When I first read the text of Zoom's original update to its terms of service (which caused a huge outcry and forced Zoom to backtrack), I didn't think "oh, evil company" -- I thought, "some poor lawyer made a big mistake."
It was somehow obvious to me that this was bad lawyering: This kind of broad, over the top, "everything under the sun" language is a lawyer trick to get "as many rights as possible" for your client -- without understanding what your client's business actually needs, or how your client's business actually works.
One of the greatest lessons I learned in lawyering was from legendary M&A lawyer Robert Townsend: He had a knack for quickly deciphering what actually mattered for each client's specific business needs. He would then fight tooth and nail for those things, and let go of most other things.
When you go to the store to buy milk and butter for cookies, you should buy milk and butter for cookies. If you buy 40 other things you don't need, did you "win"?
Good lawyers don't write "everything under the sun" clauses -- anyone can write that.
Good lawyers focus on what actually matters
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