Do I Really Need A Contract?

Recent case gives an affirmative nod on this common question.

From a lawyer's perspective, in an ideal world, all business relationships would have a clearly written and concise contract in place setting out what the parties have agreed to do, what they are getting paid and how any risks associated with the contract will be managed. In reality, however, time and resource can get in the way and many business relationships are carried out under contract terms which are unclear or not appropriate for the work and in some cases based only on a discussion or handshake or even nothing at all. Quite often, the risks of carrying out work with deficient contracts does not materialise as the work is done, the payments are made and everybody stays happy. However, when issues do arise, not having an appropriate document in place can make things a whole lot worse and, if the parties end up litigating, a lot more expensive. Parties can end up spending more time and money on...