1 / 6

Understanding and Writing Contracts and Memoranda of Agreement

Understand the nuances of contracts and memoranda of agreement, their differences, when to use each, and how to draft them effectively.

Download Presentation

Understanding and Writing Contracts and Memoranda of Agreement

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Understanding and Writing Contracts and Memoranda of Agreement

  2. What are contracts and memoranda of agreement? • ContractIt is a statement of an agreement between or among two or more parties that involves an "exchange of value." • Memorandum of agreementIt is not a legal document, but the signers are showing that they don't intend to try to enforce its terms. • Gray areasIf one party takes a lossIf a particular exchange has become customary

  3. When might you use each document? • Use a contract or subcontract: • Whenever money is involved. • Situations involving a non-money exchange. • Use a memorandum of agreement: • To define a relationship between organizations. • To agree to affiliate in a particular way. • To agree to share something. • To agree to work together in specific ways.

  4. How do you read and understand a memorandum of agreement? • Read every word carefully. • Ask for clarification or help. • Be sure you agree with all the conditions of the memorandum of agreement before you sign it. • Raise any questions before you sign.

  5. How do you draft a contract? • Explain who the parties to the contract are, and the time period that the contract covers • Explain as specifically as possible every aspect of the contract: what, who, how, when and where • If there's money involved, explain the details of payment. • Explain any other obligations of each party. • Explain how the contractor's performance will be evaluated. • Explain the consequences if either party fails to deliver on what it has agreed to. • Explain the conditions under which the contract can be ended or "terminated ". • Explain the conditions under which the contract can be changed or "amended ". • When you've finished, show the contract to others to review your intentions and specifications. • Finally, give the contract to the contractor, and be prepared to negotiate some parts of it.

  6. How do you draft a memorandum of agreement? • The more everything is spelled out, the less confusion about what you're agreeing to. • Being specific helps to avoid misunderstandings, which can escalate into bad feelings and enmity where there was originally trust and collaboration. • Clarity in an agreement provides an outline for your work or activity. • A clear agreement reflects the clarity of everyone's expectations.

More Related