Form contracts — Use them at your own risk !
Explain just one thing to me. What is your infatuation with form contracts? I mean it is only a form; and you do realize most of the provisions are not tailored to your specifications; and, please (!), they never do an adequate job of addressing your risks. Yet, time and time again, you’re mesmerized by them. Why?
I can spot a form contract every time - the language is very generic. More over, I can also tell when one of my clients tries to use a form contract. She/he will push it across the table, adding the following phrase: “It is a contract my “old attorney” drafted for me.” As I pick it up, glance over it and discover that it references some different business industry (and not my client’s!), I realize that my client fell prey to the form.
It is then that I experience this Dr.Jekyll/ Mr. Hyde transformation. The conversation turns sour. My body leans forward as I push the form back, reprimanding my client for downloading someone else’s agreement off the Internet.
I have a rule. It goes like this: if it is not your agreement, don’t be foolish enough to think that you can use to adequately protect your rights. If you’re stubborn, and you insist on using one because it will save you money, just wait until you’re back in my office two months down the road, ready to file a law suit. You’ll see how much legal fees you really ended up saving in the long run.
Wise up! Remember that if you use a form contract, the only effort that you’ve made at customizing the contract (to reflect your deal) is by inserting your name in the first line. Who’s to say that your form contract contains all the appropriate provisions? Or that the various nuances of the deal (that you’ve labored so hard to negotiate) are properly written into the provisions?
The only thing that the form contract comes with besides an “idiot tag” is no guarantees. So, use it at your own risk!
One Comment
William
November 17th, 2006 at 11:53 am
Wow Lema, you have a strong case! I have a question, as someone who does a lot of work in Real estate, I see form contracts more often than not, people just change the names of the parties, the dates and the address of the property in question. If I use form contracts and modify them to fit my major request by adding stipulations at the end or attaching other documents, is this Okay, or am I still walking on thin ice. Thanks for your informative article.
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