Businesses are built upon the foundation of a contract. It’s impossible for a business to function without contracts in place. Contracts can be complex, and many aspects of the law need to be considered when a contract is being drawn up or signed. Thankfully, one of the skilled contract drafting and review lawyers in Westchester County NY on the Rosenbaum & Taylor team can assist you with every part of this process.
Contracts play an important role in allocating various factors between parties, such as liabilities, benefits, and risks. It’s essential that a contract has accurately drafted provisions for a liability. There are many problems that can potentially occur, and if a disaster does strike, parties will look at a contract to decide what happens next.
Through legal contracts, it’s possible for a business to get access to the supplies that it needs, rent or purchase a space for operations, and hire new employees. When you work with our Westchester County business attorneys, you’ll know that your interests will be represented when a contract is being drafted, negotiated, or reviewed. We focus on every last detail and make sure that contracts provide our clients with a fair deal.
What Is Legally Considered A Contract?
There’s a fairly broad definition for contracts legally. In order for a contract to be binding under the law, it needs to have two elements. First of all, every party involved in the contract needs to be in agreement. Secondly, there must be an exchange of something of value. It’s not always necessary for a contract to be written up, and it’s possible for assets besides cash to be exchanged. It’s important for parties to fully understand the agreement they are making when they are entering a contract.
What Are Unenforceable Contracts?
In the majority of cases, if a party agrees to do something in exchange for another party promising to do something else, a contract will be enforceable under the law. Because of this, New York typically allows contracts to be enforced even if the contract is verbal and not in writing. It’s simply necessary for both parties to have intended to enter into a binding agreement. With that said, a law that is known as the “Statute of Frauds” provides exceptions for some types of contracts.
There are also other reasons that a contract may not be able to be enforced legally, such as contracts that include:
- A mutually-made error that leads to one or more parties being unable to execute the contract as intended
- An inability to perform a role
- A plaintiff agreeing to accept payment outside of what was specified in the contract, which would discharge the obligation outlined in the contract
- One or more parties entering into the contract because of pressure
- Incorrectly believing that none of the parties involved completely understand a contract’s terms
- Replacing the old contract with a new one
- Approval of the defendant’s actions or lack of action from the plaintiff
- A verbal contract that specifies a written agreement, like an oral real estate contract
- A contract with terms that are either impossible or impractical to carry out
- A contract that does not specify things like duration, pricing, or additional essential terms
- Concerns of public policy
- Nondisclosure, fraud, or other types of misrepresentation
- Contracts involving illegal matters
What does this mean? In some cases, it means that a contract that would otherwise be valid could be voided under the law if one or more parties entered into the contract because of pressure, fraud, or a mistake.
What Types of Business Contracts do Lawyers Handle?
In the majority of cases, parties that are negotiating a contract won’t purposefully do anything to damage business relationships going forward. With that said, people that don’t work in law should be aware that many people aren’t able to spot potential issues with contract drafting. Intelligent people that don’t work in contract law have unintentionally created contracts that can’t be enforced.
The team at Rosenbaum & Taylor has experience drafting business agreements of all types, such as:
- Franchising Agreements
- Agreements Regarding Sale and Purchase
- Contracts for a Partnership
- Dissolution Agreements
- Agreements Between Vendors
- Manufacturing Contracts
- Distributing Contracts
- Contracts for Employment
- Buying and Selling Agreements
- Service Contracts
- Waivers and Releases
- Shareholder Agreements
- Agreements Regarding Company Operations
- Property Contracts
- Leases
- Nondisclosure or Confidentiality Agreements
- Agreements for Licensing
- Non-compete Agreements
- Agreements for Master Services
- Independent Contractor and Vendor Agreements
- Service Level Agreements
How Can Help an Attorney Help Draft a Contract?
If a contract is properly drafted and written, it can help to protect both you and your business against costly litigation in the future. If you work with Rosenbaum & Taylor, you can trust our team of Westchester contract lawyers to assist you during every step of this process. You can trust us to learn more about your business so that we are able to provide you with the protection you need when a contract is being drafted.
If there is a transaction involved, we will negotiate the contract on your behalf to help you get the best deal you can. You can trust our legal team to review contracts for you to ensure they won’t cause issues for your business.
Well-Written Contracts Contain These Four Elements:
- Every party involved must agree to the contract’s terms.
- Every party must have the authority to bind the other parties to the terms of the contract and understand the contract’s terms.
- Something of value, such as money, services, or goods, needs to be exchanged.
- An offer must be clearly made and the contract must be clearly accepted.
Why Should I Hire a Lawyer to Draft My Contract?
There are often many stipulations associated with an agreement that is being made by multiple parties. If you’re working to come to an agreement regarding a legal matter or are focused on something of a smaller scale, it’s essential that the contract is laid out in a way that allows all parties involved to fully understand an agreement’s terms and conditions. It’s particularly important to work with an attorney when drafting and finalizing a contract that involves crucial legal matters. Why is this the case?
It Helps to Prevent Arguments in the Present and Future
If an attorney works to develop personal or business purposes, they’ll be able to work to create an agreement that benefits everyone involved. When an attorney is a part of the process, you’ll be taking a step towards preventing arguments during the development of a contract or after the contract has become binding. This helps to minimize contract disputes further down the road. A lawyer will ensure that everyone’s interests are represented in the agreement.
Attorneys Will Take Steps to Prevent a Breach of Contract and Ensure That Your Interests are Protected
This is why it’s essential to have an attorney draft a contract for you. As an example, when businesses are drafting contracts, the attorneys representing them will specifically use language that makes sure that other parties involved won’t break the contract in the future. Breach of contract can lead to significant emotional and financial stress.
Attorneys Have Extensive Experience with Contract Drafting
Legal professionals can draw upon their expertise when a contract is being drafted. If you choose to develop a contract independently, the language that you use could cause problems for you. Essential terms could be left out of the contract. If you get an attorney involved, you can make sure that the contract will be drafted by a professional. You can ensure that the contract includes everything that it needs to include.
When Is it Time to Contact a Contract Attorney?
It’s common for businesses to ponder when it’s best to involve a lawyer in business contractors. It is always beneficial to talk to a lawyer about business relationships. However, these are some of the situations in which seeking counsel from an attorney with relevant experience is crucial:
- When a new business is being formed
- When a new employee is being hired
- When a new relationship with a manufacturer, distributor, or vendor is being formed
- When a relationship with a manufacturer, distributor, or vendor is changing
- When a new investor or partner is being brought on
- When an existing business is being dissolved
- When you are looking into buying an existing business or selling a business that you currently own
The situations above are just a few of the many situations in which you’ll want to reach out to an attorney that specializes in business contracts. Talk to one of the experienced Westchester business lawyers at our firm if you have any concerns or questions about existing or new agreements.
It’s Not Too Late to Discuss Your Existing Business Contracts With a Westchester County Attorney
If you’re a business owner, it’s possible that you may not have all of the contracts you need. If you’ve been using boilerplate contracts, it’s also possible that these contracts could cause issues for you down the road. It’s common for business owners to focus on making deals more than anything else. They may not be interested in the minutiae of contracts. Beyond that, if you’re about to bring a deal to a close, you won’t want to have to tell a customer or client that you’ll have to speak with your attorney before you can do business with them.
Luckily, you still have time to draw up the contracts you need. Even if you’re already established business relationships, you can formalize them by having an experienced attorney draft a written contract for you. The lawyer will be able to go over the agreement you currently have and draw up a contract that protects your interests and makes the agreement binding.
If you used a boilerplate contract, a lawyer will be able to make sure that the agreement is invalidated so that a new contract that represents the interests of all parties can be drafted. An attorney will also be able to ensure that the new contract is legally binding.
Important Terms in Business Contracts
Terms and conditions are a part of any contract. They help to outline the agreement that is being made. Although the terms and conditions won’t be the same in all contracts, there are terms and conditions that should be used in the majority of contracts. These terms and conditions include:
- The obligations and duties of all parties involved
- The rights that all parties are entitled to
- Payment amounts and schedules, including penalties for late payments
- Liability limitations
- Guidelines for resolving disputes
- Indemnity clauses
- Confidentiality agreements
When a contract is being drafted, you should make sure that your interests are being fairly represented.
Contact the Contract Drafting and Review Lawyers in Westchester County at Rosenbaum & Taylor
If you need assistance in drafting a contract, or if you have a contract that you want to review, schedule a free consultation with a Westchester County business law firm. Contact Rosenbaum & Taylor P.C. as soon as possible through our chat service at any time or complete our online help form.
