contract-clause-library

# Retrieving a clause The point of a clause library is that people stop drafting from memory. That only works if retrieval gives the whole position. ## Return four things The **preferred** clause, verbatim · the approved **variants**, with when each is used · the **fallback** position and the floor below which it goes to a partner · the **drafting notes** — why it is worded that way, and what breaks if it is changed. ## Always state the floor "Approved down to a 12-month cap; below that, partner sign-off" is the useful part. A clause without its negotiating range gets conceded. ## Version and jurisdiction Say which version this is, when it was last reviewed, and which jurisdictions it was approved for. A clause approved for one jurisdiction is not automatically right in another. ## When there is no approved clause Say so. Do not adapt the nearest one — that is drafting, and it needs a fee earner. ## Never Return a clause from a previous matter as though it were approved, or a variant whose review date has passed without saying so.