Contract Lawyer Montana

Before you enter into a contract with an employee or another business, have a contract lawyer in Montana review it first. Contracts are complex legal documents and may not always be easy to understand. Here are some advantages to hiring a contract lawyer.

Explain the Terms of the Contract

Business contracts can include a lot of complex legal terminology that the average person doesn’t understand. It’s important to thoroughly understand the terms of a contract before signing it. If you misconstrue certain terms in the contract, you may be more likely to face contractual disputes in the future. A skilled contract lawyer can thoroughly explain all the terms in a contract so that you understand them.

Make Sure the Contract Is Valid

If certain elements are left out of a contract, it won’t be considered valid. This means that a judge won’t be able to enforce it. That’s another good reason to have a contract lawyer on your side. He or she will carefully read over the terms of the contract and make sure that it is legally enforceable in court.

Identify Issues and Suggest Ways to Resolve Them

Before you sign a contract, it’s critical to make sure that it reflects your company’s best interests. However, if you don’t have a legal background, you might know if a contract is best for your business. That’s where a contract lawyer in Montana comes in handy. If your lawyer sees something in a contract that may not reflect the best interests of your business, he or she will let you know about it and make the appropriate suggestions.

Make Sure Contract Follows New Regulations and State Laws

The laws and regulations for contracts are constantly changing. As a business owner, you likely don’t have time to keep up with all of these changes. That is another benefit of working with a skilled contract lawyer. When reviewing your contract, your lawyer will make sure that it follows new regulations and state laws.

Assist with Breach

Unfortunately, people sometimes breach contracts. If someone you entered into a contract with has breached the terms, it is important to get in touch with a contract lawyer promptly. They can give you sound legal advice and help you avoid costly litigation. 

Keeping Trade Secrets Private

When inventors wish to protect their intellectual property, they file for patents with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). When creators of original artistic expression wish to protect their intellectual property, they file for formal copyrights with the U.S. Copyright Office. And when businesses wish to protect their marketing and branding efforts, they formalize their trademarks with the USPTO. However, there is no federal office that governs the safeguarding of corporate trade secrets. Instead, companies are entrusted with the process of protecting their trade secrets via contractual means. Specifically, attorneys use nondisclosure agreements and nondisclosure clauses embedded within broader contracts to protect the processes, approaches, and general trade secrets that help to give companies an “edge” in the marketplace. If your company does not currently employ a comprehensive trade secret protection strategy, it is time to connect with a trusted Montana contract lawyer at Silverman Law Office, PLLC to learn about your rights and options under the law.

Our firm’s approach to nondisclosure agreements is broad. While other firms focus on nondisclosure provisions as they apply to employment contracts, our firm ensures that nondisclosure safeguards connect to all kinds of contractual relationships that could potentially compromise the private nature of a company’s approaches. For example, we can safeguard your trade secrets as they may be affected by relationships with vendors, contractors, and others exposed to the inner workings of your operations. In order for an approach to trade secret safeguards to be effective, it must be both strategic and comprehensive in nature.

Maintaining Your Company’s Integrity

The foundations of contract law extend to your employee policies and institutional standards. The language that you choose to use in the documents that represent your company’s interests can serve to boost your company’s integrity or compromise it – depending upon what language is used and how that language is applied. Allow the experienced Montana contract lawyer team at Silverman Law Office, PLLC to help you craft a language-based strategy to your contracts, handbooks, and policy sheets that reflect your company’s values and protect its legal interests.

What is a buy-sell agreement and why does my business need one?

When a sudden event causes a disruption in the ownership of the business, a buy-sell agreement will dictate the terms of a transfer of ownership, so as to ensure that the business continues operating at its current level of profit. It is common for a buy-sell agreement to make the share of a departing or deceased owner available to the other shareholders for purchase. In essence, the remaining owners will then buy out the other owner, whether he or she has voluntarily or involuntarily left the business. The buy-sell agreement also typically lists the different types of events that trigger the provisions of the agreement. These events often include death, disability, retirement, and divorce. Another advantage to the buy-sell agreement is that it can eliminate the issues raised by one owner’s divorce, particularly if the owners do not wish to have the spouse or ex-spouse of a former owner involved in the business. The overarching goal of the buy-sell agreement is to provide for a clear transition of business ownership so as to avoid the hostility and expensive legal disputes that often can arise during the division of business interests.

How does a buy-sell agreement address the value of the business?

As a Montana contract lawyer can explain, one of the most difficult aspects of a buy-sell agreement is determining how to properly value an ownership interest in the business in the event that one of the terms of the agreement goes into effect. This provision helps minimize disputes between the business owners, particularly if the split has become acrimonious in some way. There are a number of different ways to value the business. First, the owners could meet annually in order to place an accurate value on the business. Other common ways to place a value on a business are to set a price for shares based on a certain predetermined formula, use the value of the business according to its records as of a certain date, or to get an appraisal of the business, perhaps updating the appraisal every few years.

Legal Assistance Is Available

Especially if you are a small business owner or you are new to the corporate world, it isn’t always easy to know when you need to engage the services of an attorney and when you can handle a task while utilizing the talents of others connected to your company. Generally speaking, it is important to be proactive in your legal approach to safeguarding your company’s interests. Meeting with the experienced Montana legal team at Silverman Law Office, PLLC will allow you to learn about when you need legal guidance and when you can move forward without it.

Building and revisiting a proactive legal strategy over time will help to ensure that your business thrives and that your potential for liability is minimized. Connect with our trusted Montana contract lawyer team today to learn more about your legal needs and about our firm’s approach to representation; we look forward to speaking with you.

Contract Clauses to Consider

Owning and operating a business requires you to enter into contracts with partners, vendors, employees, and many others. These negotiations can be daunting but having a skilled advocate on your side can give you the peace of mind you need to run your business effectively.

A contract lawyer in Montana will work with you to prioritize operational needs and help ensure that each contract you establish and sign is in the best interest of your business and its growth. Here are some contract clauses you may consider including to keep your business stable and profitable.

Force Majeure

Force majeure clauses in contracts are designed to protect you from liability for disruptions caused by conditions you cannot control, such as natural disasters or damage due to civil unrest. If you include force majeure clauses in your contracts, you may be protected in contract disputes even in instances where the contract language does not cover the exact situation in question. The experienced attorneys at Silverman Law Office can counsel you on the nuances of including a force majeure clause in your business contracts.

Cybersecurity

Cyberattacks are increasing in frequency, sophistication, and magnitude as more and more business is conducted online. To protect your business from vulnerability, a contract lawyer in Montana may advise you to require certain cybersecurity protocols in your contracts. Common cybersecurity provisions include compliance with nationally recognized cybersecurity standards, breach notification protocols, and the right to perform cybersecurity audits.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Many businesses, particularly publicly traded companies and government entities, are required to consider diversity when hiring contractors and subcontractors, and many companies choose to promote diversity through their hiring and contracting practices. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) clauses in business contracts were once unusual but are becoming commonplace. At Silverman Law Office, we can guide you on issues regarding the inclusion of DEI targets and compliance standards for supplier diversity in your contracts. In addition, a contract lawyer in Montana can walk you through the process of certifying your business if it is minority, women, LGBT+, and/or veteran-owned so you are positioned for success when bidding for contracts with entities seeking diversity among contractors.

Arbitration

By including an arbitration clause in a contract, you can keep the dispute out of the court system. Arbitration has some distinct advantages over litigation, but it may also introduce risk. A contract lawyer in Montana can recommend whether or when to include arbitration clauses in your business contracts.

Things To Discuss With Your Contract Attorney

Type of Service Requested

Many individuals overlook clearly stating what types of services they need from their contract lawyer in Montana. For example, they may want a simple review of a contract, or they may want it reworked and renegotiated. A simple non-disclosure agreement may only need to be reviewed and updated to ensure that it protects you and your business. However, a vendor contract may need to be reviewed, cleaned up and negotiated. If you don’t tell your law firm, e.g., Silverman Law Office, exactly what services you need, you may experience a major problem later.

Previous Experiences With the Company

Contract lawyers need to know about all previous dealings you have had with the other individuals or businesses involved in the contract. You should discuss any concerns you have about the contract or about working with these individuals in general. For example, if you are working with a company that has had recent data breaches, this could be a major concern. Noncompliance with any previous contract could also be a warning sign.

If you have had prior agreements with a company, you need to let your contract lawyer in Montana know. These agreements may be a basis for negotiation and contract creation. They may also be poorly drafted and insufficient. Giving your attorneys access to these forms will help them create a better contract.

Negotiation Process

A reputable law firm, such as the Silverman Law Office, will ask you about the negotiation process. For example, are all the deal points fully negotiated, or is further negotiation necessary? A great attorney will suggest deal points that will benefit you. Your attorney may be able to get you a much better deal because a contract lawyer’s job is focused on negotiating contract terms.

Additional Information

If your contract is especially challenging or you want a more significant service than a review, you may need to provide more information to your lawyer. For example, you may need to provide financial documents, background histories, previous contracts, contracts you have with others, etc. Also, be available to answer questions.

Additional Reviews

Finally, you should discuss whether anyone inside or outside your company needs to review your contract. The negotiation process is typically so grueling that you forget about the other deal stakeholders, such as the business or department managers, board of directors or key employees. Make sure your contract lawyer in Montana knows everyone who needs to review the contract at the start of the process so these individuals can be consulted during and after the negotiation process.

Why You need a Montana Contract Lawyer to Review Your Contacts

When you own a business, it is important to protect your investments and your personal assets. One of the easiest ways to do this is to ensure you have a business law lawyer review any contracts that bind your business. There are different phases in the process of drafting, signing, and executing contracts, and you can use a lawyer for any or all portions of the process.

A contract lawyer in Montana can help to draft the documents, review any contracts presented to you, and to negotiate their terms as needed. For many business owners, hiring a lawyer can be an important step in ensuring your business is protected from questionable or disadvantageous contracts.

What Does a Lawyer Do When Reviewing Contracts?

If you have never worked with legal counsel in regard to reviewing business contracts, you may be wondering how the process works and whether will be required of you. Usually, your lawyer will review the contract and then prepare an opinion letter. This outlines the lawyer’s key points that need to be changed and what elements you should especially be aware of. He or she will also point out your obligations, some of which may not be immediately obvious when you are looking at the contract by yourself.

Your Montana contract lawyer will go over everything in the contract. Once you understand the potential issues, you have to decide on what direction you want to pursue. This is where it is important to communicate your budget with your lawyer to decide how to proceed. You can opt to relay all the notations your lawyer made and ask the other party to make all the changes, or you can have your lawyer work directly with the other party to negotiate new terms to the contract.

If the other side is the one who makes the revisions, the last step would be to have your lawyer review the contract again to verify that everything is correct.

Why It Is Important to Have a Lawyer Review a Contract

While some business owners may attempt to save on legal fees by not having a lawyer review a contract before signing it, this can result in much more significant legal costs down the road. If a company is sued for breach of contract, the costs related to litigating this type of dispute in court may be much higher than those involved in drafting and negotiating a better contract from the beginning. In addition, if a business inadvertently agrees to a contract that gives an unfair advantage to the other side, the process of having that contract voided can be long and expensive.

Contact Our Firm Today

Having a lawyer review a contract before it is signed can help avoid costly mistakes and legal disputes. If you need assistance with a business contract, contact the skilled Montana contract lawyer at Silverman Law Office, PLLC to schedule an initial consultation.