You have probably never heard of the obscure legal phrase – “the Statute of Frauds”. And that’s good.
Way back in the 1600’s, folks finally decided that “he said, she said” is a really bad way to decide if there is a contract and what that contract does and doesn’t say. The best way to make sure that both you and I agree about what we’re agreeing to, is to put it on paper and sign it.
At your company, you have written contracts for all manner of things. So you’re good to go, right?
Maybe.
Even though you probably don’t do business merely on a handshake, if what you think you want, versus what your vendor thinks you’re asking for, versus what your vendor is willing to give you regardless of what you think you want, and regardless of what they think that you think that you want… yes, my head is spinning, too!
It’s important that your contracts accurately reflect what you and your vendors are actually agreeing to. That is where a sound contract review and approval process comes in to play. From a legal standpoint, there isn’t any contract language that is inherently “good” or “bad”. It’s good if it matches what both you and your vendor are both agreeing to, and it’s bad if it doesn’t match.
When you ask your lawyer to review a contract, I need your help to make sure I know what it is that you think you are asking for. So that I can then, in turn, make sure that the contract actually matches what is in your head!