Missouri Contract Review Attorney

Signing a legally binding contract can have consequences that last for years. This is especially true if you are a business owner signing contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars with suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and other third parties. Understand the risks before you sign! Ask a Missouri contract review attorney to examine the document for vague language, mistakes and omissions, wordy and confusing paragraphs, misused legal terms, and wrong dates and dollar amounts. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to contracts. At Birk Law Firm, we can:

• Identify contract mistakes and omissions
• Analyze risk
• Explain the legal terminology
• Substitute crisp legal language for vague or wordy passages
• Identify contractual advantages for the other party and recommend changes
• Explain your rights and responsibilities under the contract
• Ensure you have legal recourse if the contract is breached.

You don’t want to go it alone when it comes to signing contracts that involve thousands, or even millions, of dollars. It may cost a little up front to hire a Missouri contract review attorney, but it can save you a world of headache and a lot of money later if you run into problems.

7 Reasons to Ask a Contract Review Lawyer to Examine Written Agreements

When a bank, business owner, supplier, manufacturer, or other entity hands you a contract drafted by a third party, you want your own lawyer to review it before you sign. Even if the contract appears to be fine, there can be legal language in it that is not advantageous to your business. Following are seven reasons to hire a skilled Missouri contract review attorney:

1. Identify Mistakes and Omissions

One of the most important things a Missouri contract review attorney can do is identify and correct errors. Whether it’s an incorrect date, misspelled name, wrong dollar amount, outdated address, incorrect interest rate, or any other of a host of critical numbers and data, your attorney can spot and update wrong information.

2. Analyze Risk and Ensure Your Business Is Protected

An experienced contract review attorney knows what a solid and advantageous contract should look like – one that ensures your business liability is reduced as much as possible. Protecting your business, your cash flow, and your personal liability is a key goal of every contract review. We can analyze risk and assess its potential impact on your business operations.

3. Explain the Legal Terminology

Contracts can contain a lot of “legalese,” which can be intimidating. We’ll cut through the eight-syllable words and explain what they mean in layman’s terms. If you don’t know what a word or sentence means, don’t sign the contract. Speak to an attorney first.

4. Recommend Favorable Contract Language

When a third-party contract is poorly written or vague, your contract review lawyer can recommend crisper, clearer legal language that gives your business an advantage or, at the very least, reduces confusion and misunderstandings.

5. Identify Sections that Give the Other Party Greater Leverage

A good attorney can flag sections of a third-party contract that put your business at a disadvantage. Because you’re an entrepreneur or business owner, you may be eager to move forward, sign a contract, and get things done. You might read through sections of a contract that seem reasonable, but upon further inspection with an eye for the law, an attorney would see them as troublesome or even perilous for your company. You never want to sign a contract that gives the other party the upper hand.

6. Explain Your Rights and Responsibilities Under the Contract

Every contract should spell out your rights as well as your responsibilities. When you walk away after signing a contract, you should know exactly what you’re required to perform and the rights you have under the law. None of this should be vague or uncertain. We can explain the document and answer your questions before you sign.

7. Ensure You Have Legal Recourse If the Contract Is Breached

Sometimes the other party fails to perform on a contract. When breach of contract happens, you want to make sure you have legal recourse – whether this means arbitration or litigation. Your Missouri contract review attorney can make sure there are legal remedies spelled out in the contract.

How to Choose the Best Cape Girardeau Contract Review Attorney

Attorney Kelvin Birk has spent decades providing legal services to business owners and executives. Because he’s both a lawyer and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), he has a deep understanding of business law, accounting, taxes, financial regulations, and contract drafting and negotiations. He is proud of the outstanding client testimonials he receives from satisfied clients.

Mr. Birk is a business owner himself, so he understands the goals of entrepreneurs and executives. He was raised on a local farm and has lived in Cape Girardeau County almost all of his life and, therefore, has a deep commitment to the local community. When you compare Mr. Birk to other contract review lawyers, you’ll see that he stands head and shoulders above the rest because of his skill, integrity, knowledge, and commitment to service.

Contract Review Services We Provide

A skilled contract review lawyer is worth the investment.

At Birk Law Firm, we can review and provide feedback on a wide variety of contracts. We can also draft contracts from scratch if that’s what your business needs. Following are some of the types of contracts we can review:

• Product Sales Contracts
• Employment Contracts
• Commercial Leases
• Partnership, Franchisee, and Ownership Agreements
• Real Estate Purchase and Sales Contracts
• Insurance Agreements
• Independent Contractor Agreements
• Debt Documents and Promissory Notes
• Licensing Agreements
• Intellectual Property User Agreements
• Merger and Acquisition Agreements
• Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality Agreements
• Service Contracts
• Transportation and Distribution Agreements
• Vendor Contracts
• Severance Agreements.

We would be happy to review any type of contract on your behalf. We can also go over specific contract provisions with you, explain them, and make sure you are comfortable with them. These include:

• How and when a contract can be terminated or amended
• Interest rates and fees for late payments
• The duration of time the contract will remain in force
• What happens when there’s an emergency like a tornado, fire, hurricane, or other unforeseen event
• What happens if goods and merchandise are damaged in shipment
• Whether the contract can be sold to another party
• What your rights are if the other party files for bankruptcy or goes out of business
• How compensation and damages are calculated if a lawsuit is filed
• What jurisdiction a lawsuit would be filed in and what’s involved in filing
• What happens if the other company is sold and gets new owners.

Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Signing a Contract

There are several questions business owners should ask themselves before signing a contract. Remember, anticipating problems before they happen is much better than having to sort out a legal problem later.

1. Do I really understand the document I’m about to sign?
2. Do I trust the other party?
3. Have I checked the other party’s references, client reviews, and performance history?
4. What is my gut telling me about this contract? Am I uneasy?
5. Does the other party have the balance sheet and financial resources to perform on this contract?
6. Have I researched this party’s competitors to make sure there are not better options out there?
7. Does this party have a reputation for making deadlines and delivering on time?
8. Am I in too much of a hurry? Am I distracted?

By answering these questions for yourself, you can determine whether you’ve done your homework to minimize risk for your company and ensure success. If you find you are not comfortable with a contract as written, you can …

1. ask for modifications
2. request a re-draft
3. renegotiate the deal, or
4. refuse to sign.

Contracts are the infrastructure of all your business dealings. Your daily interactions with suppliers, partners, and distributers are only as strong as the written contracts that underpin them. So make sure contracts are drafted correctly at the outset before you sign them. For additional reading, Missouri Revised Statutes Title XXVIII discusses contracts and contractual relations in this state.

Contact a Missouri Contract Review Attorney Today

You’ve worked really hard to build and grow your business, and you want to ensure its continued success. The contracts you sign as a business owner can propel your growth or bog your business down in delays, sub-standard merchandise, or litigation. By asking a skilled attorney to review all your business contracts before you sign them, you can avoid mistakes and detours. At Birk Law Firm, we have helped countless entrepreneurs and owners with all of their contract needs. We will partner with you to review existing contracts before you sign them, redraft flawed contracts, or draft contracts from scratch. Whatever your needs, we are here to provide customized contract solutions. To find out more about the legal services we provide, call us at 573-332-8585 for an initial consultation. We will work hard to ensure your business success.