A company’s business transactions and ongoing relationships should be put in writing. This will help to minimize contractual disputes and related business litigation. Additionally, a Florida business will benefit greatly by having a business attorney involved in reviewing the company’s important business agreements and preparing written contracts to memorialize the terms.
When preparing contracts, the details and terms of payment should be listed. This takes away guessing about how and when payment will be made. If payment is made in segments, put the dates for each payment and the amount. In other words, details are good because they avoid later disputes about important issues regarding payment terms and times of payment.
To further avoid litigation, an alternative dispute resolution procedure can be written into the contract, such as arbitration or mediation. This may simply include an obligation to conduct informal meetings to discuss a resolution. Additionally, every contract should include the other details of performance and obligations by each party.
If a product is to be finished and delivered in a certain condition and manner, give the details in order to keep each side’s memories reflected by a written provision. Keep the language simple and written in an everyday style that most people would understand. Latin terms and legal terminology are not considered particularly helpful these days.
In Florida and anywhere else, the business owner or manager should not attempt to draft complex commercial agreements. These could end up meaning something other than what the drafter of the wording had in mind. Additionally, a lawyer’s broad knowledge of the law is a necessary ingredient where the document needs to have particular legal protections inserted. A company should have an experienced business attorney on hand to review all legal documents in order to avoid an inordinate amount of business litigation.
Source: bizjournals.com, “Practical business advice for entrepreneurs and top executives“, Matthew Villmer, April 29, 2015
