Battle of the T&Cs: Whose terms will reign supreme?

It's a pretty common situation: You have standard T&Cs, and you get everyone to sign up to them when doing business. But sometimes the other side insists on using their own terms. So what to do?

Fight! Well, not really ­ here's what you need to know:

1. This means war. When two parties squabble over whose standard terms should apply, lawyers call this the battle of the forms. Yes, equating a contract negotiation to battle really does make our day more exciting (as does stretching metaphors to breaking point, so read on).
2. The scattergun won't win this battle. Don't agree to both contracts. In this case an "I'll sign yours, and you sign mine" approach won't cut it. The terms won't match up and you'll be seriously confused when it comes to figuring out what was agreed. Instead agree early on whose T&Cs to use as the starting point for negotiation. Bear in mind that it might not make sense to use your own standard terms if you're buying a highly specialised or