A breach of contract can have catastrophic consequences for your business. Texas offers legal remedies to business owners impacted by breaches of contract, but it’s far less disruptive to prevent contract breaches than to address them once they’ve happened. Here are a few tips for preventing contract breaches for Houston business owners.
Breaches of contract can significantly damage your business’s finances and reputation. By taking key precautions, you can minimize your risk of facing a breach in the future.
Tips for Preventing Contract Breaches
Breach of contract and contract dispute prevention are vital for any company. These tips may help you safeguard your business from costly, stressful, and time-consuming issues down the line.
Clear and Concise Contract Drafting
Your business contracts should be thorough and clear. The less ambiguity there is, the less likely you are to deal with potential breaches down the line. A business lawyer can offer contract drafting tips or even draft your contracts for you.
Thorough Review Before Signing
Never sign a document you don’t fully understand. As an extra precaution, you may want to consider asking your lawyer to review any contract you’re asked to sign.
Proper Documentation
In case a dispute arises in the future, you should maintain a record of your communications with any parties you contract with. It is especially critical to thoroughly document any changes to the contract.
Open Communication
Often, communication can resolve breaches of contract or even stop them from happening in the first place. If you have concerns about another party’s failing to meet contractual obligations, make a point of discussing the issue as soon as possible.
Realistic Deadlines and Expectations
The last thing you want to do is set yourself or the other party up for failure by creating a contract with unreasonable deadlines. Make sure expectations for all parties are realistic and that there is a clear procedure for amending the contract if needed.
Dispute Resolution Mechanisms
Mediation, arbitration, and other kinds of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods can be efficient, cost-effective alternatives to litigation. It may be worth including a clause in your contract stating that disputes should be resolved using one of these methods instead of litigation.
Regular Review of Contracts
If you regularly review your contracts and make updates as needed, you can dramatically reduce your risk of dealing with a breach of contract. With each update, you should ensure that your contracts are aligned with your current business model and updated to reflect any changes in relevant laws.
Legal Counsel When Necessary
There’s nothing wrong with taking steps on your own to reduce the risk of contract disputes. However, it’s often wise to consult a business lawyer. A business attorney will be able to assess your business’s existing contracts and offer advice for protecting your company.
Whether you have a quick question on contract drafting or you need help with a more in-depth issue, Weisblatt Law Firm is here for you. Call us at (713) 666-1981 to book your free phone consultation today.
Benefits of Preventing Contract Breaches
Setting Your Business Up for Continued Success
Although it takes time and resources to make sure your company is protected against breaches of contract, that expenditure is a small fraction of what a breach of contract would cost you. Here’s a look at some of the primary benefits of preventing breaches of contract:
Maintaining Strong Business Relationships
Contract disputes can destroy business relationships. When you take steps to prevent breaches of contract, you’re also taking steps to preserve your existing business relationships.
Saving Time and Money
Breaches of contract often involve far more costs than many business owners realize:
- Business losses because one party didn’t fulfill contractual obligations
- Cost of litigation
- Lost income as a result of reputational damage
- Time necessary to deal with the situation.
If you can avoid the costly business disruptions that often come with breaches of contract, you can save your company considerable money and time.
Protecting Your Reputation
Your business’s reputation can still be affected if you’re not the one breaching a contract. For instance, if you can’t fulfill customer orders on time because a vendor didn’t deliver a product as agreed, customers may see you as unreliable.
Focusing on Business Growth
Breaches of contract are a major distraction. If you can avoid them, you’ll have more time and energy to concentrate on growing your business.
How a Houston Business Attorney Can Help
A business attorney can help you prevent breach of contract in a number of different ways:
Drafting and Reviewing Contracts
It’s wise to consult a contract review attorney when you’re starting a business or when you need to create a new contract. However, you may want to consider asking a lawyer to periodically review your existing contracts as well. A skilled business lawyer can identify potential liabilities and help you create clear contracts that protect your business interests.
Providing Legal Guidance
If you aren’t sure whether a given party’s actions constitute a breach of contract, a business attorney can review the contract and the situation and offer advice.
Negotiating Contract Terms
When you have the help of an attorney as you negotiate business contracts, you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing you’re protected.
Resolving Disputes
While a lawyer can represent you in court if needed, they also may be able to help negotiate contract disputes without having the matter go to court.
Prevent Problems Before They Start
The Right Business Lawyer Can Help You Prevent Breaches of Contract
When it comes to preventing breach of contract, the most important thing is to be proactive. While you can take some steps to avoid breaches on your own, working with a business lawyer is the best course of action. Andrew Weisblatt, founder of Weisblatt Law Firm, has served as chief operating officer and in-house counsel for a multi-national corporation. Thanks to his legal knowledge and extensive experience in the business world, Mr. Weisblatt understands which strategies a business owner should employ to protect their company from potential breaches.
If you need an experienced Houston business lawyer, Weisblatt Law Firm is ready to help. Give us a call at (713) 666-1981 for a free phone consultation.
Attorney Andrew Weisblatt
Mr. Weisblatt has practiced continuously since becoming licensed in 1992 and has represented businesses ranging in size from one person start-up ventures to multi-national corporations employing hundreds of people in multiple countries. From 2005 through 2009 Mr. Weisblatt was in-house counsel and chief operating officer of a multi-national corporation in the steel products industry. That in-house position provided valuable insight into how businesses work and what they actually need from their lawyers – both in-house and outside counsel. Attorney Bio
