This contract tip is about how the vendor contract review process fits in the bigger world of contracts.
A colleague years ago said that legal review of vendor contracts is like death by a thousand cuts. I think most lawyers feel that way. And I get it.
We never have time to review them as we'd like. We must use less than perfect terms because of the counterparty's requirements. We can't fix all the problems in the contracts. For me, that inherent chaos and imperfection is my favorite thing about vendor contracts.
I do large multi-million-dollar strategic deals, too, which are fun in a different way. We have the luxury of amazing lawyers on both sides and sophisticated business teams who are focused and motivated. With these kinds of contracts, both parties usually want to spend the time to get the contracts as perfect as we can.
But for the bulk of vendor contract work, we review and triage. We spend time on the ones that need our attention the most and get the rest good enough to sign.
We're like the emergency room of the contract world. And for many of us, that is why we love this work.
Do you enjoy working on vendor contracts?
