While it is generally true that contracts can be broken—that usually does not occur without repercussions and sometimes severe financial and legal penalties. Walking away from obligations is never a good idea and allowing yourself to be vulnerable to the complications of a broken contract could be dangerous for both your financial standing and the health of your business overall. If you are a business owner, you will probably sign many contracts over the years—whether with employees and independent contractors, vendors, partners, or other entities.
There is little point in creating a contract, however, if is not as solid as possible. Here are five tips to achieve an airtight contract:
- Be serious about the finest of details – this begins with outlining everyone involved in the contract, down to any dates of expiration for a business relationship, whether that is for a contractor, vendor, or someone else or another company.
- If possible, include specific dates for any required payments. Finances are not a subject that should be left open to interpretation! Whether the contract is relying on you to make payments or for someone to pay you, this should never be left open to ambiguity.
- Add a dispute resolution clause – whether you would settle a legal dispute using litigation, arbitration, or mediation, you can outline that clearly in this part of a contract, with the potential for saving monumental headaches later. Here, you can even be specific about where dispute resolution would take place, and who would pay any possible attorney’s fees. Alternative dispute resolution like mediation is extremely popular today for business disputes, and especially when the parties involved are interested in preserving a long-standing relationship.
- Be clear about partnerships – outline titles, job duties, financial information and profit disbursement schedules, as well as information or agreements regarding exit strategies and what happens if a partner dies.
- Discuss confidentiality – while this is important for full-time employees in many cases, it may be even more so for independent contractors—no matter what amount of time they work for you. And if your work is particularly sensitive, it may be necessary to have other sign a confidentiality agreement too.
Do you need legal assistance with a partnership issue or business dispute? If so, contact the Bolender Law Firm. Our attorneys are experienced in representing clients in state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate level. Call us at 310-320-0725 now or submit an easy consultation request online. We are here to help!