Fifty Hints to Write a Good Contract.docx
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Fifty Hints to Write a Good Contract.docx
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FiftyHintstoWriteaGoodContract
美国资深律师经验:
二十一世纪写好合同的五十招
PublishedinTheFloridaBarJournal,Nov.2000
Note:
Thisarticleisforbackgroundpurposesonlyandisnotintendedaslegaladvice.
Welcometothe21stCentury.WherepracticinglawrequiresustodonthegarbofcomputersandtheInternet.Andwherelitigationisascostlyasever.Lawyerbillsrunning$10,000amontharenotunusualinahotlycontestedbreachofcontractlawsuit.Witheveryword,phraseandsentencecarryingthepotentialforwinningorlosing,thestakesarehigh.Simplelogic,therefore,directsustocautiousandthoughtfuldrafting.
Draftingcontractsisactuallyoneofthesimplepleasuresofpracticinglaw.Just3yearsagoatthisConventionIpresented50tipsforcontractwriting.Thisarticleupdatesthosetipsinthecontextofournewtoolsandabilities.Followingthesetipscouldresultinyourwritingacontractsoclearnoonewillwanttolitigateit,savingyourclientfromthetrialsandtribulationsoflitigation,trulyagoodreasontowritethecontractthatstaysoutofcourt.
Thesetipsapplytowritingallkindsofagreements:
officeleases,realestatecontracts,salesagreements,employmentcontracts,equipmentleases,prenuptialagreements.Theyevenapplytostipulationsandsettlementsinlitigation,whereyouwantanagreementsoclearthatitavoidsfuturelitigation.Whereverclarityandsimplicityareimportant,thesetipswillguideyouthere.TheAppendixprovidesafewsampleformstoillustratethesetips.
BeforeYouWritetheFirstWord
1.Askyourclienttolistthedealpoints.Thiscanbeintheformofalist,outlineornarration.Doingthiswillhelptheclientfocusonthetermsoftheagreement.
2.Engageyourclientin“whatif”scenarios.Agoodcontractwillanticipatemanypossiblefactualsituationsandexpresstheparties'understandingincasethosefactsarise.Talkingtoyourclientaboutthiswillgeneratemanyissuesyoumaynototherwiseconsider.
3.Askyourclientforasimilarcontract.Frequently,clientshavehadsimilartransactionsinthepastortheyhaveaccesstocontractsforsimilartransactions.
4.SearchyourofficecomputerortheInternetforasimilarform.Manytimesyoucanfindasimilarformonyourcomputer.Itmaybeoneyoupreparedforanotherclientoroneyounegotiatedwithanotherlawyer.Justremembertofindandreplacetheoldclient'sname.Startingwithanexistingformsavestimeandavoidstheerrorsoftyping.HerearesomeWebsiteswhereyoucanfindforms:
http:
//www.flcourts.org/
http:
//www.flabarrpptl.org/library.html
5.ObtainformsinbooksorCD-ROM.Typicalformsofcontractscanbefoundinformbooks,suchasWest'sLegalForms(anationwideset)andFloridaJurForms,aswellasintreatisesandFloridaBarCLEpublications.Thesecanbeusedasthestartingpointfordraftingthecontractoraschecklistsoftypicalprovisionsandwordingtoincludeinthecontract.ManytreatisesandformbooksnowcomewithformsondiskorCD-ROM.
6.Don'tletyourclientsignaletterofintentwithoutthiswording.Sometimesclientsareanxioustosignsomethingtoshowgoodfaithbeforethecontractisprepared.Aproperlywordedletterofintentisusefulatsuchtimes.Justbesurethattheletterofintentclearlystatesthatitisnotacontract,butthatitismerelyanoutlineofpossibletermsfordiscussionpurposes.SeeAppendixC.
WritingthatFirstWord
7.Startwithasimple,genericcontractform.TheforminAppendixAissuchaform.Itprovidesasolidstartingpointforthestructureofthecontract.Likeahouse,acontractmusthaveagood,solidfoundation.
8.Statethecorrectlegalnamesofthepartiesinthefirstparagraph.Asobviousasthisis,itisoneofthemostcommonproblemsincontracts.Forindividuals,includefullfirstandlastname,andmiddleinitialsifavailable,andotheridentifyinginformation,ifappropriate,suchasJr.,M.D.,etc.Forcorporations,checkwiththeSecretaryofStatewhereincorporated.
如果是公司,为避免弄错,写名称时可以到公司注册地的相应机构去核对一下。
9.Identifythepartiesbynicknames.Givingeachpartyanicknameinthefirstparagraphwillmakethecontracteasiertoread.Forexample,JamesW.Martinwouldbenicknamed"Martin."
10.Becarefulwhenusinglegaltermsfornicknames.Donotuse"Contractor"asanicknameunlessthatpartyislegallyacontractor.Donotuse"Agent"unlessyouintendforthatpartytobeanagent,andifyoudo,thenyoubetterspecifythescopeofauthorityandotheragencyissuestoavoidfuturedisagreements.
11.Includeablankforthedateinthefirstparagraph.Puttingthedateinthefirstparagraphmakesiteasytofindafterthecontractissigned.Italsomakesiteasytodescribethecontractinotherdocumentsinapreciseway,suchasthe"December20,2000,ContractforSaleofRealEstate."
12.Includetoprovidebackground.Recitalsarethe"whereas"clausesthatprecedethebodyofacontract.Theyprovideasimplewaytobringthecontract'sreader(party,judgeorjury)uptospeedonwhatthecontractisabout,whothepartiesare,whytheyaresigningacontract,etc.Thefirstparagraphinthebodyofthecontractcanincorporatetherecitalsbyreferenceandstatethattheyaretrueandcorrect.Thiswillavoidalaterargumentastowhetherornottherecitalsarealegallybindingpartofthecontract.
12.书写引述语。
引述语是指那些放在合同主体前面的"鉴于"条款。
书写此类条款的目的是为了让读者(通常指合同双方,法官,陪审团)很快地了解到合同的主要内容是什么,合同双方是谁,以及他们为什么签订合同,等等。
当然,合同主体的第一段也可以加上引述语并陈述其是真实准确的,如果这样做了,合同双方将来就不会争执:
引述语作为合同的一部分是否具有法律效力?
13.Outlinethecontractbywritingoutandunderliningparagraphheadingsintheirlogicalorder.Theparagraphsshouldflowinlogical,organizedfashion.Itisnotnecessarytowritethemallatonce;youcanwritethemasyouthinkofthem.Trytogrouprelatedconceptsinthesameparagraphsorinadjacentparagraphs.Forexample,writeanemploymentcontract'sinitialparagraphheadingslikethis:
Recitals.
Employment.
Duties.
Term.
Compensation.
14.Completeeachparagraphbywritingthecontracttermsthatapplytothatparagraph.Thisissimple.Youlearnedthisinelementaryschool.Justexplaininwordswhatthepartiesagreetodoornotdoparagraphbyparagraph.
15.Keepapadathandtorememberclausestoadd.Itisnormaltothinkofadditionalclauses,wordingandissueswhilewritingacontract.Jotthesedownonapadasyouwrite;theyareeasilyforgotten.Alsokeepyourclient'soutlineandotherformsinfrontofyouasyouwrite,andcheckoffitemsasyouwritethem.
16.Repeatyourselfonlywhenrepetitionisnecessarytoimproveclarity.Ambiguityiscreatedbysayingthesamethingmorethanonce;itisalmostimpossibletosayittwicewithoutcreatingambiguity.Onlyiftheconceptisadifficultoneshouldyouwriteitinmorethanoneway.Inaddition,ifyouuseanexampletoclarifyadifficultconceptorformula,besurethatallpossiblemeaningsareconsideredandthattheexampleisaccurateandconsistentwiththeconceptasworded.
16.除非是为了更清晰地说明问题,否则不要在合同中重复陈述某个内容。
将一个事实来回地说很容易让人模棱两可。
如果你将一个概念重复地解释,那理解起来就更有困难。
另外,如果你想通过一个例子来阐明一个难以理解的概念或规则时,一定要考虑到其所有的含义、这个例子的准确性以及它和概念的相符性。
WhattoWatchOutforWhenWriting
17.Titleit"Contract."Donotleavethisonetochance.Ifyourclientwantsacontract,callitacontract.Ajudgenowsittingonthefederalbenchonceruledthatadocumententitled"Proposal"wasnotacontracteventhoughsignedbybothparties.Thelessonlearnedis,"Saywhatyoumean."Ifyouintendthedocumenttobealegallybindingcontract,usetheword"Contract"inthetitle.
18.Writeinshortsentences.Shortsentencesareeasiertounderstandthanlongones.
19.Writeinactivetense,ratherthanpassive.Activetensesentencesareshorterandusewordsmoreefficiently,andtheirmeaningismoreapparent.Exampleofactive:
"SellersshallsellthePropertytoBuyer."Exampleofpassive:
"ThePropertyshallbesoldtoBuyerbySeller."
20.Don'tusetheword"biweekly."Ithastwomeanings:
twiceaweekandeveryotherweek.Thesameappliesto"bimonthly."Instead,write"everyotherweek"or"twiceaweek."
21.Don'tsaythingslike"activetermitesandorganisms".Avoidambiguitybywritingeither"activetermitesandactiveorganisms"or"organismsandactivetermites."Whenaddingamodifierlike"active"beforeacompoundofnounslike"termitesandorganisms",besuretoclarifywhetheryouintendthemodifiertoapplytobothnounsorjustthefirstone.Ifyouintendittoapplytoboth,useparallelconstructionandwritethemodifierinfrontofeachnoun.Ifyouintendittoapplytojustonenoun,placethatonenounattheendofthelistandthemodifierdirectlyinfrontofit.
22.Don'tsay"Lessor"and"Lessee."Thesearebadnicknamesforaleasebecausetheyareeasilyreversedormistyped.Use"Landlord"and"Tenant"instead.Thesameappliestolienorandlienee,mortgagorandmortgagee,grantorandgrantee,licensorandlicensee,partyAandpartyB.Thisiswhereyoucanuseyourcreativitytocomeupwithadifferentnicknameforaparty,aslongasyouuseitconsistentlythroughoutthecontract.
23.Watchoutwhenusing"herein."Does"whereverusedherein"meananywhereinthecontractoranywhereintheparagraph?
Clarifythisambiguityifitmatters.
24.Writenumbersasbothwordsandnumerals:
ten(10).Thiswillreducethechanceforerrors.
25.Whenyouwrite"including"consideradding"butnotlimitedto."Unlessyouintendthelisttobeall-inclusive,youhadbetterclarifyyourintentthatitismerelyanexample.
26.Don'trelyontherulesofgrammar.Therulesofgrammarthatyoulearnedinschoola
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