Posts under ‘Contract Drafting’

I have written in the past about the importance of a well written contract, but as my litigation practice expands I am constantly reminded about how important this is. The importance of not only including all of the legal boilerplate, but also making sure the specifics of dispute resolution are ironed out is paramount.
While [...]

The Wisconsin Law Journal brought a recent case to my attention about a man who wrote up a contract with his brother to try and cheat his now ex-wife out of some of the family assets.
The terms of the contract were that Stanley, who was thinking of getting divorced, transferred 20 acres of land [...]

I just came across a really well written article about non-compete clauses, you can read it here www.saleofbusinesslawblog.com . I am a big fan of Non-compete clauses to sweeten a deal. Chances are, that if you are selling the business, it is because you are no longer going to be performing that type of work [...]

Even when a contract is drafted by an attorney, there can be simple clerical errors that may change the whole contract. If you had an option to purchase, and on one line the wrong date was put for that option to end, it could materially change the terms of the contract.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending [...]

It seems quite often you see contracts that contain provisions similar to the following:
Either party may cancel this contract at any time by giving the other party 60 days written notice.
This always sounds like a good idea when you discuss it. Basically it is the back-out provision, if things are going badly, you can [...]

There are many situations where two existing businesses, or two just starting entrepreneurs want to jointly take on an endeavor, but do not want to be so tied to each other as to be the same entity. This is where a joint venture can come in handy. It creates a legally binding relationship, and if [...]

The short answer: YES. DirecTV is cracking down on Commercial Misuse over the last year and a half, particularly misuse of NFL Sunday Ticket, resulting in huge fines. Previously DirecTV had limited its focus to just those who were using “Pirate” boxes or illegal access cards to get at its content. Now, DirecTV is unleashing [...]

In an opinion that was issued last week the Wisconsin Appellate Court upheld a circuit court decision in which the plaintiff’s were not able to sue for actual damages in a failed residential real estate transaction because they did not return the earnest money to the buyer. The court ruled that they irrevocably elected liquidated [...]

Often, when a company is looking to acquire another business, it looks at all of its gleaming equipment and its wonderful balance sheet as the reason to purchase the company, but in reality all of that success is probably more tied to the employees that work there then the systems or equipment associated with the [...]

This is a question that is frequently asked, or thought of, even if it is not verbalized, by my clients. The lawyerly answer is because language is an imperfect medium to describe complex thoughts, ideas, and meanings. There are vagaries to every word, and every sentence written.  However, a better way to explain it may [...]

There are two mainstream ways that Businesses go about acquiring other businesses. This is through either an Asset Purchase or a Stock Purchase. There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches, taking a look at what you want to accomplish will go a long way towards helping you decide which method to take.

In a January 2007 decision, Estate of James H. Matteson v. Robert R. Matteson et al. , the Wisconsin Appellate court takes the time to further clarify its decision from Lange v. Bartlett , 121 Wis. 2d 599, 602 which stated
[W]hen one partner leaves a partnership and allows the other [...]

To the unsuspecting business, there are a surprising amount of consumer protection laws in Wisconsin, especially relating to penalties from a business. Businesses regularly get themselves into hot water by imposing sanctions on consumers without taking those laws into account, the consequences can be dire and expensive. A recent Wisconsin Appellate case James Cook et [...]

Unless you are making all other parties actually aware of your business entity, you may not be. A recent Wisconsin Appellate decision Black v. Bach, 2005AP3010 reminds us that agents (this means anyone, employees, owners, or anyone acting to bind the LLC or Corporation) need to take steps to ensure that everyone they [...]

If you are looking to start a business in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, or already own a business in the Wauwatosa or Milwaukee area, you might think, “I can save some money on using contracts and business formation services from an on-line website.” And this is true, you will certainly get a cheap alternative. Of course, as [...]

This is an issue that comes up quite often in my Business Litigation Practice. When two businesses, especially small businesses, first get together they are excited to have the service/ a new client and other than maybe a written a proposal have nothing in writing setting out the terms of the agreement.
If everything does not [...]

While the rent per square foot is an important consideration, money is not the only thing that can be negotiated in a commercial lease.
A colleague of mine, Attorney Chris Moander, recently wrote an article “The lease is a beast I can’t stand in the least” on his blog, and he warns of the danger of [...]

Everyone always wants them, very few people actually get them. There are generally three ways to get attorneys fees.
One, if they are explicitly granted as a part of a contract for which you are pursuing a breach of contract claim, if you win you will get Attorney’s fees. If you do not, you may [...]

Click the links to get to Anatomy of a Contract part 1 of 3 or part 2 of 3
In part 2 of 3 I mentioned that the “Action” part of a contract is the most important part of a contract; and it is, but mainly because of how it relates to the “insurance” part of [...]

If you missed “Anatomy of a Contract (Part 1 of 3)” click here
In that section I discussed the recitals, or as I refer to it, the “Information” part of a contract. The other two parts are “Action” and “Insurance”. In this post I am going to talk a bit about the “Action” portion of a [...]