One-sided deals.

Boy oh boy. Don't even get me started on these.

Do you know how many times I have reviewed a Contract and noticed how one-sided the whole document is?

And you are telling me to BELIEVE this other side wants the best for my client?

Really?

I THINK NOT.

One-sided contracts are never good.

And I am telling you, they always send a bad signal forward.

But what are you going to do? Just tear that contract into two and call the deal off?

No.

That would be an even worse thing to do.

Instead, you have to look at the whole document and understand which points can be written in a better way.

And also, what should be removed to make it more... fair on both sides?

Just recently we helped a guy out with his NDA that was quite one-sided.

Can you believe it? Of all the documents? An NDA was one-sided...

Mainly it had 3 problems:

1) It was not made to protect the other side's interests

2) There were more than 2 parties to be added to this NDA

3) The part where "confidential information" was defined was too general... and quite vague honestly

Now all this had to be fixed.

He couldn't send this forward, or else he would lose the whole deal.

By the way, he ran a concierge consulting business, so you know how important this NDA would be.

There are 2 things we did:

1) We Understood The Scope in Detail

The first step of any transaction is to understand what needs to be done to best assist the client.

And this has to be done in the shortest time frame as the deal was quite urgent.

So we quickly went over the nature of the services being provided.

And also understood the role of each party involved in the business engagement.

The next step was simple - amend the definition of confidential information and the purpose for which it can be used.

Turned the whole thing into a mutual arrangement to make sure it was fair towards all parties.

2) Added Consequences Of Breach and Remedy

We added liquidated damages of $25,000 for every incident of contract breach.

Yup. This deal was that important.

And additionally, the right to seek an injunction (which is to stop working) was added as a first course of action in the event of a confidentiality breach.

But the arbitration forum was added keeping in mind the client's convenience.

That's all that was needed.

With this in mind, our client had two things in place:

1) Protection for his company

2) An NDA that communicates that he cares about all parties involved in a transaction

Basically turning him into a hero!

Look, I know a lot of people like to brag about all the value and help they can provide to their clients.

But when it comes to execution?

That's hardly the case.

Now, if you are going to get a client's foot on your doorstep...

Then the easiest way to lose them is by sending a Contract that sends mixed signals...

Saying "Hey, I care about your business"

But then doing "Actually, let me focus on protecting only my business."

Not a good thing.

Now if you care about using a Contract that is actually FAIR on BOTH PARTIES, then pick a time here:

https://calendly.com/mtlegalteam/discovery-call-with-mtlegal-team

Next week should have some slots free for you!

We can go over how everything can be made to fit your specific circumstances.

Talk soon!

-- Akhil Mishra