Solicitor in Leicester for
Writing & Reviewing Legal Contracts and Commercial Agreements
Contact
0116 3667 900
Steven@stevenmather.co.uk
Steven Mather Solicitor
Contract Drafting / Contract Reviews
Contract Lawyer in Leicester specialising in Contract Writing and Advice on Contracts
Steven Mather Solicitor an expert in Contract Law. He’s a consultant solicitor with national firm Nexa Law. Steven has dealt with hundreds of businesses who are looking for legal advice on all types of general contracts and every time he strives to provide:
- Plain English Advice
- Time – to understand your situation and all that you’re faced with
- Results – getting the best possible result for you
- Value – fixed fees for your certainty where possible
- Convenience – meetings by phone, video call or in-person at a time to suit you.
What are commercial contracts and why have them drafted or reviewed by a lawyer?
A commercial contract can be for anything which you and your business are buying or selling, whether that is goods or services. It can be a long term framework agreement for a multi-million pound commercial contract, or it could be a one-off supply of products to a customer. Having a written contract in place is such a fundamental part of doing business in today’s world. It’s important that your contract protects your business’s position while remaining workable and not obstructing the commercial deal reached.
As a Leicester contract law solicitor, Steven’s business clients benefit from reviewing their contracts prior to them signing them or starting work under them. That’s crucial, as otherwise you could be deemed to have accepted the terms and conditions.
Have you been handed a contract which you don’t fully understand? Or perhaps you’re in discussions with a new customer or supplier and want to ensure there’s a written contract which sets out everything that has been agreed between you.
What you need is an expert contract lawyer on your side, reviewing and advising you on the terms of the contract or negotiating it to your advantage.
Steven Mather has years of experience in writing and advising on commercial contracts.
What’s important with any contracts is that they are fair and balanced between both parties. Whether you are the “buyer” or the “seller”, we can help review (or write) a contract that works for you.
But why have your legal contracts reviewed by a solicitor? Isn’t that just a waste of money? I’ve read them and they seem fine.
Quite possibly that’s true, but if you get me as a contracts lawyer to review your contract, then I can answer any questions you have, negotiate the contract, the wording, ensuring that it works how you expected it to and that there are no nasty surprises.
One thing I can absolutely assure you is that having a contract review now is much, much cheaper than going to Court with a contract dispute (I do them too!)
What kind of contracts get reviewed by Contract lawyers?
All kinds. In recent times, Steven has reviewed and drafted the following and much more besides:
- Distribution Agreements
- Agreements to supply goods or services
- Franchise Agreements
- Framework Agreements
- Supply Agreements
- Manufacturing Agreements
- Joint Venture Agreements
- Agency Agreements
- Intellectual Property Licence Agreements
- Shareholder/Partnership Agreements
- Advertising agreements
- Sales Agents Agreements
- NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements)
- Share Purchase Agreements (SPAs) and Asset Purchase Agreements
- Software licensing, SAAS and app development contracts
- standard Terms and Conditions
- and much more besides
The best advice is to get contracts done early and ideally before work starts! Contract lawyers know that many clients come for advice once there’s a problem, and that will almost always work out much more costly to litigate on that it would be to have a commercial contract written.
What are the key clauses in any contact?
While many contracts are bespoke and written for your business’s specific requirements, there are some general clauses which make up many commercial contracts.
Parties – sets out who is a party to the agreement, with their full name and details.
Background – sometimes known as recitals, sets out the basic premise of the contract.
Definitions – the best agreements often have lots of defined terms, usually in capitals, which are then referred to throughout the contract.
Commencement – when the contract is due to start or its effective date (often when signing).
Operative provisions – the main part of any agreement, which sets out the parties rights and obligations, what they are doing, how it is to be done, when it is to be done. May also include how changes to scope are dealt with.
Payment provisions – This section includes clauses on fees and payment, late payment, price revisions etc
Conditions precedent – steps that are required to be achieved before the rest of the contract takes place.
Limitations and exclusions – whether the liability of either or both parties is to be limited in any way.
Boilerplate clauses – a range of relatively standard form clauses which include matters such as the non-assignment of rights, force majeure, whether English law should apply and the jurisdiction of courts for any dispute, confidentiality provisions, termination, variation, waiver. These are called boilerplate standard clauses, but are still very important.
Schedules – often contain details referred to in the main agreement, which could be information or things like specifications.
Execution – the part where everyone signs.
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How much does a contract review solicitor cost?
Steven prefers to work on a fixed fee basis but it’s tough to give a quote without seeing the contract. We, therefore, ask you to call in or email a copy of the contract if possible, so an accurate fee can be given.
Generally, you should be budgeting for a minimum of £500 plus VAT for a simple 1-2 page contract, up to maybe £1500-3000 plus VAT or more for a bespoke legal document. Business Purchases/Sales cost more.
There is of course a difference between drafting contracts and reviewing contracts, but in terms of price, they are often not too dissimilar.
Next Steps for a Contract Review
If you’re unsure on the question of fees, or on any aspect of contract law or business law and need to speak to a solicitor, then call Steven Mather your contract lawyer in Leicester.
Call: 0116 3667 900