5 Things to Look Out for in a Contract to Avoid Getting Gotcha’d
Try to tuck this away in your memory bank with a trigger on it to leap back to the top of your dome the next time you enter into an agreement. Whether it is a lease, a purchase agreement, a loan, an employment agreement – any type of contract. I’m going to let you in on some glaring terms to look out for and try to either renegotiate or avoid (or, if you are savvy, maybe try to get some of these in to benefit you) to avoid getting totally rocked should you end up in litigation. ATTORNEYS’ FEES. In the US, each person is responsible for her...
Beware the Binding Effects of Email*
You don’t need a signed document to have a binding settlement agreement. This was always a concern that needed to be considered with oral negotiations, which can amount to enforceable, oral contracts. But with the age of electronic media also came a flood of litigation about the enforceability of an agreement that is reached via email even if it is never signed by the parties on a paper document. For example: lawyer one sends lawyer two a proposed agreement that the lawyers think may eventually result in a “Settlement Agreement” to be...
Lessons Learned From Judge Wapner
“Don’t take the law into your own hands: you take ’em to court.” We have all heard that familiar catch-phrase from the TV show People’s Court. But, People’s Court was not actually a “court” – it was a binding arbitration between the parties. (By the way, in cases where the plaintiff won, the producer paid the judgment. But, that’s a story for another day.) So, what is arbitration? What is mediation? How are they different from a court trial? Mediation and arbitration are two types of alternative dispute...