Contract Flash Points - Part 2 : Amending Standard Contracts – Why Do It

Click here to read Part 1 in the series

In the second of a series of 4 articles looking at key issues that arise when drafting and agreeing contracts, Simon Tolson questions why there is a need to amend standard contracts in the first place.

Amending Standard Contracts - Why Do It

Why is it that lawyers feel the need to add reams of amendments sometimes as long as the standard forms themselves; the clear message should be "if it ain't broke don't fix it". Well, partly clients have a lot to answer for here, but so have my brethren.

The purpose of a written contract is after all to record accurately the terms of a business agreement. This always involves two opposing tensions: first, there is a need for contracts to be fair and flexible and second, they need to be unequivocal. Unfortunately, these two requirements are not good bedfellows. A clause, which unequivocally allocates liability to one party, might be capriciously or arbitrarily enforced. Similarly, a