Growing up we were taught there are basic tasks we are expected to master in order to live in a civilized society: respect elders, don’t slurp your soup, and always use the Oxford comma (but see Vampire Weekend).

Growing up as lawyers there were corollary tasks we were expected to master: respect judges, dress appropriately for court, and know how to draft a binding, judicially enforceable stipulation. This last, seemingly simple task, is often done incorrectly, rendering the document, well, not worth the paper it’s written on.