Contract Reviews
London is a centre of global commerce, and our solicitors in London have advised on contracts in practically every industry and business sector there is.
We provide a range of legal services to review contracts including template contracts. We are able to do so after receiving your understanding of the specifics of the deal to ensure that the contract does matches your expectations.
Risk Assessment
In doing so, we are able to identify and advise on provisions of contracts such as those which:
- have legal effects which are different to your expectations;
- impose unduly harsh terms;
- set out inappropriate limitations of liability and exclusions of liability;
- excessive dealings with intellectual property;
- set uop expected indemnities on inappropriate;
- inappropriately allocate risk; and
- are traps for the unwary.
Contract Reviews
For many years our solicitors in London have advised on standard and complex contracts used in contractual relationships with business.
Take the first step and send us your draft or template contract, a summary of the intended contractual arrangements, a brief list of your priorities and any specific requirements you have, and we provide you with an estimate of our costs to help out. If you’re happy with our fee estimate we can get started.
Our London based solicitors also advise on complex contracts and agreements, such as outsourcing agreements, software licenses, franchising contracts and contracts for the purchase of businesses.
Free Contracts
There are many free contract template services available on the Internet to obtain low price contracts for use in businesses. Popular providers include Law Depot, Click Docs, Net Law Man, and Law Pack.
It has become common practice to source free and low-cost business agreements and contract templates from these and other internet based providers, and for good reason. These contract templates are a great source to minimise startup costs, to get the sort of contractual arrangements in place to get started in business providing your services or supplying goods. Because these businesses do such a great job, we do not provide template contracts ourselves.
We review these contracts to ensure that they are fit for the purpose for which you intend to use them - or already use them.
Types of Contracts
And the types of templates available are extensive. Contract templates are available to setup business partnership agreements, loan agreement templates, landlord and tenancy agreements, commercial lease agreements, confidentiality agreements, terms of business, contracts for services, intellectual property licences, service level agreements, and other legal forms.
Most contracts - even those prepared by specialist solicitors - are commonly started with templates, and amended to suit the specific circumstances of the business. It makes good sense to do so. Contractual provisions from contract to contract tend to be repetitive, and contain similar contractual provisions, including the duration (or term) of the contract, goods to be supplied are frequently the same or of the same class, termination clauses, boilerplate clauses, indemnities, limitations of liability and payment provisions. Timings of delivery, quality standards, the precise performance requirements, and are variable. Sometimes agreements may be changed minimal or no exposure to increased risk.
Fit for Purpose?
As businesses become successful, orders grow in size and/or in number, distribution networks and supply chains expand and along with the exposure to risk.
Further, in business, contracts with suppliers and procurement are rarely the same - every deal is different in one way or another. The question arises whether the difference justifies a change of the terms of the contract. The specifics of a transaction may increase over time to staged deliveries of goods.
Sometimes changing just a few words in a contract can upset the balance of the contract, and have a dramatic effect on the obligations imposed on one party.
Another consideration for contracts of supply is the size of the contract - would the business be well-served by having standard terms for most agreements with other businesses, and another version for high or higher risk contracts to supply goods and services?
Anottehr common problem which we find is that contracts for stadnard arrangements are often overcooked - draft contracts are disppropriationate for the size or complexity of the transaction at hand.
Problems such as these are able to be rectified by knowledgeable and skilled contract lawyers which have advised on business contracts which focus on comemrcial priorities, rather than legalese.
London Business Solicitors & Lawyers
Our Solicitors in London assist businesses in the UK and internationally to create options, achieve realistic and attainable goals, and providing guidance to assist decision-making in a commercial context.
For more information, legal advice or to find out more about the legal services we provide, call 020 7353 1770 or contact us online.