Some Types of Work Auckland Contract Lawyers Do
Auckland contract lawyers play a key role in keeping New Zealand business running. Without contracts, it is difficult to carry out safe, reliable, commercial transactions. A well-written contract removes doubts and describes each party’s rights and obligations in a legally binding document. Below are four key tasks that a contract lawyer will undertake for their clients.
1 Drafting Contracts
The first task of any of the Auckland contract lawyers is to draft the document for the transaction. They will take details from their client about the variables and deliverables of the proposed deal to express the terms of the transaction. This will include the price, a description of the product or service, the delivery date, the payment date, and often a statement covering the quality or standard of the item or service being provided.
Contract lawyers will also be able to advise and recommend wording or even clauses to insert into the document. They will have worked on dozens of similar transactions, and their experience can vastly improve the ideas that you may have had.
2 Review Proposed Contracts
A lawyer will most likely draft a contract to protect their client. That could mean that the other side is at a disadvantage. If you are on the other side of a transaction, and have been sent a proposed arrangement, your chosen Auckland contract lawyers will review the document to make sure that your interests are protected.
3 Negotiating Terms and Conditions
Sometimes a lawyer is hired to carry out the negotiations of the deal. For complex arrangements, both sides are likely to have their legal advisers involved in the negotiations to make sure that their interest are looked after.
Other times, clients simply do not like to negotiate. In this situation, your lawyer will carry out the negotiation on your behalf. They are trained in this skill so why not use their experience?
4 Contract Disputes
At some stage, however good the contract that has been signed, there is likely to be a dispute. This might be about late payment, delivery dates, product or service quality, or a range of other issues.
The role of a contract lawyer in this case is to re-read the document and advise their client on the rights and obligations they have agreed to. Often, the lawyer’s own client may be at fault. People misinterpret or forget their obligations so a lawyer can reconfirm to their client what they are required to deliver, pay or whatever the issue is.
Other times, their client is correct in their understanding of the arrangement. In this case, the lawyer will contact the lawyers for the other party and reinforce the conditions that are to be met. In a similar view as above, the dispute may simply need the lawyer for the other side to remind their client of their obligations. This can lead to a swift resolution.
However, many times the disputes cannot be resolved easily. In these situations, your lawyer will take more rigorous steps with the other party. This might be a formal letter advising additional action. Sometimes it might involve further negotiation to reach a settlement. Yet others, mediation or arbitration might be necessary.
The final recourse if agreement cannot be reached is to appear and represent you in court. This is the most expensive way to reach a resolution. It also takes a long time before a case reaches the court which means added time for stress, uncertainty, and statis. It is always recommended to accept a deal before going to the final resort.
If you need any legal services or advice on a contract, at whatever stage in the transaction, talk to one of the Auckland contract lawyers like McVeagh Fleming. They have an experienced team of contract lawyers who can advise, drat, review, negotiate and even litigate if needed.