The power and necessity of taking notes in business meetings has been highlighted by the case of Jeffrey Blue vs Mike Ashley (Sports Direct).

Jeffrey Blue, an ex-Merrill Lynch investment banker who worked for Mike Ashley, owner of Sports Direct, lost his claim in which he alleged Ashley had reneged on an agreement they made in a London bar in January 2013.

Blue claimed that Ashley agreed to pay him a £15m bonus if he doubled Sports Direct’s shares from £4 to £8. Blue lost the High Court case due to the lack of contemporaneous evidence (notes taken at the time of the alleged discussions) to back up his recollection of what was agreed.

It is never wise to assume a legally binding, multi-million verbal contract has been made, especially while key parties are under the influence of copious quantities of alcohol, without following up and creating a written contract.

However the key lesson from this case is simple but powerful – always take personal notes during business meetings, whether they be informal discussions between you and a colleague or business contact, or formal meetings with many attendees.

If formal minute taking has not been undertaken, circulate your notes where necessary and gain agreement to them. The human memory can quickly become blurred and distorted over time, and it is inevitable our colleagues will have different perceptions of what occurred during a meeting, whether it be tone, facts, agreed actions or even how many people were present.

Remember the old adage “If it’s not written down it didn’t happen”.

Improve your note-taking during meetings as a matter of good practice. Contemporaneous notes can then be relied upon if any matter requires clarification, or any dispute arises.

Remember these key points when taking notes:

1. Take down key data at the beginning before you start the session ie who is attending, location, date and time of the meeting.
2. Make bullet points to summarise what was discussed and agreed at each stage of the meeting.
3. Write as you listen. This helps you record your most accurate version of events.
4. Take notes by hand, as this creates a greater chance of recall because of the muscle memory involved in spelling out words and letters using a pen and paper.
5. Record dinner and lunch meetings as soon as you can afterwards to ensure accuracy.
6. Critique your note-taking and check to see if your notes can provide all the information needed if referred to long after the event.