Plain English - Organise: Difference between revisions
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{{a|plainenglish|}}No-one needs to be told the business imperatives for clear, attractive drafting anymore.<ref>Oh ''you'' do, do you? Well, see [[Plain English - Why|here]].</ref> So, here's a practical guide to how to do it. Think of this as catharsis: like weeding; like pruning; like throwing out all your old rubbish and sprucing up your house because some clients are coming to stay. | {{a|plainenglish|}}No-one needs to be told the business imperatives for clear, attractive drafting anymore.<ref>Oh ''you'' do, do you? Well, see [[Plain English - Why|here]].</ref> So, here's a practical guide to how to do it. Think of this as catharsis: like weeding; like pruning; like throwing out all your old rubbish and sprucing up your house because some clients are coming to stay. | ||
It is easier to start with something | It is easier to start with something genuinely awful, like a Linklaters MTN Programme or something like that. But it would probably work as well if you are starting with a fresh piece of paper. | ||
=== Order === | === Order === | ||
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::Consider: | ::Consider: | ||
{{quote| | {{quote|Following an enforcement of the Security, the Noteholders rights to be paid amounts due under the Notes will be subordinated to (i) the Issuer’s share of all taxes owing by the Issuer, (ii) the Trustee’s fees, costs, charges, expenses and liabilities; (iii) certain amounts owing to the Agents and the Corporate Service Provider; (iv) fees of the Disposal Agent, Calculation Agent and/or Collateral Manager, any amounts owing to the Hedge Counterparty under the Hedging Agreement and any amounts owing to the Vendor under the Collateral Sale Agreement and (v) any other claims as specified in the Conditions as may be amended by the Issue Deed relating to the relevant Series of Notes, that rank in priority to the Notes. Such subordination could significantly reduce the amount of available proceeds receivable by the Noteholders following the liquidation of the Collateral or on an enforcement of the Security.}} | ||
::Compared with: | ::Compared with: | ||
{{quote| | {{quote|Following an enforcement of the Security, the Noteholders rights to be paid amounts due under the Notes will be subordinated to: | ||
# | # The Issuer’s share of all taxes owing by the Issuer; | ||
# | # The Trustee’s fees, costs, charges, expenses and liabilities; | ||
# | # Certain amounts owing to the Agents and the Corporate Service Provider; | ||
# | # Fees of the Disposal Agent, Calculation Agent and/or Collateral Manager, | ||
# | # Any amounts owing to the Hedge Counterparty under the Hedging Agreement | ||
# | # Any amounts owing to the Vendor under the Collateral Sale Agreement and | ||
# | # Any other claims as specified in the Conditions as may be amended by the Issue Deed relating to the relevant Series of Notes, that rank in priority to the Notes. | ||
# Such subordination could significantly reduce the amount of available proceeds receivable by the Noteholders following the liquidation of the Collateral or on an enforcement of the Security.}} | |||
::Now I don't claim this as elegant drafting by any stretch: it is terrible — though you should have seen how it started. Notice that as you break it up you notice that they forgot to peg out ''Hedge Counterparty amounts'' and ''Vendor amounts'' in the original drafting. And notice also how, as a [[legal eagle]], you are drawn into it, parsing the elements, and at the back of your mind wondering “''how can I fiddle with this to somehow make it better?''” | ::Now I don't claim this as elegant drafting by any stretch: it is terrible — though you should have seen how it started. Notice that as you break it up you notice that the punctuation is inconsistent and they forgot to peg out ''Hedge Counterparty amounts'' and ''Vendor amounts'' in the original drafting. And notice also how, as a [[legal eagle]], you are drawn into it, parsing the elements, and at the back of your mind wondering “''how can I fiddle with this to somehow make it better?''” | ||
:: Now consider this: | |||
{{quote|Before you are paid your Redemption Amount under the Notes the Issuer must first settle its liabilities to the Trustee and all of the services providers relating to the Notes, any tax liabilities and any other amounts that rank ahead of payment obligations under the Notes. This may reduce how much you ultimately receive under the Notes.}} | |||
* '''Consider columns''': Yes, that requires being a ninja at MS Word, but shorter lines of text are easier to read. Especially for “standard terms” documents. It also forces you to keep paragraphs shorter. | * '''Consider columns''': Yes, that requires being a ninja at MS Word, but shorter lines of text are easier to read. Especially for “standard terms” documents. It also forces you to keep paragraphs shorter. | ||