What Business Contracts Should (and Shouldn’t) Accomplish

• August 29, 2019
• Business Law

No one starts a business because they love paperwork. For most business owners, worrying about things like contracts is simply part of doing business, and it can seem tedious or even boring. For most of us, the contracts we have with employees, clients, contractors and landlords are something we hope to just set and forget. We notice these contracts only if they end up causing us problems. However, a well-drafted contract can save you an unimaginable amount of work and stress, just like a poorly drafted contract can spell doom for a business. Not every contract you sign will be drafted by you or your attorney. Over the course of running a business, many entrepreneurs will be asked to sign things that are given to them by other businesses – and, by the way, you should be asking your attorney to review any contract given to you by someone else – but it’s vital to understand that you are in control of the paperwork you push in front of others, so it should be drafted with your interests in mind.

What Business Contracts Should Do for Your Business

Contracts should protect your interests. Contracts you’re asking others to sign should seek to reduce your business’s liability whenever possible. You don’t want your contracts to exploit or take unfair advantage of others (more on that below), but you do need to ensure that your own contracts aren’t opening you up to litigation. Contracts should be thorough. When you ask someone to sign a contract, you should ask yourself whether the contract anticipates every possible outcome of your interaction with the other party. This is difficult for someone to do on their own, which is why these matters are best left to experienced attorneys who know the risks your business could be facing in any given interaction.

What Business Contracts Shouldn’t Do for Your Business

Your contracts should never seek unfair advantage. It might be tempting to think that because you are drafting a contract, you should also be setting the terms. That’s true to a certain extent; but if you overextend the boundaries of what you can reasonably ask of another party, you could be rendering that contract useless. Your contract could be subject to review, and if it is unreasonable (as is sometimes the case with drastically one-sided employee contracts), a review by the courts could end up making it null and void. Your contracts should never contain errors. Yes, this is an obvious point, but it’s so important that it is worth stating and restating. You would be surprised how many contracts contain small errors that, if scrutinized by someone who isn’t working for the best interest of your business, could be leveraged against you and your interests. It’s one of the most important reasons to seek counsel from a business attorney.

Whatever Your Business’s Contract Needs, We Can Help

We help your business make sure that every contract you ask others to sign is in keeping with the law and drafted to work in your favor. We also review any contracts you might be asked to sign, so you can be sure you aren’t being taken advantage of. If you are a business owner who wants help drafting or understanding contracts, we encourage you to give us a call at (443) 535-9715 or fill out our online contact form. The Fredrick,Maryland business law attorney at Lusk Law, LLC are here to help.