Many of my first time construction business owner clients assume that they will be able to get their attorney’s fees paid back by a customer if the business owner has to sue the customer for nonpayment of an invoice; however, if the business owner uses a contract that was not prepared by an attorney (even AIA contracts in many cases) they are most always surprised to find out that they cannot get these fees back. Even worse, because they cannot get these fees back, they lose their biggest source of leverage to facilitate quick resolution and payment by the customer

There is simply no excuse not to have contracts prepared and reviewed by an attorney. The inability of a contract to authorize recovery of collection expenses is just one of many shortcomings of contracts prepared by laymen, computer software or your local office products store. Often contracts run afoul of statutes or regulations and can result in fines or worse sanctions for the business owner. Sometimes contract terms are vague or contradictory and thus unenforceable.

I try very hard to arm my clients with a good contract and to make their legal fees affordable. Often, I prepare simple contracts for a low flat fee.