Giovani Mesa on Orlando’s Bad Habit

It’s easy for contract language to blend together after a while. The language used in contracts is often complex, antiquated, and, to the untrained eye, can appear redundant. It’s not uncommon for non-lawyers to write contracts by using bits and pieces of other contracts and putting them together into one document. While it may seem like a cost-saving measure to put together a contract without a lawyer, you could actually be opening yourself up to serious financial and legal trouble down the road.

Orlando, in particular, has become a hub for mish-mash contracts that don’t often stand up to scrutiny, says Miami lawyer Giovani Mesa. Unclear of exactly why the phenomenon appears to occur more frequently in Orlando than in his home city of Miami, Mesa is a strong believer in using lawyers to draft business contracts.

“There are plenty of very reputable attorneys in Orlando that do this work and many of them are affordable,” says Mesa. “It’s worth the price to hire an attorney to avoid some of the headaches that come from shoddy contracts.”

Essentially, the goal of a contract is to record the intention of both parties as well as their respective rights and obligations. Another key aspect of the contract is clarifying what happens if one party fails to fulfill their obligations. If any of these areas of the contract contain mistakes, there can be serious ramifications for one or both parties involved.

As with many other areas of law, contract drafting often involves the use of legal precedent. While legal precedent is important, Giovani Mesa states that contracts are really about understanding and creating building blocks that ensures a contract fulfills its original purpose.

It can be very tempting to recycle bits and pieces of contracts used by similar businesses for similar purposes. Giovani has seen it countless times over the course of his career. In many cases it can go un-noticed and you’ll be just fine, but taking the risk isn’t a good idea. Just last month there was a significant lawsuit against an Orlando man because of unclear language used in a business contract. In some cases, a single botched contract can affect a business for years down the line.

For botched contracts, consequences range from corporate headaches to full-blown lawsuits. Looking bad to your boss and prolonged legal battles are two consequences on different ends of the spectrum when it comes to contract mistakes. Either way, it can be distracting and drain both time and resources.