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Interrelationship of contractual clauses

In discussing contracts there is an inherent interrelationship amongst various clauses. One should look at a contract as a puzzle. The agreement is the completed puzzle. In order to complete this puzzle you have to assemble all of the pieces together. The pieces are, you guessed it, the various clauses within the contract. You see there is no final agreement unless all clauses within the contract are accepted and agreed upon by both sides. Many of these clauses are interrelated. They rely upon each other in order to formulate the agreement itself. I would argue that these interrelated clauses are specifically designed by the contractor to gain advantage over the contractee. As discussed in previous blog posts, the contractor, contractee agreement is all about power. A struggle by both sides to reap the benefits and shift the risk onto the other party. As a contractor the power is essentially in your hands from the beginning. You construct a contract and the contractee either a...
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Shifting Risk

It is a abundantly clear that the main purpose of a contract is to protect yourself and shift risk. Regardless of what you are told, people are inherently selfish. At the root of this selfishness is money itself. Now, this is a totally justifiable selfishness. We need money to function, profit and survive. In contracting with someone in any circumstance, your first concern is (or should be) self preservation. Self preservation while receiving consideration in which you contracted for in the first place. The core of this self preservation is based on risk. Risks include: loss of funds, concerns of physical safety and ability of the opposite party to hold you liable. So it is conceivable, considering the human condition, that one might want to maximize benefits while eliminating risks. Speaking from a legal point of view, the case can be made that many clauses within a contract are used for this purpose. Specifically, moral clauses, notice, waiver and severability.  Moral clause...
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The evolution of Contracts

Discuss a number ways in which modern contracts have moved away from the laissez faire tradition of contract formation (i.e., what is sometimes called the ‘classical contract’). As part of your analysis discuss how this move away from the classical contract impacts the way we view and deal with contracts today. Contract formation has evolved immensely throughout history. If we trace contract law back to the 14th century, it was very simplistic in nature (Findlay, 2017). The focus was on criminality and the preservation of ones property (Findlay, 2017). For the longest time, this all that really needed to be governed by contract law. At the turn of the 16th century something changed (Findlay, 2017). Agriculture became big business and the definition of a contract switched. Because agriculture is an entrepreneurial exploit which many folks could participate in, written contract could not keep up (Findlay, 2017). The result was the rise of the laissez-faire contract. These informal, ...
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Contracts: My experience

Introduction In my personal experience, contracts are everywhere. From the millions of dollars made by professional athletes to the “accept” button on an iTunes update, there are no shortage of examples. A contract for me has always centred around sports. An athletes worth is gauged by his or her contract. A point of pride for these professional athletes is how much money they are able to get from their employer. I was always enamoured with the money made over a specific number of years. What I overlooked was the intricacies of the contract. Considerations dictate an athletes behaviour. They can dictate a players weight, what they are allowed to do away from the team and even circumstances where a contract may become void. Contracts shape and alter many lives. This is why understanding contracts is so important. How would describe/explain the concept of a contract to someone In describing a contract to someone, I would say it is a promise or promises that are legally-b...
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