The Pitfalls of Using Canned Legal Contracts: Top 10 Rookie Mistakes to Avoid

Navigating the world of legal contracts can feel overwhelming, especially with the allure of quick fixes and ready-made solutions available online. Canned contract templates seem like the magic wand to simplify the process. With their promises of convenience and affordability, it’s easy to be tempted. But beware, as diving into the world of canned contracts might lead you straight into a legal quagmire, causing more harm than good.

1. Taking Someone Else’s Medication and Expecting It to Work for You.

Imagine borrowing someone else’s prescription medication and expecting it to cure your ailment. Sure, for minor issues, it might not pose an immediate threat. But you’re not looking for superficial solutions; you’re seeking real answers. Just as you wouldn’t gamble with your health, you shouldn’t gamble with your legal matters. When you use a canned contract, you’re taking a chance on a solution that might not be tailored to your unique needs.

2. Attorneys Don’t Hand Out Free Contracts for Good Reasons

Attorneys don’t hand out free legal contracts for a good reason. It’s all about their own risk! Attorneys are at risk for their advice as specialists. Just as a doctor doesn’t avoid liability by giving away free medication, an attorney doesn’t escape responsibility and liability for mistakes in the documents he drafts.

Insurance of any kind has a price tag. The question you should ask is whether you should take out legal insurance by hiring an attorney.

3. Avoid the Trap of Amateur Drafting

Canned contracts often originate from individuals with limited legal understanding. To the untrained eye, they may be eye-catching. To the trained eye they often resemble a patchwork quilt stitched together from various sources, leaving gaps and vulnerabilities. Your legal transactions deserve precision, not guesswork.

4. The Importance of Jurisdiction and Local Laws

Contracts aren’t universal; they operate within specific legal systems. Canned contracts rarely consider the jurisdiction of courts or the nuances of various countries’ laws. Your contract’s effectiveness hinges on its alignment with your legal environment.

5. Seek Guidance from Trusted Resources

Fortunately, there are exceptions. Certain institutions provide standardized contracts, for example such as dispute resolution. However, these contracts aren’t one-size-fits-all. They require careful consideration and often, professional guidance to maximize their potential for success.

6. Empower Yourself with Informed Choices

When it comes to contracts, knowledge truly is power. Instead of relying on generic solutions, empower yourself by seeking advice from legal experts. Standard form contracts recommended by reputable dispute resolution bodies can be a strong starting point, but tailor them to your specific situation with professional insight.

In the dynamic world of legal contracts, shortcuts can lead to pitfalls. Don’t fall into the canned contract trap. Instead, arm yourself with knowledge, collaborate with experts, and ensure your agreements are as robust as they are precise. Your legal endeavours deserve nothing less.

8. Failure to Plan

Planning is one of the most important steps in any business decision. When you act without advice you miss out on a crucial and often business-fatal mistake. You will get burned.

9. Thinking that you know your business better than anyone else

You probably do! But can you evaluate objectively?


However, legal contracts are not only concerned with business procedure itself; their purpose is to safeguard your legal rights in the event of a dispute. Unless your primary business involves practising law, it’s imperative to consult someone who specializes in the field.

When you overlook the importance of seeking counsel from appropriate sources, you substantially raise the risk of allowing emotions to cloud your judgment during decision-making. Closeness to a situation frequently hinders your ability to perceive the larger context, potentially obscuring the broader perspective. Even more concerning, this could lead you into a state of denial, where you erroneously perceive your judgment as impartial, despite evidence to the contrary.

10. Assuming that the other parties have not hired an attorney or taken legal advice.

Do you want to start off negotiations at a disadvantage?

ITS UP TO YOU !

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