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Review a contract before you sign it

We read the contract before you are bound by it, and tell you plainly what it commits you to.

The contract in front of you was written by the other side, for the other side. Most of it will never matter. The parts that do are the ones that only bite when something goes wrong. We read it before you sign and tell you what you are actually agreeing to.

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Read before you are bound

You find out what the contract commits you to while you can still change it.

Risk named in plain terms

You get told what the liability, termination and IP clauses mean for you, not a marked-up copy to interpret yourself.

A shortlist worth negotiating

We tell you which clauses are worth raising with the other side and which are not worth the friction.

What a contract review actually looks at

A commercial contract is the other side’s account of the relationship, written down. Sign it and that account becomes the one a court will use. Reviewing it means reading for the clauses that decide what happens when the relationship goes wrong.

Those clauses are rarely the headline terms. They are the liability cap, the indemnity, and the question of who owns what gets created. They are whether the other side can walk away without cause. They are whether the agreement renews on its own.

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What kinds of contracts do you review?

Supply and service agreements, distribution and reseller contracts, licences, joint ventures, franchise agreements, procurement contracts and shareholder agreements. Senior executive contracts as well. If you have to sign it and it matters, send it to us.

How long does a review take?

For a commercial contract of ordinary length, usually two to five business days from when we have the document and your instructions. Long or complex agreements take longer. If you are working to a deadline, tell us at the start and we will work to it.

What is the difference between a review and a negotiation?

A review tells you what the contract says and where you are exposed. A negotiation is the work of getting the other side to change it. The two usually run together. We review first, then advise on which points to put and how to frame them.

The other side says their contract is non-negotiable. Is it?

Sometimes, and more often not. Large organisations with standard supplier terms do resist change. Even then it is usually worth raising the two or three clauses that matter most to you. Knowing which ones to pick is most of the skill.

A contract you have not read is a risk you have already accepted

A review costs a fraction of the dispute it prevents. It is also the only point at which the terms are still open to change.

The clause you skimmed is the one that binds you

The contract came with a deadline and a reasonable-sounding summary from the other side. You have read the price and the term. You have not read the indemnity, and you would not be certain what it meant if you had.

Underneath that sits the real worry. You are about to sign something that governs this relationship for years, and you cannot tell whether it protects you or only them.

We will read the contract in full and identify the provisions that decide your rights and obligations.
We will tell you which terms are unusual, onerous, or different from what you thought you had agreed.
We will give you a shortlist of the points worth raising and advise on how to put them.
We will provide written advice summarising the risks and our recommendations.
We will draft the amendments or counter-proposals you decide to put to the other party.

When the contract is in front of you and the deadline is Friday

You are entering a significant arrangement and the other side has sent their standard form. It might be a supply agreement, a services contract, a licence, or a joint venture. The commercial terms look fine. The document runs to forty pages and you have no way of knowing which of them matter. You want someone to read it properly and tell you where you stand before you commit.

What's included in your contract review service

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Full contract review and analysis.
Plain-English summary of the key terms and risks.
Identification of unusual or onerous provisions.
Negotiation strategy advice.
Drafted amendments or counter-proposals if required.

Most contract disputes are about clauses that were read and not understood

Contract disputes rarely turn on something hidden. They turn on a clause that was in the document, skimmed, and not understood before signing.

A liability cap set at one month’s fees, when your exposure is the whole project. A termination right the other side can use without cause and you cannot. An IP clause that leaves them owning the thing you paid to have built. Each of those is enforceable whether or not you noticed it. By the time you need the contract to protect you, its words are fixed.

From a document you hope is fine to one you have actually read

We read the contract with the attention the other side’s lawyers put into writing it. We tell you which clauses change your position and what they mean in practice. You get plain terms, not a marked-up copy you cannot interpret.

Then we tell you which ones are worth raising. Not everything is, and a review that objects to forty clauses gets ignored. You end up signing a document you understand, having had a real chance to push back on the parts that matter.

How a contract review runs

From the document landing in your inbox to a decision you can defend.

Document and context

You send us the contract and tell us what the arrangement is meant to achieve, so we read it against your commercial position.

Review and advice

We read the contract in full and give you written advice on the terms that affect your position and the ones worth challenging.

Negotiation support

If changes are needed we draft them and help you put them to the other side.

Contract review for the party who did not draft it

The pressure to sign quickly is usually part of the deal. The other side has had their lawyers on the document for weeks and gives you two days. We would rather read it in those two days than explain afterwards what you agreed to.

We review commercial contracts for the receiving party, which is a different job from drafting one. It means reading for what is absent as much as for what is there. We have 2 Accredited Specialists in Business Law.

Our great lawyer guarantee

Six principles we hold to, whatever you bring us and however long it takes.

Take the time

We listen carefully to understand what you want to achieve, then step you through the advice and the documents.

Share our knowledge

We pass on as much as we can, so you can make your own informed decisions.

Stick to our knitting

We only do what we are good at, so you never pay for our learning.

Work as one team

Someone is always available to answer your question or point you the right way.

Fair pricing

A fixed or capped quote for advice and documents, so you do not carry the price risk.

It is your show

We are in it for a front row seat to witness your success, not for our egos.

Send us the contract before you sign it

The cheapest moment to fix a contract is before it is signed. After that, every change needs the other side to agree. Send us the document and the background, and we will tell you where you stand and what is worth negotiating.

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