Convert resolution into complete, enforceable, operational terms.
Transactional work product
How to write an MPT settlement term sheet or agreement
A settlement term sheet or agreement turns a resolution into terms a court could enforce and the parties could carry out. The MPT expects you to identify the parties and the released claims, state the payment or other performance with amounts and dates, address confidentiality, default and remedies, and use precise language that leaves no gap for a later dispute. Graders check that the terms match what the client actually agreed to in the file and that important protections are not omitted. Watch for release scope, whether the release is mutual, and what happens if a payment is missed. Draft in the order of the parties' obligations so each term can be found and enforced. Read the assignment memo for the exact terms the client authorized. The framework below sets out the skeleton, the items to read for, and a rubric for scoring your draft.
AUDIENCEParties, counsel, and future enforcer
Precise, neutral, internally consistent, and implementation focused.
Parties, counsel, and future enforcer
Build this structure before drafting
- 1
Parties and dispute
- 2
Obligations, amounts, and dates
- 3
Conditions and contingencies
- 4
Release scope
- 5
Confidentiality or non-disparagement if authorized
- 6
Default, enforcement, and signatures
What to extract
- Who must do exactly what and when
- Defined terms and covered claims
- Conditions precedent
- Tax, confidentiality, default, and enforcement issues
Format-specific traps
- Vague performance duties
- Release broader than client authority
- No consequence for default
- Terms that conflict across sections
A usable opening
In consideration of the mutual promises below, the parties agree as follows: ___.
Score the finished product analytically
What NCBE lists
NCBE lists a proposal for settlement or agreement, and a contract provision, among the example tasks an MPT may require. A settlement term sheet is a natural fit for the first. It states the terms a client is prepared to accept and organizes them for the other side.
Follow the task memo for the form.
NCBE's instructions grade responsiveness to the task memo and the content, thoroughness and organization of the response. A term sheet is thorough when every term the memo asks for appears, and organized when related terms sit together under clear headings.
Precision, and what you can rely on
NCBE's skills document says communication includes organizing and expressing ideas with precision, clarity, logic and economy. Settlement terms depend on precise wording.
NCBE also says the File may include contracts and correspondence and that some of its facts may be irrelevant, ambiguous or conflicting. Draft from the facts the File establishes and flag what it leaves open.
Practice walk-through: a term sheet for a boundary dispute
This scenario is invented for practice and is not NCBE material. The task memo asks for a settlement term sheet resolving a boundary dispute in which one neighbor built a fence 14 inches onto the other's lot. The File has a survey, the parties' letters and the client's instructions. The Library has an invented statute requiring that any transfer of land be in a signed writing. The instructions authorize settlement if the fence is moved or a strip is sold for $4,000.
A workable term sheet names the parties and dispute, then the obligations with amounts and dates: "By August 1, Owner A shall remove the fence at Owner A's cost, or the parties shall sign the deed described in paragraph 4." Add the conditions, such as the survey line being controlling, the scope of the release, which covers claims about the fence and not other disputes, and a default remedy. Because the statute requires a signed writing for land transfers, provide for a recorded deed. A losing draft says the neighbors 'will work out the fence,' releases 'all claims of any kind,' and skips the deed.
Targeted format drill
15-minute drill
Rewrite three vague promises using a named actor, required action, objective standard, deadline, and verification method.
Questions about this format
What tone should an MPT settlement term sheet or agreement use?+
Precise, neutral, internally consistent, and implementation focused.
What is the biggest trap?+
The most common failure in this format is vague performance duties.
Is a settlement proposal an MPT task?+
Yes. NCBE lists a proposal for settlement or agreement among the tasks examinees might be instructed to complete.
What writing quality does NCBE require?+
Precision, clarity, logic and economy, and an assessment of the recipient's perspective, according to NCBE's communication skill.
What documents can appear in an MPT File?+
Contracts, correspondence, pleadings, client documents, transcripts and records among others, per NCBE, and some of it may be irrelevant.
How should I handle a term the File does not settle?+
Flag it. NCBE expects examinees to recognize missing or conflicting facts and identify sources of more facts, not to invent them.
Who controls the format of a settlement deliverable?+
The task memorandum, which NCBE says is the first document in the File and contains the instructions for the task.
Which jurisdictions use both MPT items?+
Jurisdictions that administer the Uniform Bar Examination use both MPT items, according to NCBE, while other user jurisdictions may select one or both.
Primary and official sources
NCBE: preparing for the MPT↗NCBE: MPT skills tested↗NCBE: the Multistate Performance Test↗Settlement (litigation) (Wikipedia)↗More from the MPT document library
This settlement term sheet or agreement is one of 14 formats in the MPT document library. Compare it against the Contract provisions with explanation format and the Policy memorandum or proposal format to see how structure and tone shift by document type.