Well, I know what the contract says, but what I was told was something different.
I know the contract says that, but I would never do that to you.
I love going back hundreds of years, it encourages written contracts and it discourages oral contracts.
Try to get as much of it in writing as possible. Even if it means just writing it by hand.
If push comes to shove, it is the words on the piece of paper that are going to control your destiny.
If you have to go to court and enforce it, it is better to have a document that is as comprehensive as possible.
And it will not be good enough if you have to stand in front of a judge or an arbitrator and said, “But John promised that he would never do this.” Because you have signed a contract that said he could.
The courts are going to go with what is in writing and so, when you have an oral agreement, make sure you put it in the contract!
I got a of clients who say, “I just want a simple contract. One page is all I want.” What you really want is a simple result.
You want to have mechanisms for resolving disputes.
A contract that is clear enough that if you have to go to court, it is a simple matter to explain to the Judge what the contract means.
That is always better than trying to prove it down the road and in some cases, the law does not let you do that.
If the contract does not contain all of the agreements we talked about, write them in there and insist that they be put in the contract.
That is the best way to protect yourself against them saying, “Well, we are going to hold your feet to the fire on the contract,” when your answer has really told me something different than what is in the contract!
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