Contracts and Leases

In addition to agreements with regard to intellectual property, there is a wide variety of business contracts that the clinic may be asked to prepare and others that it may be asked to review. These include franchise agreements, commercial leases, agreements with customers and suppliers, employment agreements, and independent contractor agreements. Samples can be obtained through Lexis orWestlaw, in law school form books or, occasionally, through specialized online services such as Findlaw.com. See also, the miscellaneous forms accessible through the Business Contracts link.

Independent contractor agreements are common in the small business setting, but are particularly problematic because entrepreneurs like to describe persons employed in the business as “independent contractors” so that the client is relieved of wage and hour, discrimination, and tax withholding requirements. Suffice it to say, that merely calling an employee an “independent contractor” is not enough. Misclassification can result in severe penalties, and clients are well advised to proceed with extreme caution in this area. The IRS provides helpful information to enable a company to determine how its workers should be classified. For more information, visit the IRS Web site.