Contract Drafting Assignment (Posted by Gabe)

Hello Friends!

I hope that your studies are coming along well. I apologize that I have not updated this blog lately; having just finished up my JD studies, I'm hoping to change that. Please feel free to e-mail any questions that you may have!

In the meantime, a classmate asked the following question about the contracts drafting assignment:

My question involves the drafting assignment for this week's lesson. The assignment itself I understand, however, there are not enough details given to create a whole contract. So my question is, am I supposed to make up the necessary details that have not been given (such as addresses, state in which the transaction takes place, specific details about the vehicle in question - such as year, miles,etc. for description of consideration, whether or not there are any warranties involved, etc.)? Or do I just write a contract that leaves all those details out?

Great question, and the most "correct" answer is that either way should work just fine. The Professor knows that you don't have those details, and isn't expecting you to "know" them, so if you draft the contract with those details left out you should be fine.

I would recommend, though, that you take the time to make the contract look the best it can, which may involve pretending to have certain facts. I'd recommend that you go ahead and add "facts" that would add to the reality of the assignment without changing the facts. If you add your state of residence as the place where the transaction occurs, and put in fictitious addresses, I think that would add to the reality of the assignment.

But don't add facts that would change the terms of the contract itself. For instance, adding warranties that aren't in your facts could change the terms of the contract--don't do that.

As a final blog note, send me your website URL if you would like to be listed in the OBCL paralegal blogroll on the right.

More to come soon. Fire your questions away if we can help with finals prep!

Mentor Course Assignment Corrections (Posted by Jenny)

Hello everyone!

Well, the mentors became aware recently that the courses in the 1st quarter have been changed somewhat. If Prof. G. and the college was testing us to see if we were on our toes, I think we flunked.:) This should be a lesson to all of you to never assume that just because something has been a certain way for several years, doesn't mean it can't change suddenly!:) Here is a corrected breakdown for this quarter:
Gabe - contracts
Steven - torts
Jenny - family law
Alex - common law jurisprudence

That said, I hope your 7th week of coursework is off to a great start and I am looking forward to working with you during the last weeks of this quarter and throughout the rest of the year. I hope you will not hesitate to contact me at any time. My phone line and e-mail are always available to you. I am NOT here just to answer questions about the particular course I am assigned to help with - you are welcome to use me for general encouragement, to pray for you, - in short, support you in whatever way I can during your time in Oak Brook.

To tell you a little about me, I live in the great state of Texas in the Dallas / Fort Worth area. I work for a law firm that specializes in civil and criminal law. I currently work primarily for the criminal defense attorney and it is, needless to say, never boring.:) No matter whether a person is guilty or not, the law of our land guarantees them a fair trial / their day in court. If you were accused of doing something, you would want someone like my supervising attorney, Mr. Brent Bowen, to be there to represent you. He is a wonderful attorney & a great man. May his tribe increase!

I also currently serve on the Alumni Association Board as Paralegal Representative. You will begin receiving the e-mails I send out to the paralegals (even though you aren't alumni yet) so you can stay informed on what is happening, give me your feedback, and take advantage of as much as you can while you are still a student. I'll explain more about all that later.

I am planning on giving each of you a call sometime in the next couple of weeks (before finals prep hits and you don't answer the phone:) to say hello & introduce myself, answer questions, explain my job as paralegal rep and how that relates to you, etc. I look forward to speaking with each of you for a few minutes. If I miss you for some reason, please call me back!

Happy studying & talk to you soon!