illustrations of how they should be designed, rather than just drafted. The contributors offer a proactive approach, merged with innovative design, to show how contracts can be both user-friendly and legally functional.
This ground-breaking work goes beyond the initial drafting and formation of contracts to cover implementation and integration with business infrastructure – including digital processes. Drawing on a multi-disciplinary perspective, it highlights all aspects of the contract lifecycle, using both theoretical and practical scenarios. As well as improved design and communication, the Research Handbook takes a creative view of the role of emerging technologies, including AI, and how they can increase contract functionality and visualisation. The goals are simplification, clarity about rights and obligations, and the prevention of unnecessary legal problems.
Providing an up-to-date analysis of current trends in contract design thinking and practice, this Research Handbook will be an excellent resource for contract and legal professionals, scholars and practitioners. Entrepreneurs, procurement and sales managers, information designers and technologists will also find the forward-thinking, human-centred approach in this book illuminating and informative.
This ground-breaking work goes beyond the initial drafting and formation of contracts to cover implementation and integration with business infrastructure – including digital processes. Drawing on a multi-disciplinary perspective, it highlights all aspects of the contract lifecycle, using both theoretical and practical scenarios. As well as improved design and communication, the Research Handbook takes a creative view of the role of emerging technologies, including AI, and how they can increase contract functionality and visualisation. The goals are simplification, clarity about rights and obligations, and the prevention of unnecessary legal problems.
Providing an up-to-date analysis of current trends in contract design thinking and practice, this Research Handbook will be an excellent resource for contract and legal professionals, scholars and practitioners. Entrepreneurs, procurement and sales managers, information designers and technologists will also find the forward-thinking, human-centred approach in this book illuminating and informative.
Critical Acclaim
‘This volume arrives at a time when dissatisfaction with traditional legalistic forms of contract drafting, and the possibilities of more innovative user-centred modes of contract design, are on the rise.
New sub-disciplines often arise through new interactions between established disciplines and contract design is no exception. The inclusion of information designers, alongside leading contracts scholars, is therefore an important positive feature. There is also jurisdictional diversity with chapters outlining developments from Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Australasia. Contributions from innovative contract design practitioners and consultants further enrich the perspectives in the volume.
A key challenge with edited collections is often to capture the range of activity and diversity of voices within a coherent message to readers. The editors have done this admirably and the contributions all show facets of the transformatory potential of contract design, and the reimagination of contracts from mere clarification and risk management documents into processes and outcomes that facilitate understanding, agency and ongoing collaboration for contract users.’
– Michael Doherty, University of Lancaster, UK
‘This Research Handbook is a remarkable effort from a team of top researchers from multiple disciplines to promote contract design. The contributors emphasize that contracts are not only legal tools for lawyers to manage legal risks of their clients, but primarily business tools that create win-win outcomes. Promoting a fresh user-centric approach to make contracts better by design for all stakeholders in the contracting community, this book is recommended to everybody who drafts, designs or implements contracts in business.’
– Soili Nystén-Haarala, University of Lapland, Finland
‘This Research Handbook is a treasure trove of cutting edge research on contract design. With its wide range of topics, the book provides one-stop shopping for all stakeholders in the design process–lawyers, managers, designers, and others who are interested in a user-centric approach to better contracting.’
– George J. Siedel, University of Michigan, US
New sub-disciplines often arise through new interactions between established disciplines and contract design is no exception. The inclusion of information designers, alongside leading contracts scholars, is therefore an important positive feature. There is also jurisdictional diversity with chapters outlining developments from Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Australasia. Contributions from innovative contract design practitioners and consultants further enrich the perspectives in the volume.
A key challenge with edited collections is often to capture the range of activity and diversity of voices within a coherent message to readers. The editors have done this admirably and the contributions all show facets of the transformatory potential of contract design, and the reimagination of contracts from mere clarification and risk management documents into processes and outcomes that facilitate understanding, agency and ongoing collaboration for contract users.’
– Michael Doherty, University of Lancaster, UK
‘This Research Handbook is a remarkable effort from a team of top researchers from multiple disciplines to promote contract design. The contributors emphasize that contracts are not only legal tools for lawyers to manage legal risks of their clients, but primarily business tools that create win-win outcomes. Promoting a fresh user-centric approach to make contracts better by design for all stakeholders in the contracting community, this book is recommended to everybody who drafts, designs or implements contracts in business.’
– Soili Nystén-Haarala, University of Lapland, Finland
‘This Research Handbook is a treasure trove of cutting edge research on contract design. With its wide range of topics, the book provides one-stop shopping for all stakeholders in the design process–lawyers, managers, designers, and others who are interested in a user-centric approach to better contracting.’
– George J. Siedel, University of Michigan, US
Contributors
Contributors: Emily Allbon, Vesa Annola, Camilla Baasch Andersen, Thomas D. Barton, Christopher W. Bauman, Marcelo Corrales Compagnucci, Tim Cummins, Mathilde François Da Rocha, Robert de Rooy, Mark Fenwick, Milva Finnegan, Helena Haapio, Vaula Haavisto, James G. Hazard, René Franz Henschel, Suvi Hirvonen-Ere, Anna Hurmerinta-Haanpää, Deepika Jeyakodi, Laura Kalliomaa-Puha, Anne Ketola, Merja Koskela, Su-Hsien Lee, Eliza Mik, Stefania Passera, Tuula Pere, Eliisa Pitkäsalo, Marie Potel-Saville, Beverly Rich, Mirjam E. Ros, Tarja Salmi-Tolonen, Wendy E. Wagner, Robert Waller, Libby Weber, Verity White, Christopher Williams
Contents
Contents:
Preface xii
PART I RETHINKING CONTRACTS: FROM DRAFTING TO DESIGN
1 The many layers and dimensions of contract design 2
Marcelo Corrales Compagnucci, Helena Haapio and Mark Fenwick
2 ‘Contracts are just words’ 19
Tim Cummins
3 Reframing contract design: integrating business, legal, design, and
technology perspectives 33
Thomas D Barton, Helena Haapio, Stefania Passera and James G Hazard
4 Designing contracts for human readers 55
Robert Waller
5 Functional or dysfunctional? The language of business contracts in
English: an update 75
Christopher Williams
6 Contract transformation: merging drafting and design to meet the needs
of human readers 92
Stefania Passera, Emily Allbon and Helena Haapio
PART II WHY CONTRACT DESIGN MATTERS: RETHINKING THE
BUSINESS AND LEGAL PURPOSE AND FUNCTIONS OF
CONTRACTS
7 Rethinking legal requirements: a case study of incomprehensible
consumer contracts in the United States 114
Wendy E Wagner
8 Contractual processualization: designing proactive contractual
processes to support legal, technical and commercial purposes 134
René Franz Henschel
9 The functional contracting framework: assessing the impacts of contract
functions, framing and regulatory focus 158
Anna Hurmerinta-Haanpää
10 Genre blending and contract design 180
Tarja Salmi-Tolonen
11 Contract design beyond the hype: measuring the value 199
Marie Potel-Saville and Mathilde François Da Rocha
PART III DESIGNING BETTER CONTRACTS FOR BUSINESS AND
LEGAL PURPOSES
12 Contracts and the human factor – hidden fears and tears or mutual success? 221
Tuula Pere
13 Prevention and promotion approaches to contracting: implications for
negotiator focus and contract frames on exchange performance and
relationships in the digital age 239
Beverly Rich, Libby Weber and Christopher W Bauman
14 Contract simplification – a user-centered approach to contract structure design 258
Milva Finnegan
15 Simple contracting for every step of collaboration/innovation 275
Deepika Jeyakodi and Mirjam E Ros
16 Business contract design via Contract Management operationalized
methodology 294
Suvi Hirvonen-Ere
PART IV WHEN TEXT ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH: VISUAL CONTRACTS
17 Facilitative contracts with visuals and comics: access to justice and
steps for the future 315
Su-Hsien Lee and Camilla Baasch Andersen
18 Employment agreements in comic book form – what a difference
cartoons make … 329
Camilla Baasch Andersen and Robert de Rooy
19 Image analysis as a visualization tool – translating contracts into comics 347
Eliisa Pitkäsalo, Anne Ketola, Vaula Haavisto and Laura Kalliomaa-Puha
20 Interpreting images in contracts 365
Vesa Annola, Helena Haapio and Merja Koskela
PART V WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD? DESIGNING FOR
HUMANS AND MACHINES
21 Simplification and automation: the chicken and egg of contract design? 383
Verity White
22 Engineering consent: using technology to create informed consumers 401
Eliza Mik
23 Digital technology, future lawyers and the computable contract designer
of tomorrow 421
Marcelo Corrales Compagnucci, Mark Fenwick and Helena Haapio
Index 445
Preface xii
PART I RETHINKING CONTRACTS: FROM DRAFTING TO DESIGN
1 The many layers and dimensions of contract design 2
Marcelo Corrales Compagnucci, Helena Haapio and Mark Fenwick
2 ‘Contracts are just words’ 19
Tim Cummins
3 Reframing contract design: integrating business, legal, design, and
technology perspectives 33
Thomas D Barton, Helena Haapio, Stefania Passera and James G Hazard
4 Designing contracts for human readers 55
Robert Waller
5 Functional or dysfunctional? The language of business contracts in
English: an update 75
Christopher Williams
6 Contract transformation: merging drafting and design to meet the needs
of human readers 92
Stefania Passera, Emily Allbon and Helena Haapio
PART II WHY CONTRACT DESIGN MATTERS: RETHINKING THE
BUSINESS AND LEGAL PURPOSE AND FUNCTIONS OF
CONTRACTS
7 Rethinking legal requirements: a case study of incomprehensible
consumer contracts in the United States 114
Wendy E Wagner
8 Contractual processualization: designing proactive contractual
processes to support legal, technical and commercial purposes 134
René Franz Henschel
9 The functional contracting framework: assessing the impacts of contract
functions, framing and regulatory focus 158
Anna Hurmerinta-Haanpää
10 Genre blending and contract design 180
Tarja Salmi-Tolonen
11 Contract design beyond the hype: measuring the value 199
Marie Potel-Saville and Mathilde François Da Rocha
PART III DESIGNING BETTER CONTRACTS FOR BUSINESS AND
LEGAL PURPOSES
12 Contracts and the human factor – hidden fears and tears or mutual success? 221
Tuula Pere
13 Prevention and promotion approaches to contracting: implications for
negotiator focus and contract frames on exchange performance and
relationships in the digital age 239
Beverly Rich, Libby Weber and Christopher W Bauman
14 Contract simplification – a user-centered approach to contract structure design 258
Milva Finnegan
15 Simple contracting for every step of collaboration/innovation 275
Deepika Jeyakodi and Mirjam E Ros
16 Business contract design via Contract Management operationalized
methodology 294
Suvi Hirvonen-Ere
PART IV WHEN TEXT ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH: VISUAL CONTRACTS
17 Facilitative contracts with visuals and comics: access to justice and
steps for the future 315
Su-Hsien Lee and Camilla Baasch Andersen
18 Employment agreements in comic book form – what a difference
cartoons make … 329
Camilla Baasch Andersen and Robert de Rooy
19 Image analysis as a visualization tool – translating contracts into comics 347
Eliisa Pitkäsalo, Anne Ketola, Vaula Haavisto and Laura Kalliomaa-Puha
20 Interpreting images in contracts 365
Vesa Annola, Helena Haapio and Merja Koskela
PART V WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD? DESIGNING FOR
HUMANS AND MACHINES
21 Simplification and automation: the chicken and egg of contract design? 383
Verity White
22 Engineering consent: using technology to create informed consumers 401
Eliza Mik
23 Digital technology, future lawyers and the computable contract designer
of tomorrow 421
Marcelo Corrales Compagnucci, Mark Fenwick and Helena Haapio
Index 445
