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Contract Law
We believe the distinction between litigation and transactional work, made at many firms, is often artificial. Experienced contract lawyers based in Boulder, we know that contract litigation is almost always the result of poor drafting, an incomplete negotiation, or both. Often the dispute could have been avoided had the parties realized the importance of proper drafting of the contract and any related legal documents.
We know people will rely on each document we draft. We believe all contracts (and all legal documents) should be clear, concise, and to the extent possible written in plain English. A good contract should:
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Define its terms
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Eliminate ambiguities
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Minimize "Legalese"
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Plan for "what if" contingencies
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Use short sentences
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Avoid passive voice
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Address all issues
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Avoid repetition
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Be internally consistent in form and substance
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We understand that the law requires precision, and it is not possible (or wise) to condense every legal document down to a few pages. The point is that too many lawyers fail to recognize that the quality of a legal document does not necessarily increase in proportion to its length. Most contracts we review are filled with archaic terms, redundancies, awkward phrases, ambiguities, and worthless boilerplate. This increases the likelihood of misunderstandings and decreases the productivity of everyone associated with the transaction.
We also know that good drafting takes time, and clients may not want to incur that expense when a template or form has met their needs for years. However, an ambiguity in a contract, or an omission, may go unnoticed for years and then, when the circumstances are right or the law has changed, suddenly lead to a costly legal dispute that could have easily been avoided by hiring qualified counsel.
We are experienced Colorado contract lawyers and we take drafting seriously. We draft, negotiate, and review contracts and legal documents of all kinds for clients across Colorado and even for some overseas clients. Today's technology makes our proximity to the client less relevant and enables us to serve as virtual counsel or online general counsel for clients across Colorado and overseas.
Mark Cohen is an accomplished writer. He understands that words matter. He researched and wrote six articles published in the prestigious American Jurisprudence Proof of Facts series. He also wrote several articles published in The Colorado Lawyer. He is a member of the Board of Editors of The Colorado Lawyer. His non-legal writings have appeared in magazines such as Inside Kung Fu and Camping & RV. He wrote two mysteries published by Mysterious Press (Time/Warner), one of which was a Book Sense® mystery pick and finalist for the Colorado Book Award.
Mr. Cohen did graduate work in philosophy and logic, and has studied General Semantics, an educational discipline that focuses on helping people avoid traps built into natural language and "common sense" assumptions. Most importantly, when it comes to drafting legal documents, he has litigated and tried many contract disputes and understands how the time invested in preparing a well-written document reduces the likelihood of costly disputes in the future and improves the client's chances of success in litigation if a dispute does arise.
Contract Litigation
Our goal is to draft legal documents that prevent misunderstandings and protect our clients. If a dispute arises we work hard to help our clients find practical, cost-effective solutions. When litigation is unavoidable, our ability to bridge the gap between the law of contracts and the art of trial advocacy serves our clients well.
The varieties of contract disputes are many. They include:
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Commercial litigation and UCC disputes
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Lease disputes
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Partnership disputes
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Shareholder disputes
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Non-competition agreement disputes
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Confidentiality disputes
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Employment contract litigation
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Intellectual property disputes
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Real estate litigation
When representing a party in a contract dispute the diligent attorney should also consider non-contract claims that may arise out of the same facts -- business tort claims, fraud claims, equitable claims, and statutory claims. At TCLG we understand the interplay between these types of claims and traditional breach of contract claims.
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