Reverse Sandwich Contracts: Crafting a tasty contract experience (Checklist Legal Podcast, Ep 01)

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What if lawyers wrote beautiful contracts that everyone could read, understand, and use?

What if these contracts helped make negotiation easier and reduced commercial disputes?

There is a fun and easy way to structure a contract so you get all the legal power of a traditional contract with ridiculous amounts of productivity for everyone that touches the contract (including lawyers, clients and customers).

These are called Reverse Sandwich Contracts. And that’s what we look at in Episode One of the Checklist Legal Podcast.

The ultimate structure aim of a productive Reverse Sandwich Contract is to get good stuff we often need to know or that often changes at the front (Key Details Table) and back (Schedule) and standardised stuff that doesn’t change in the middle (Standard Terms).

Golden rule: If it changes regularly, pull it from the middle and put it up the front into a Key Details table or at the back into a Schedule.

What's wrong with traditional contracts?

After the Reverse Sandwich treatment

KEY TAKEAWAYS

When you Reverse Sandwich a contract, you get a contract that is:

• more ‘hands off’ from the legal team
• useful and usable for lawyers and non-lawyers
• easier to manage and control
• client-friendly
• optimised for automated workflows
• ready for paperless offices
• fast to navigate
• simple to vary later
• futuristic and sexy!

The ultimate structure aim of a productive Reverse Sandwich Contract is to get good stuff we often need to know or that often changes at the front (Key Details Table) and back (Schedule) and standardised stuff that doesn’t change in the middle (Standard Terms).

Golden rule: If it changes regularly, pull it from the middle and put it up the front into a Key Details table or at the back into a Schedule (see the Checklist Legal Resources for examples)

LINKS

Here are links to sources from Episode 01 of the Checklist Legal Podcast and background information:

• Earl of Sandwich: PJ Grosley, ‘Tour to London’ (1772).
• Big rocks vs Gravel: Steven Covey, ‘First Things First’, (1994).
• Cannot recommend this book enough: Daniel and Richard Susskind, Future of the Professions,
• How slow loading websites can affect sales: N Patel, ‘How Loading Time Affects Your Bottom Line’ blog.kissmetrics.com/loading-time/ and R Whittington, ‘Is A Slow Website Costing You Sales?’ rickwhittington.com/blog/is-a-slow-website-costing-you-sales/, both accessed 9 May 2017.
• The eBook by Verity White, Secrets of Productive Contracts 
• Head to the Resources page for access to the other templates and examples mentioned in the show.