With business life being as hectic as it is, businesses often start trading with other businesses before they have explored everything that could go right or wrong and before any formal commercial contracts or agreements are ever signed. This happens where the agreement is simply for the supply of goods or services, or where things are far more complicated such as where it is a Joint Venture agreement or an outsourcing agreement.
Often, doing business "on a handshake” works perfectly well. Where things go wrong though, a handshake can be quickly forgotten. That is where a strong, thought-through commercial contract can be invaluable.
Our commercial lawyers use a 3-stage process to make sure that whether things go very right or very wrong, you know where you stand and you go into a commercial contract with your eyes fully open.
We don't give you run-of-the-mill contracts. Rather, using our three stage process we make sure you get commercial contracts that are relevant and suitable to your business, which protect you, and which actually work in practise.
Our 3 stage process is as follows -
Stage 1 - Listening
Our work begins with us listening to you about your business and how it works, and about what you wish to achieve by the commercial contract that you are entering into.
Only by understanding your business and its needs can we then begin to draft commercial contracts that make sense to you and that will actually work to protect and promote your business.
Stage 2 - Drafting
We will sit down with you and go through all the wider and narrow issues, and will run through how things will work between you and the other party or parties in practise, to make sure there are no grey areas or potential problems that are left "up in the air”.
We will work with you to understand, for example: -
• Who is responsible for what under the commercial contract?
• Who will get paid what?
• What happens if everything goes right?
• What happens if everything goes wrong?
• Can you stop the other party "poaching” your key people or misusing confidential information?
• Price and Payment
• What happens if monies are not paid on time?
• Protecting Intellectual Property
There are a host of issues to look at. Our experience is that each business has its own issues and opportunities, and indeed its own way of doing business - that "personality” can be reflected in the commercial contracts that we draft for you.
Stage 3 - Implementation and after-care
It is one thing having nicely drafted commercial contracts - it is another thing altogether using them properly and to maximum effect. We don't therefore just email the commercial contracts to you and assume you will understand everything in them and use them to maximum advantage.
Rather, we advise you on how best to set the commercial contracts up and how best to use them. We also advise you on how the key clauses work and what - if any - key dates there are. We also advise you on what you should do if particular events happen, and you are always free to ring us for advice free of charge, under our BLUE scheme, if you have any enquiry on a commercial contract that we have set up for you.
As we say, we are always there for businesses who are in our BLUE LAW scheme, so we invite you to join BLUE LAW now. Once you have joined, we try to answer any legal enquiries that you have, free of charge. If legal work is needed, we give you a price, and you are then free to "shop around". If you wish to speak to us now, please click on "Please Contact Me Now” or call us on 0800 084 3256. We look forward to always being there for you.
