Business Contract Lawyer
For business owners, properly drafted and negotiated business contracts are crucial. Failing to have a contract in place can result in costly litigation spanning months or even years. The court systems are littered with contract cases about “handshake deals” that eventually went south. Although plenty of deals start out with a handshake, it is important to have an attorney create contracts in order to cement the rights of the parties.
What Do Business Contract Lawyers Do?
A business contract lawyer makes sure that your business has the contracts it needs in place to manage risks while maintaining growth. This consists of examining the structure of the business and recommending both internal and external contracts. When the need for a business contract arises, a business contract attorney can assist with drafting and–if necessary–negotiation of the contract. A business attorney can also help draft contracts to be used in situations that arise frequently. For example, sales contracts, non-disclosure agreements, or employment agreements. A good business lawyer finds that balance between properly mitigating risk, while supporting and empowering your sales process. If you need review of existing contracts, or drafting and negotiation of new contracts, then you should talk to a business contract attorney.What Are Some Common Types of Business Contracts?
While businesses are capable of virtually infinite creativity, the contracts that support them generally fall into particularly defined categories. While there are many more, here are some common types of business contracts:
How Much Do Business Contract Lawyers Cost?
This depends on a great many factors, including your geographic market, the complexity of the legal and factual issues to be addressed in the contract, and the volume of the work sought. If the contract is especially common, flat rates might be available for business contracts. However, it is more common for business contracts to be drafted and negotiated on an hourly basis.
How Can a Contract Protect Your Business?
There are a ton of things that can go wrong in any business deal. Ideally, the business contract anticipates and protects against the fallout. If you’re the customer, contracts protect your right to whatever you’re buying. If you’re the provider, they protect your right to payment. Additionally, contracts address and clarify other legal obligations. What happens if a third party sues a party to a contract for something that was really the other party’s fault? The business contract may provide that the at-fault party is responsible for indemnifying against any claims resulting from its own fault. A properly prepared business contract will allocate risks among the parties for everything from earthquakes to non-deliveries.
What Are the Requirements for a Valid Contract?
A contract requires offer, acceptance, and consideration. In layman’s terms, this generally means both parties have to mutually agree to the terms of the deal, and the deal must be supported by some kind of exchange of promises.
Should I Hire a Lawyer for a Business Contract?
While there are never one-size-fits-all answers, the answer to this is: probably. A business contract lawyer will be aware of pitfalls and practices that you might not understand and will be able to help you make sure that best practices are followed. More and more platforms offer contract forms online, and some of them are quite good. However, beyond the most basic situations, it is a good idea to consult with a lawyer about the contracts you are preparing and entering.
Whenever you sign a contract, there is always a possibility that it could wind up in front of a judge or jury. Should that ever happen, you want to have the most clarity possible so that you won’t be surprised when that ruling comes down.
DISCLAIMER: This is for general informational purposes only and not furnished for purposes of offering legal advice. The best source of information for your specific matter is consulting an attorney.
Sales Agreement
If you’re selling goods or services on a repetitive basis, you need a way to ensure that you get paid on time for your goods/services, as well as allocate the risks arising from such sales. Furthermore, such contracts address how title to the subject goods changes hands. Different industries are likely to have different considerations when it comes to sales agreements. For example, if your business sells software as a service (SaaS) on a subscription basis, the sales agreement needs to clarify issues relating to the license to use the software, as well as the parties’ respective intellectual property rights.
Nondisclosure Agreement (NDA)
NDAs are used in business to protect sensitive information, such as trade secrets or other proprietary information. If you or representatives of your business are discussing sensitive topics with third parties, it is generally a good idea to get a signed NDA before the discussions progress too far. Some examples of scenarios calling for an NDA might include talking to prospective investors, or potential high-level employees.
Independent Contractor Agreement
Whether you’re hiring an independent contractor or working as an independent contractor, it is likely in your best interest to draft an independent contractor agreement to solidify the respective rights of the parties. This type of agreement is used in services agreements of all sorts, from software development to management consulting,
Master Services Agreement
If a service-based business relationship contemplates many individual instances of service, then a master services agreement (MSA) might be necessary. With an MSA, the master agreement lays out the general terms governing a relationship, and–typically–a new order form will be created for each separate engagement.
Partnership, Operating, and Shareholder Agreements
These agreements govern the relationships between the owners of a business. These should be created at the inception of a business, and establish the rights and obligations of the owners, as well as directors or managers of the company. As we’ve written specific to LLC operating agreements, entity organizational documents are crucial in both a business and a legal sense because it is important for all partners in a business to know these things at the outset.
Employment Agreement
Depending on the nature of an employment arrangement or the particular employee, you might need an employment agreement. This helps both employee and employer understand things like compensation, incentive structure, term, and termination.
License Agreement
A licensing agreement allows the licensee to use the licensor’s property in the licensee’s business. Businesses use license agreements to allow others to use intellectual property such as copyrights and patents, while still maintaining all ownership claims over the subject property.
Commercial Leases
A commercial lease dictates the rights of a landlord and tenant with respect to the use of a commercial property. These are long and complex documents, covering–among other things–rent obligations, deposits, responsibility for other expenses such as taxes, insurance and common area maintenance, and addressing the parties’ rights and obligations upon default.
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