Posted on May 9, 2008 by Rush Nigut

How to Write Contracts for Business People

Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends shares her thoughts about how to avoid the contract from hell on the Build a Solo Practice site. 

As a former general counsel and now a small business owner, Anita has been on both sides of the fence when it comes to contracts.  According to Anita, here are some things to avoid in your next contract:

  • Too much legalese.
  • Using adverbs like "whereas" and "heretofore".  It's kind of like using "COMES NOW" for pleadings.  Does anyone really talk like that?
  • More than 5-7 defined terms.
  • Attaching multiple exhibits.  I can speak from experience that multiple exhibits is a real pain for the drafter so I can't imagine what it is like for the reader.
  • Making it so hard to understand that it leads to avoidable litigation just because no one can understand it.

 

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Susan Cartier Liebel - May 9, 2008 11:20 AM

Rush,

Thanks for noting Anita's guest post from Build A Solo Practice. Part II is on Monday where she tells you how to actually write the contract.

It's good stuff and she's great!

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