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What does it mean?
Someone’s given you a contract to sign. Maybe they’ve given you some
time to review it, and they may even have advised you to have an attorney
to look at it. You tried reading it yourself, but every time you see the
words “hereinafter” or “notwithstanding the foregoing” you feel like
giving up.
But this contract is important and
you need someone to look at it: someone who can tell you what it means
in clear language that you can understand, someone who will answer your
questions, and not make you feel like an idiot for asking.
I will go through your contract
line by line, help you identify pitfalls and windfalls, seemingly
innocuous clauses that could be disastrous, and the apparently Draconian
sections that might be completely harmless.
Should I sign it?
Contracts are never reviewed in a vacuum. They’re balanced against the
market/industry standard and audited against the situation that the
contracting parties are in. Whether or not you should sign something is
ultimately a decision that only you can make – but a lawyer can help you
make that decision a fully informed one.
With an understanding of your
situation, I’ll be able to help you identify the key factors in your
decision, answer all of your questions, and empower you to make the
choice on whether to sign a document that someone else has prepared, the
right one.
Can I change it? How?
In most cases, yes you can! Bargaining power is rarely equal, and
even the best contract lawyer can't change that. But you do have a right
to be protected from unfair or illegal practices, the trick is
knowing where you should push back and where you can give a little. I
can either give you the speaking points that will enable you to
negotiation on your own behalf (often the most efficient and effective
method), or if need be, I can negotiate on your behalf.
What kind do I need?
There are very few new legal documents under the sun, and chances are
that someone's done something like you're trying to do before. This
does not mean that cookie-cutter document solutions offered by
non-lawyers are going to be solution to your problems. The work's that
been done in the past simply provides a good starting point, and saves
you the expense of having a lawyer draft your document from
scratch.
Based on a short narrative of your
situation and the answers to a few questions, I can determine what kind
of document you need and begin to locate a great form for us to start
from.
Do I need one at all?
Here's something you won't hear from a lot of other lawyers: it's
possible that you may not need my help at all. You might not need a
contract for a number of reasons. You may already have one (verbal, de
facto, etc), it may unnecessarily complicate your situation, or your
situation may be covered adequately by an existing document.
Best of all, you won't spend a
dime finding out if this is the case.
What kind can you help with?
I have experience with dozens of different kinds of documents: leases,
licenses, employment agreements, promissory notes, service agreements,
letters of intent, stock/asset purchase agreements, releases,
disclaimers, management agreements, and more. I also have a large
network of legal service providers whom I can access for any other type
of legal form. I have also worked in a number of different industries,
including: manufacturing, food and beverage, automotive, professional
service, energy, entertainment, pharmaceutical, medical, legal, retail,
and others.
The bottom line is, in the
unlikely event that I can't help you, I can find and recommend
someone who can. I'm your new friend in the legal business; your
contracts guy.
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