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Legal Tips | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Complications of "Simple" Contracts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 The
rise of dot com companies in the late 1990s brought about an
informality in business culture: casual dress, speech,
office layout, etc.This has led to many newer companies founded by younger entrepreneurs to use short contracts written in conversational language. The intent is to make it faster and easier to do deals, especially when a high volume of content is needed to make available over the internet. |
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What's Good No big words -- legal terms are avoided. I've even seen e-mail style smiley faces and slang like "'nuff said." Sentences are short and punchy. No confusing run-on sentences with conditions, parts and sub-parts as commonly seen in traditional legal documents. What's Not So Good The verbal "friendliness" of these agreements can lull the inexperienced into letting their guard down. The impression is left that a lawyer is not needed or that none of the terms are questionable. Often the agreements are sent as an uneditable .pdf file, leaving the further impression that nothing can be changed in a negotiation because it is all "standard." |
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What's Good A client had me review one of these agreements, which divided the deal into two versions. One version was friendly and casual and the other version was what the contract referred to as "Mumbo Jumbo" having all the lawyer talk. So you still get the original legal language along with a plain English translation for comparison. What's Not So Good In the case of the contract I reviewed, the "Mumbo Jumbo" version actually had many additional terms that were not even mentioned in the plain English version. If my client did not have me review the agreement, he would have totally missed out on these key deal points. |
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What's Good Admittedly, the casual version of the contract was a quick and easy way for me and my client to get the gist of the deal and quickly get a sense of whether or not it was an offer worth pursuing. What's Not So Good Ironically, the longer "Mumbo Jumbo" version left us with a clearer understanding of the deal than the shorter and friendlier version. The legal version was a lot more precise about each party's rights and actually gave examples of how the royalties were to be calculated. None of this was in the plain English version. |
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But there is also a danger
of going to |
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| Short and simple contracts unwittingly become complicated contracts. Why? Because in order to be short and simple, the contract has to leave out a lot of important detail and has to use general language instead of specific legal terms. When that happens, you have to understand two things: 1) what the simple contract says and 2) what the simple contract does not say. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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If you have questions about simple
or complicated contracts or if you are looking to have one written,
contact me about setting
up a consultation. Contracts don't always require a high retainer for hours of work. There are different levels of legal work and representation to fit different budgets, which is why it's often best to start off with a one-hour consultation. Not sure yet? Have questions about the fee or services? Contact me to arrange for a free confidential telephone appointment to get more information. |
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 E-mail me if
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> invited
to The Circle,
There's
nothing wrong with wanting to simplify the way we do business. Some
contracts are so poorly written and so overly complicated that
even I have a hard time trying to figure out what the other side
is trying to say.