Are Your Contracts Protecting or Hurting You?

You are finally about to land that much sought-after client, job, project, rental space or sales agreement, and you are ready to close the deal.  It is vitally important that you not only have a written contract, but that you review, negotiate and understand the terms and provisions to which you are agreeing in order to protect yourself and help prevent future problems. 
 
More than a binding legal agreement, a contract serves as an important point of reference for each of the parties, defines the relationship of the parties and irons out all your terms and conditions in advance. The best way to avoid a future dispute or potential litigation is to craft a solid agreement in which you’re confident that you have negotiated the best possible terms for you or your business.
 
As long as a contract meets the legal requirements governing contracts, an agreement will be binding, even if you’ve written it yourself without any legal advice. But this can be a double-edged sword. There are a many, many details to a well-drafted contract, and if you agree to a contract that is missing some of the details, or has details that you don’t understand, you may be entering a contract that isn’t what you believe it to be, or worse, opening yourself or your small business to liability.
 
A basic contract will, of course, describe how the contract operates and how the parties expect a particular commercial transaction to work, but a well-written contract will also anticipate various situations that might arise and include provisions as to how to navigate those situations, describe what happens if the transaction doesn’t go as the parties expect, and will fully describe the parties’ positions if the unexpected occurs. And as most small business owners know, the more you are able to plan for the unexpected, the more stable your business can be.
 
One of the best ways your small business can manage risk is by ensuring that your contracts are well-written so that, even if a transaction doesn’t go as planned, you’ll be prepared.
 
We can prepare your business contracts or review contracts presented to you for the following situations and more:
 
· Hiring or being employed as an employee or independent contractor
· Employment contracts, including independent contractor agreements
· Confidentiality/Nondisclosure/Non-compete Agreements
· Profit sharing agreements

· Selling products or providing services  
· Sales and Service contracts

· Entering into leases and other real estate agreements
· Commercial and Residential leases
· Purchase and sales contracts
· Lending/financing documents (Promissory notes, Deeds of trust, Security agreements)

· Buying or Selling a business
· Asset purchase agreements
· Stock purchase agreements
· Consulting agreements
· Promissory notes
· Security agreements
· Non-compete agreements

· Agreements between Business Partners
· LLC Operating agreements
· LLC Member Buy-Sell Agreements
· Shareholder Agreements
- Partnership Agreements
 
· Custom contracts to document any agreement between two or more parties
 
We understand the issues and legal struggles that businesses face and provide representation that aims to help our clients navigate those issues. To discuss your contract needs, call Jeana Morrissey at 480-556-1902 or email her at [email protected].

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