What we draft
Across commercial, property and personal matters, the documents that most often need to be right the first time.
The three failures we see repeatedly
Under-stamping. An instrument that is not adequately stamped can be impounded and is restricted in evidence. The saving is trivial; the consequence is that the document may not help you when it matters.
Non-registration. Certain documents must be registered to be effective. Agreements to sell, long leases and partition arrangements are routinely left unregistered and then relied on as if they were conveyances.
Ambiguity. Clauses that were clear to both parties on the day and mean two things three years later. Payment triggers, termination rights, and who bears which cost are the usual suspects.
How we work
We start with the commercial arrangement rather than the document type: what each side is actually agreeing to do, what happens if they do not, and what each side most fears. The clauses follow from that.
For review work, we mark up the document with the risk attached to each point and a recommendation, so you can decide what to negotiate and what to accept. Not every unfavourable clause is worth fighting over, and it helps to know which ones are.