Hunt & Associates P.C.

Contracts and Leases

Writing Commercial and Business Agreements

At Hunt & Associates we take pride in the clarity of the contracts we prepare. The purpose of any contract is to clearly and definitively express and define the parties’ expectations. To the extent a party can’t read and understand a contract, that party risks confusion and misunderstanding both as to what it must give and what it should receive from that contract.

We don’t believe that any client should sign a contract they can’t read and understand without a lawyer. Contact Hunt & Associates to learn how our experience with negotiating, drafting and enforcing contracts, leases, and other agreements of all kinds can benefit your business.

Thinking the Contract Through

A contract is a story beginning in the individual needs and abilities of the parties and ending in their agreement to an exchange of value on the terms and conditions stated in their agreement. We think each contract through so that the final agreement describes not only what the agreement is but why the parties agreed. Our goal in drafting contracts clearly is so that any stranger or court will be better able to interpret, apply and enforce the agreement if there’s ever a dispute.

Customizing the Contract to Fit the Relationship

Many contractual relationships don’t neatly fit a predetermined mold. There are specific circumstances, characteristics, needs and demands in many relationships which are more or less unique to the parties at the time. Such considerations aren’t generally susceptible to a robotic use of forms and standard “boiler plate” contract language.

The lawyers at Hunt & Associates work closely with each business client to make sure that the proposed agreement is personalized to meet the company’s objectives and needs.

Using Forms Only When They Fit

We don’t believe in reinventing the wheel. In some routine situations, use of form contracts saves all parties time and expense without any sacrifice of clarity or quality. Trust deeds, mortgages, employee confidentiality agreements, employee handbooks, commercial and residential leases, and security agreements are all examples where forms serve a valuable purpose. We do not, however, use a form or “standard contract language” in any agreement we draft without first thinking about whether the form or the term fits the intended contract we’re preparing.

Anticipating the Unexpected

Most parties to a contract don’t initially anticipate or even consider the possible problems that may occur over the course of the agreement. However, there’s no better time to consider and plan for such problems than before the parties become contractually obligated to one another. Before signing their contract, the parties can define their expectations to accommodate future contingencies in the most fairly reasoned and negotiated way.

At Hunt & Associates, we try to consider all of those possibilities with our clients to minimize the chance of unanticipated problems which, if not properly addressed and managed, can destroy the value of the relationship to one or more of the parties.

As hard as we try, we cannot anticipate or foresee all of the problems that may occur during the lifetime of a contractual relationship. As well as advising our clients in the negotiation of their contracts, our litigation experience is an invaluable resource to our business clients.

For additional information about our approach to client service on contract or lease issues, an attorney at Hunt & Associates in Portland, Oregon.