Businesses often buy equipment, supplies, and other materials on a contract basis. The contract itself often is not standard, but instead, is written up to reflect the results of prior negotiations. If that contract is truly written up properly, all should go well. The problem is that often, contracts are written in dense, unintelligible legalese. Even worse, these contracts are often made up by the seller and presented to you for a signature. This puts you and your company at risk of signing a contract that doesn't say what you think it does. If the seller has slyly changed the terms, you may not realize it until it is too late.

How to Avoid Being Burned by Tricky Contract Language

According to attorney Jake Posey, managing shareholder of The Posey Law Firm, the surest way to avoid this sort of problem is to hire a lawyer to go over all contracts that are presented to you before you or your agent signs them. An attorney has a doctorate in law and will be able to decipher even the trickiest of contracts. If there is anything unseemly hidden in the language, your attorney will point it out. Then, with full information at hand, you can decide how to proceed in an educated way.

If You Renegotiate, Bring an Attorney to the Table During the Proceedings

In the event that the contract language makes the deal unfavorable for your firm, you may want to renegotiate rather than cancel the deal altogether. It is best to go about this with an attorney involved in all stages of the process. This will help to prevent any further problems with contracts and expectations. It can also save you from having to go through even more rounds of negotiations.

Involve Your Attorney if You Decide to Walk Away from the Deal

If it's clear that hidden unfavorable contract terms weren't the result of an error on the seller's part, you may decide that you don't want to do business with the other company at all. In that case, it's still a good idea to involve an attorney. This is because some businesses try to charge fees for failing to conclude a deal. Your lawyer can help you avoid such charges. He or she will also handle the required interactions with the other company so that the exit process remains stress-free.

For help with contracts related to buying or selling, just contact us. We're a Texas law firm with the contract expertise you're looking for.