1. Mark Popielarski – Spring 2013

2. Introduction
 What Is Transactional Law?
 Transactional Practice v. Litigation
 Locating & Using Transactional Practice Materials

3. What is Transactional Law?
 Work performed by lawyers can be divided into two broad categories:
 Litigation
 Transactional
 Litigation practice involves:
 Drafting court documents
 Interview
 Negotiations
 Litigating in a Court of Law
 Involves already existing legal dispute

4. What Is Transactional Law? (cont.)
 Transactional Law
 Transactional practice is prospective
 Focused on drafting documents & agreements
 Examples:
 Business Contracts
 Commercial Paper/Negotiable Instruments
 Commercial Real Estate Lease
 Address legal issues implicated by agreement before to ensure good deal
for client and avoid future litigation

5. Types of Transactional Material
 Numerous drafting aids available for practitioners (Practice Materials)
 Can be general, subject-specific, and/or jurisdiction-specific
 Drafting aids include:
 Sample documents & clauses
 Checklists
 Forms
 Other analytical and drafting tools
 Detail specific legal issues or current awareness

6. Where to Locate Transactional
Resources?
 Form Books (typically loose-leaf binders)
 Major Legal Research Platforms
 Westlaw
 Specific secondary sources
 Lexis
 Specific secondary sources
 Transactional Practice Centers (Classic ONLY)
 Bloomberg Law
 Transactional Law
 Practice Centers
 Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) – Current Awareness Reports & Portfolios

7. Where to Locate Transactional
Resources? (cont.)
 Drafting-specific platforms
 Practical Law Company (PLC)
 Free registration and access throughout law school career
 Recently purchased by Thomson Reuters—parent company of Westlaw
 Bradforms
 Considered the best Colorado-specific forms
 Gale Legal Forms Library (Denver Public Library)
 Wide selection of electronic forms
 Law firm documents’ library
 Many firms retain files of previous documents used for drafting
agreements

8. Considerations When Drafting
 Ensure resource is up-to-date
 Reflects current law
 Modify template to be responsive to client’s specific situation
 Do not want client to face legal consequences
 Using unmodified template could omit situation-specific legal
issues/concerns

9. Conclusion
 Transactional Law involves prospective drafting of agreements
 Transactional resources can be subject and jurisdiction specific
 Includes sample agreements, clauses, and legal analysis
 Available on all major platforms, in print, and from many law firms’
repositories
 Remember to always update templates—ensure it reflects current law
and addresses client’s specific needs