• Member Dashboard
  • Courses
  • E-Books
  • Consultations
  • Templates
  • Webinars
  • Ask a Question
  • Forums
  • Member Support
  • Login

Legal to English

Protect Your Business for Growth

  • About
  • Guides to Help You Better Understand Legal
    • Guide to Your Legal Foundation
    • Guide to Intellectual Property
    • Guide to Understanding Contracts
  • Podcast
You are here: Home / Articles / Contracts / When to Adjust Your Contract

When to Adjust Your Contract

As a lawyer, I see a lot of issues that come up in business deals. That is where a lawyer’s expertise in contract drafting happens. It comes in foreseeing issues that you might not think about or bringing out potential issues with a relationship to make sure we have covered all of our bases.

Your contract is designed to help you. We worked together to make sure we had covered the issues in the most effective way we could. We used your knowledge of your business and my expertise in the law to put together a contract that protects your business.

I cannot stress enough that your contract is a living document. Too often, I see clients who pay for a contract to be drafted, then go off and change something in their business without adjusting the legal language. Or at least fail to consider whether the contract needs to be adjusted. No matter how many issues we discussed about your business during the drafting process, it is always possible we missed something. If you need to update it because something happens you didn’t think about the first time we drafted it CHANGE IT IMMEDIATELY. If it happens once, it may happen again. If it was unclear, rewrite it. Contracts can’t be read in a vacuum, they must be applied to the facts surrounding the agreement, so it is possible you have some strange occurrence come up that may make you need to change it.

I do want to caution you to avoid a few of different ways you could take this too far:

Trying to cover every single possibility in your agreement

Your agreement is drafted to cover most of the possible contingencies. Some one-off issues that pop up may not be worth dealing with. Remember, this agreement is designed to be used over and over. It is part of your process. It is not going to cover all possibilities in the way a negotiated contract would. So, do not simply try to make changes every time you (or your client) thinks of an issue as it comes up. To cover some of those issues, you need to work on the tips I gave you last week about getting your contract signed the first time. If you make adjustments for every client, you will find it difficult to manage the relationships because you will forget what each contract says. That is one of the reasons it is so important to have a standard contract.

Ignoring Issues When They Are Major

If several clients ask a question that is not covered in your contract, it is possible, you should consider adding something to cover it. If you think of an issue that isn’t covered in your contract, you should consider an adjustment. Do not hesitate to make changes if they are necessary, but do not simply make changes because they seem to fit the circumstances.

Ignoring Deals that Are Different Than the Rest

Your agreement is designed to cover many different types of deals. If you have a deal that is special (or large) that needs some extra care or is worth making exceptions or changing it, consider that as an option. That is one of the reasons I work so hard to make sure you understand what is in your contract. That way you can know when something doesn’t quite fit.

A good contract is your friend. It keeps you out of court because people understand what it says. They know they can’t argue it says something different. Even if they think they can, a good lawyer, when the case is brought to him, will let your client know they should do what you have asked because the contract is so clear. You have a good contract. It is a contract that works for your business now. But, just like every other part of your business, it may be subject to change and should be reviewed regularly.

Helping You Sleep at Night Knowing Your Business is Protected. Legally.

Even if you have been in business for years and everything has been fine. It can all change. Fast. And you could lose it all. If you don’t know how to protect yourself.

After working with entrepreneurs for years, I realized that many entrepreneurs have the same legal questions. And the same problems. Many entrepreneurs, though they understand that legal is an important part of protecting your business, just put it off. You always think you can do it later. Until there isn’t a later.

Want to know a better way to do legal?

Join Today for Free

Take the Conversation Further

Let's continue the conversation! Join me on Twitter or Facebook to join the conversation now!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

About Josh

I am a business lawyer who helps small business owners and entrepreneurs develop a clear legal plan to protect their business as it grows. I podcast, blog, and spend my time giving entrepreneurs a clear path to legal protection. Growing your business can only happen if you have a firm foundation.

If you want to know more about how to build a business while laying your legal foundation of protection, you are in the right place. Read More…

Looking for Something?

Free Membership

Are you plagued by legal questions? Do you want to know how to protect your money, but don't want to spend the time (or money) trying to find a lawyer to ask a simple question?

Are you tired of "It Depends"?
 
Learn more about getting clear answers in an "it depends" world. Discover a Better Way to Do Legal.
 
Join Today for Free

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Legal to English Podcast

Entrepreneur Interviews

8 episodes

Legal to English

52 episodes

Don’t Miss Anything

Free Legal. Right to Your Inbox

Free Legal. No Spam. Unsubscribe Anytime.

Check Out Some Other Articles

Building a Service System to Better Serve Your Clients

Last week, we talked about getting ahead in your business. About working on your business instead of in your business. To be honest, over the past several years, this has been a struggle for me. As a lawyer, I have worked in my business. I provide a service. As I provide the service more, I […]

Forming An Entity at the End of the Year

It’s the end of the year. You have been working on your business plan all year.  You are finally ready to pull the trigger because you are going to have some extra time to work over the holidays. You have been paying attention here long enough that you know you should form an entity before […]

Collections – Protecting Yourself Through the Process

Click here for the podcast version of this post. Last week we talked with Tina White about Collections. In the conversation we had last Friday, we dove a bit deeper into how to draft your contract to make sure your collections efforts would be effective. Tina gave some great tips on how to collect your fees. […]

Legal to English Dictionary: Corporation

Legal  “An entity (usually a business) having authority under law to act as a single person distinct from the shareholders who own it and having rights to issue stock and exist indefinitely; a group or succession of persons established in accordance with legal rules into a legal or juristic person that has legal personality distinct […]

Contract Amendments and Other Changes

Contracts are a necessary part of business. As we have discussed before, you should have contract for every type of relationship you have in your business. And, you should have a contract for every instance of a particular type of relationship in your business. That is why the Corporate Counsel Program is about reviewing contracts […]

  • Fees and Credits
  • Privacy Policy
  • User Agreement
  • FAQs
  • Terms of Use

© 2013-2021, The Outsourced Associate LLC, Some Rights Reserved

Privacy Policy

This website or its third-party tools use cookies which are necessary to its functioning and required to improve your experience. By clicking the consent button, you agree to allow the site to use, collect and/or store cookies.
Please click the consent button to view this website.
I accept
Deny cookies Go Back