Advantages
Using a professionally prepared business contract template makes a lot of sense.
Why?
Because your business attorney can customize each template to include terms and conditions that favor your company, save you time by not starting from scratch whenever you need to enter a new deal, and provide you with fundamental legal protections that shield assets and reduce the likelihood you’ll end up in court in a dispute with the other party.
Related Article: B2B Contracts – How to Avoid 4 Common Mistakes
Disadvantages
On the down side, if your contract template contains a lot of take-it-or-leave-it (non-negotiable) language, it may be considered a contract of adhesion. This means the agreement’s provisions will be construed against you as the source of the language if there’s an ambiguity.
How do you know if there’s an ambiguity?
As a practical matter, that’s typically discovered if there’s a dispute as to the meaning of a contract clause. In other words, you and the other party reasonably have different views as to what’s required by the agreement on a particular issue because the language lacks sufficient clarity.
Related Article: Business Contracts – Why You Should Avoid Email Deals
Can you avoid ambiguities in a business contract template?
Although there’s no way to guarantee your contracts are 100% free of language that can be interpreted in more than one way, you can reduce the risk of that happening.
Related Article: Breach of Contract – 5 Steps to Preventing a Costly Lawsuit
How?
Have an experienced business contracts lawyer prepare your business agreement template. For example, Attorney Mike Young can prepare a custom template for a flat fee when you invest in a Business Contract Legal Protection Package.
And if you’ve already got a standard agreement you use, have a business attorney review the contract to see if the language can be improved by removing potential and actual ambiguities, simplifying language where feasible, and boosting the legal protection you get from your agreement.
