Practical Law US

A team of lawyers led by legal knowledge provider Practical Law US (PL US), with a customer base of more than 130,000 lawyers in 4,200 organisations worldwide, translated The Chancery Lane Project’s (TCLP) clauses into US jurisdictions. Practical Law is part of Thomson Reuters.

What do TCLP clauses deliver for Practical Law US?

Examples of the substantive amendments made to the English versions of TCLP clauses are: 

• Emma’s Clause (lease covenants requiring the occupier to operate a new-build flat to its maximum energy efficiency) has been amended to address the tenant’s privacy concerns related to the landlord’s ability to monitor and use the tenant’s utilities consumption data. The right to monitor has been expressly linked to the landlord’s provision of energy and heat, which has resolved a possible validity challenge to this clause; 
• Emilia’s Protocols (litigation and arbitration protocols aimed at reducing the carbon and environmental footprint of dispute resolution). Additional provisions have been added to the US version covering conduct of low-carbon depositions, which are oral out-of-court witness examinations that are not a feature of litigation in England and Wales; and 
• Alice’s Clause (requirements imposed on suppliers to reduce single-use plastic when providing facilities services) has a new definition of Plastic Materials in line with the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 40 (Protection of Environment, § 463.2), which has replaced the definition under the relevant EU legislation in the England and Wales version of this clause.

How did TCLP help Practical Law US get here?

Thomson Reuters has encouraged its editors to work with TCLP. Practical Law US editors got involved in TCLP’s flagship event ‘The Big Hack’ in November 2020 and formed a small team that worked together on the US translations.

What changes have the TCLP clauses made?

Practical Law US is now exploring how to incorporate these clauses into its online resources and address increasing client demand for climate-conscious drafting. For now, all 16 published US versions of TCLP clauses can be found in this document. 

What are the key takeaways?

• TCLP clauses are suitable for translation into other jurisdictions. 
• In jurisdictional translations, lawyers should be mindful of potential validity issues, different procedures and standards, as well as different spelling and terminology.
• Both original and translated TCLP clauses can have the greatest impact when published in legal knowledge databases. 

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