10 Reasons Lawyers Should Review Commercial Contracts

Regardless of the size of your business, and what sector you operate in, it is safe to assume that at some point, you are going to have to handle a contract situation.

This could be for hiring employees, engaging suppliers, or after successfully winning a tender from a major new client.

In such circumstances, you may consider the option of drawing up the contract yourself.

However, the smart thing to do as a business owner, or a corporation as a whole, is to have these commercial contracts looked over by a professional contract lawyer.

This article discusses 10 reasons why.

What exactly is a Contract Lawyer?

Before we outline the reasons, it’s a good idea to clarify what exactly a contract lawyer is.

Essentially, a contract lawyer is a professional who draws up an agreement for you, between you and another party, to form a working relationship based around your legal obligations.

Working specifically to protect the interests of your organisation, lawyers like those from LegalVision, can specialise in a range of aspects including contract review, licensing, sales agreements, tax contracts and intellectual property contracts.

Contract lawyers can be hired for a range of tasks associated with business contracts. This may include drafting up new contracts, evaluating contracts prior to both parties signing, reviewing contracts at the centre of dispute cases and advising on issues relating to breach of contract.

What specifically does a contract lawyer work on?

A good contract lawyer will comprehensively analyse all aspects of your contractual agreement including employee rights.

Typically, they will pay particular attention to three specific areas – the essential terms, the provisions, and the adherence to applicable state and/or federal laws.

The essential terms are the ‘guts’ of the contract, which specify the basic conditions of it. This outlines what is expected of each party during the working relationship and what would represent a breach of contract.

Provisions are important stipulations that are inserted into contracts, to give a clearer agreement on certain points. Designed to give extra legal protection for both parties, often this highlights that specific actions need to have taken place within a certain timeframe, or by a particular date.

This usually includes the terms and schedule of payment, outlining where liability lies, confidentiality and the termination of the contract.

Reasons why you need a contract lawyer

There are several reasons why your business or corporation should seek the services of a professional contract lawyer. Here are 10 of the main ones.

1. Get Specialist Experience

Irrespective of the contract, a professional lawyer will bring lots of knowledge and experience to the table. 

They will ensure it is drafted properly and negotiated tigerishly, to ensure your business is fully protected and benefits as much as possible.

2. Saves lots of company time

If you are not a trained legal professional, drawing up a contract can be a very complicated, elongated and frustrating process. Despite how much time you put into them, you still might not cover yourself fully in legal terms.

An experienced contract lawyer would have probably drawn up hundreds of similar documents over the course of their career so, they will know what to look out for, what to stipulate and what to avoid where possible.

Furthermore, they will probably be able to do it much quicker too which will save you plenty of time to work on other more lucrative aspects of your business.

3. More effective negotiations

A good contract lawyer can provide significant value when it comes to negotiating certain aspects of the contract.

Often, they can hammer out a much better deal for you, as they can red flag terms that may potentially have a negative impact on your business thus preventing contract issues before they happen.

Accordingly, they can also suggest counters to these terms, which will provide more benefits to you.

4. Make sure contracts are legally binding

If your contracts have not been written by a professional, in accordance with state and federal law, this could have grave consequences for your business.

In a worst-case scenario, the contracts may even be rendered as non-legally binding. Which in turn will leave you with no protection should the other party renege on their responsibilities.

Clearly, this is a situation you do not want to find yourself in which is why you should have your commercial contracts looked over by a lawyer.

5. Reference, incorporate and adhere to the latest legislation 

It is a simple fact of law that it regularly changes. So, it can be difficult to keep up with these latest modifications, and what they might mean, if it is not your full-time job to know that. 

This level of on-the-ball expertise is part and parcel of what an expert in contract law offers.

6. Close up potential loopholes 

Regardless of whether they have been intentionally inserted into the contract or popped up by accident, if a contract has a loophole, it has the potential to leave one party open to certain liabilities.

A professional contract lawyer is trained to be on the lookout for such loopholes, and move quicker to close them, via further provisions and clarifications in the contract.

7. File all the correct contracts 

Your business may require several different contracts congruently for a range of different circumstances. If you are not a trained professional, you could well end up filing incorrectly, or omitting an important piece of documentation.

Any contract lawyer worth their salt will not only address the contract at hand, but also be able to provide advice on other documentation including non-disclosure agreements, employment agreements, or terms and conditions that will further safeguard your organisation in legal terms.

8. Provides protection in breach of contract situations

Should you ever find yourself faced with a breach of contract situation, your contract lawyer would be a terrific resource for assistance at this difficult time.

As they would be the same person who drew up the contract for you in the first place, they would be the perfect resource to enforce it given that they would know all the intricacies of the contract like the back of their hand.

9. Enhances your likelihood of winning tenders

When bidding for tenders, your compliance statement is crucial in establishing how you intend to modify the other party’s original contract.

Even for a seasoned professional, this can be a delicate balancing act between getting as good a deal for your business as possible and maintaining a reputation for being fair and easy to work with.

If you are not highly skilled in this area, you could risk losing the tender by causing offence.

So, best to leave it to an experienced lawyer who is well accomplished in successfully creating statements that go on to win new tenders. 

10. The other party already has a contract lawyer

It is a safe bet that in any professional, or significant business negotiation, the other party will have a contract lawyer working on their behalf.

If you don’t have one at your disposal, then you are at a significant disadvantage and highly likely to come off second best in the negotiations.

You wouldn’t go to a swordfight without a weapon. So, don’t enter contract negotiations without a contract lawyer.

A good contract lawyer will also negotiate for you without the emotion a business owner might have which should mean they will do it in a more balanced and calmer way.

As you can see from the above, a contract lawyer is an invaluable resource for any business to draw upon.

Which one you choose is entirely up to you but the important thing is to ensure you are protected, with properly drafted legal contracts that specify the roles and responsibilities of both parties.