Contracts are the foundations of trust, in both business contexts and everyday life. Understanding contract law empowers you to navigate agreements confidently and unlock opportunities with ease. As such, let's discuss what you need to know about contract law.
Contract law is the legal framework for agreements between two or more parties. It sets rules for creating, interpreting, and enforcing contracts. Contract law serves to ensure that all terms of a contract are followed. It applies to the majority of agreements that involve goods, services, money, employment, or real estate. It's based on the principle that agreements must be honored and upheld.
In legal and business transactions, contracts serve as legally-binding documents that set forth unambiguous terms and conditions between parties. These terms and conditions, ideally, provide an effective framework for fair agreements, protect legal rights, and minimize costly disputes by outlining each party's responsibilities and obligations. The terms and conditions of a contract ultimately retain enforceability in court if necessary, and safeguard against potential legal issues while promoting smooth operations.
A few key elements of a contract are understood to power its creation, signing, and execution. These elements of a contract include:
Let's review the categorizations of contracts under contract law.
A written contract is a legally binding agreement that is documented in writing (physical or virtual) and is usually signed by all parties involved. Oral contracts, meanwhile, are made verbally through spoken communication and without a written document to record the terms. Both types of contracts can be considered legally enforceable, but written contracts are generally preferred because it is easy to prove the terms involved.
An implied contract, unlike its express counterpart, doesn’t require written or spoken words to come into existence. It’s like a silent agreement, where actions and circumstances do the talking. Imagine you're dining at a restaurant. You order, eat, and at the end of the meal, you’re presented with the bill. You never explicitly agreed to pay when you ordered, but by dining, you entered into an implied contract to pay for the meal.
Per unilateral contracts, one party makes a promise and the contract is only valid if the other party decides to perform. Bilateral contracts, meanwhile, involve both parties exchanging promises, with each being equally required to perform under the terms of the contract. In this sense, unilateral contracts involve one-sided approach, whereas a bilateral contract is an agreement mutual or two-sided.
A breach of contract means one party is failing or has failed to meet the terms of the contract - thus violating contract law. Breach of contract can result from issues with:
There are solutions under contract law that can help remedy a breach. Let’s take a look at some common solutions.
Contract intelligence helps in contract law by automating repetitive tasks associated with contracts. Contract drafting can be automated with data mapping, the merging of pre-approved clauses and templates, and generative AI powered clause generation. Contract review can be streamlined with risk flagging of contract language and sentiment analysis. Users of contract artificial intelligence (contract AI) can also leverage auto-redlining of contract clauses in favor of those that were previously approved and successful. With these tools, contracts are more likely to be applicable under contract law.
Understanding contract law is significant because it ensures fairness and predictability through clarity - ultimately protecting individuals and businesses from costly losses and legal hangup when entering contracts. Essentially, contract law allows people to confidently navigate agreements in personal and professional life by knowing if a contract is legitimate and how it can be enforced if needed.
And what is needed to navigate contracts smoothly under contract law? The right tools.
Contract management software helps streamline the contract lifecycle, automate repetitive tasks, enhance visibility into contract details, facilitate efficient negotiation, and foster compliance by providing features like the ones mentioned above, automated notifications and reminders, a secure contract repository, and more.
Book a free demo of award-winning contract management software today!
*Legal Disclaimer: This article is not legal advice. The content of this article is for general informational and educational purposes only. The information on this website may not present the most up-to-date legal information. Readers should contact their attorney for legal advice regarding any particular legal matter.