At its core, a contract is just an agreement saying “I will sell you this thing I have if you give me this other thing that you have.” This basic formula stays the same whether you’re selling a house, a car, or a pack of Pokemon cards. This is the point at which that familiar questions pops up – “so why do we need to involve a lawyer in this?”

The most important issue an attorney has to confront in any aspect of their work is “but what if…?” These three short words and a question mark form the very core of the diligent attorney’s professional work, but never are they more important than in contract law. Let’s think about that bare-bones formula we just talked about: “I will sell you this thing I have if you give me this other thing that you have.” That is a basic contract that has all of minimum necessary elements to be considered a contract, who is selling what to whom in exchange for what. But what if they find an oil deposit under the house? But what if the car is crashed before it’s delivered to the buyer. But what if the Pokemon cards are missing the rare special edition Charizard that was supposed to be in there?

If the contract doesn’t state what happens in that case, then it can often be up to the courts to decide who was promised what, what was actually agreed upon, which expectations were reasonable, and who has the burden of paying for damages. Resolving these sorts of disagreements is what the courts are for, but this process demands time and money. This is where the well-drafted contract comes in.

Attorneys are very cautious people by nature. It’s an occupational hazard of the legal profession and it’s one that works in your favor as a client.  When you come to an attorney’s office and explain the legal issue you’re dealing with, “but what if…?” starts popping up in your attorney’s head over and over and over again. This is because they want to be able to help you plan for any eventuality.

Your attorney wants to write a contract that will leave zero doubt as to what would happen if just about any “but what if…?” happens. You and the person you are contracting with deserve to have a complete picture of just about every single possible outcome. A truly well-drafted contract is one where just about every single potential situation is covered, explained, and planned for between the title on the first page and your signature on the last page. It is a clear set of expectations for everybody signing a contract as to what could happen when “but what if…?” happens.

However, an attorney’s job is not simply to write a contract to assign fault and demand late fees in case of a meteor strike. A contract has to work within the rules of the law. If a Colorado state law requires, for example, that a landlord give a minimum length of notice to a tenant with no exceptions, writing a shorter notice requirement into the contract won’t overrule the law. Because of this, an attorney’s job is not only to write a contract to get the best outcome for you, but to make sure that you are aware of the limitations and requirements under the law, and the base rules that your contract simply cannot change.

​Most people will encounter a limited number of big, important contracts in their life. A mortgage, a couple of car dealership sales contracts, and a few employment agreements. By contrast, an contracts attorney will see different types of contracts, all with their own unique situational issues to address, several times a week. Contract attorneys spend so much time immersed in the various issues that surround contract law that the can’t help but come up with “but what if…?” scenarios to address, which helps them create a contract for you that will give you peace of mind about what will happen in almost any eventuality when you lease out the extra room in your house, sell the car you don’t need anymore, or hire some college students to paint your siding over summer break.

The first questions many lawyers will hear from a client is "what's the difference between you doing this, and me doing this?" 

The obvious go-to is that it will cost you less money. But will it really? An improperly written estate plan may land those who stand to inherit in probate court for a long time. An omission in a business agreement may mean that a company's owners spend years in court fighting over ownership portions and profit distributions. Of course, this may not be the case, and everything can turn out ok in the absence of a spark of conflict or disagreement. However, if things do go wrong, and your documents aren't up to snuff, money saved up front may turn into an exponentially larger cost later on down the line.

Over the course of our lives, we run into many documents. Rental agreements, car loans, and business agreements being maybe the most common. We gather experience in understanding what these documents mean. We trust that the dealer handling our car loan and the lender handling our mortgage know the documents they are having us sign well enough to understand and explain them. Often we rely on "oh, it's just the usual loan stuff in there." But what do we do when we step outside of those familiar situation and find ourselves with no guidance on what documents we need or what we have to include in them.

The modern world has allowed us access to close to the sum of all of human knowledge through a few devices which we are never far from - the smartphone, the computer, and the internet that brings them together.  You can find a document that someone has drafted for almost any situation online. But that's where you might hit a small roadblock. Is this the correct document for your city, your state, even your country? Is any part of it contradicted by law? To what extent will it actually protect you? Finally and simply, does it say what you want it to say.

This is where an attorney can be very helpful. Whether you are bringing in a document you found or prepared in advance or having a brand spanking new one custom drafted for you, an attorney will help guide you to make sure that your true intent is reflected in the document in your hands by the time you leave their office. An attorney will have spent a significant amount of time learning not only general legal principles, but the way things function where you live. They will be able to help tailor the language in your document to make sure that it expresses everything you need it to contain effectively and in an easy to understand manner. They will ensure that the document contains every element necessary by law, and that it protects your interests, and does not expose you to unnecessary liability.

In essence, an attorney will customize the document or other legal help you need to the exact specifics of your case. A one-size-fits-all solution may be the right way to go in some cases. However, visiting an attorney's office to find out whether this is the case, or if there are some additional considerations that you should take into account. Then, fully armed with the knowledge of how well your documents say what you need them to say, you can make the informed decision to hire an attorney, or strike out on your own.