Writing a contract is an arcane art for lawyers only, right? Wrong. Yes, you should definitely see a lawyer should for high value, complex transactions. But the fundamentals contract writing are not all difficult to learn. Of course, once you finish writing your contract, do have a lawyer review it. But writing your own draft contract will cost you less than having a lawyer write it from scratch.

Here are some pointers:

1.Avoid Legalese. It is usually best to write contracts in a language called “English”. Contracts do have to be precise, however. Write your contract with an imaginary demon sitting on your shoulder trying to twist your language around to make it mean something else. If your contract is precise enough to defeat this little demon, then it's probably precise enough. Some contracts, however, do need legitimate contractual “terms of art” that have special meanings to lawyers and judges (the word “consideration”, for example). That's one reason you should have a lawyer review your contract before you sign it.

2. Be sure to include appropriate contract boilerplate. Including a dispute resolution clause, an assignment clause, an entire agreement clause, etc. can be important to avoid unpleasant surprises if a dispute arises. Standardized contract boilerplate clauses are available on my site (see below). Look carefully at this boilerplate and modify it to suit your needs – after all, every transaction is different.

3. Cover every issue that might result in a dispute. Be paranoid, because you never know what might happen. Think of every way that a dispute may arise, address the issue, and clearly resolve it.

4. Use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling. This is not just for show. Some readers may remember the TV series about a lawyer who cost his client a billion dollars by misplacing a comma in a contract (he got fired, went back to his hometown, and opened his new law office in a bowling alley!).