There’s an old saying: “He who contracts by hand deserves his spot in no man’s land.” In other words, handshake agreements are bound to get you into trouble. (And actually, it’s not an old saying, we just made it up.) Lovers should never start businesses without contracts. Brothers should never deal in land without contracts. Mothers, well, mothers can do whatever the hen they want, they’ve earned it.
Should you have a contract for what you’re about to do? Absolutely. Does it really matter whether Cousin Eddie, Divorce-Attorney-Dan, or LegalZoom drafts your distribution agreement? Triple absolutely. In contracts there are the money clauses, and then what we call the non-money money clauses. The non-money money clauses are the ones that take you by surprise. Often overlooked as downstream or low-probability hypotheticals, these clauses include legalese like indemnification, setoff, venue and jurisdiction, notice, warranties, covenants, representations — a sweep of coded language you need to stay abreast of. Our attorneys have gone toe-to-toe with the likes of Google, Samsung, IBM, Honeywell, Merck, Synthetic Genomics, Roche, and more. We’ve been exposed to all the tactics that skew a fair term sheet into a bad deal, tactics that unqualified attorneys won’t catch or know how to counter. We help businesses negotiate not only the best terms, but also the best contracts. This ensures that today’s closing doesn’t mean tomorrow’s closure.
There are the money clauses, and then there are the non-money money clauses. The non-money money clauses are the ones that take you by surprise. Often overlooked as downstream or low-probability hypotheticals, these clauses actually include legalese like indemnification, setoff, venue and jurisdiction, notice, warranties, covenants, representations — a sweep of coded language you need to stay abreast of. Our attorneys have gone toe-to-toe with the likes of Google, Samsung, IBM, Honeywell, Synthetic Genomics. We’ve been exposed to all the tricks that skew a fair term sheet into a bad deal and how to help businesses negotiate not only the best terms, but also the best contracts. This ensures that today’s closing doesn’t mean tomorrow’s closure.
Contracts come in all shapes and sizes, and some of the kinds we regularly negotiate include:
Athlete Endorsement Agreement | Buy-Sell Agreement | Confidentiality Agreement (NDA) |
Franchise Agreement | Independent Contractor Agreement | Joint Venture Agreement |
Master Service Agreement | Material Transfer Agreement | Music Label Agreements |
Software License | Sponsored Research Agreement | Trademark License Agreement |