I Thought We Had an Agreement, or Did We?

Written by James Sanders

Have you ever reviewed a contract, gotten to the end and wondered what all these “boilerplate” provisions are all about?  In the alternative, you and the other side have verbally agreed to a deal only to find out that you both missed key details.  Better yet, you come up with a simple and easy to understand agreement with the other side only to have their attorneys turn it into the next bill in Congress. 

I am here to tell you that a clearly written contract and the accompanying boilerplate provisions are critical to both protect your interests and maintain the spirit of the agreed upon terms in place.  Over the next few weeks, I am going to provide you with an overview of some of the key contractual provisions including the following:

• Opening Paragraph and Recitations
• Choice of law & Jurisdiction. 
• Indemnification, Warranties & Confidentiality. 
• Assignment, Waiver, Limitations on damages & Force majeure. 
• Attorneys’ fees and costs, Arbitration & Jury trial waiver. 
• Severability, Attachments, Notice & Relationships. 
• Headings, Integration & Counterparts

Here are a few other things that may be of interest:

• The Latest from NFIB
  • Update on Department of Labor’s Independent Contractor Rule
  • Small Businesses Oppose Vehicle Emissions Regulations
  • Pennsylvania Small Business Legislative Update – NFIB