In this blog post, Miller & Martin attorney
David Spiller discusses what to do when a major customer drops
a 100-page Master Agreement on a technology provider.
When a major company sends its technology provider a 100-page
Master Agreement, the document lands with a thud – either
real or electronic. There's excitement on the provider side
– "let's redline this puppy and get it signed!"
– because the deal is getting closer to actually happening.
But the excitement can turn to consternation once the document is
opened, and 100 pages of single-spaced, 10-point font legalese
stare back at the reader.
To move forward the provider has to do two things simultaneously
– on the one hand, settle in for what can be a new slog with
the customer's legal counsel (after the slog with its business
principals getting a green light for the deal), but, on the other
hand, keep momentum going by jumping into the document,
understanding it and figuring out what works and doesn't
