People send e-mails as though they were having conversations with someone in a barR. Scott Meece, global general counsel, senior vice president and secretary of CIBA Vision Corp  as quoted by the Fulton County Daily Report

The casual nature of e-mail banter is often a rich source of troublesome evidence.  To make matters even worse, forensic software can now be used to show edits that were made to the e-mails and reveal thought processes.  It thereby takes evidence to a new level.

Of course an e-mail, like any other business document, does not become “evidence” until there is a threat of litigation or until an actual suit has been filed.   Make sure your documents tell a story your company can be proud of by applying the 12 rules for avoiding smoking guns. 

In this day and age of electronic discovery where outsiders are able to scruitinize what you write and how you think thoughtful communications are more important than ever.   

Standard form agreements simplify business transactions.  But when was the last time you read all that tiny print written and sentences that go on forever?  And, what about those sections that scream at you in all capital letters? 

Most clients make the assumption that these preprinted forms are “standard.”  But when you take a closer look at them you often realize that only a handful of items are truely “standard” between agreements and the rest of the verbiage often reflects a very different deal from the one you thought you had. 

Take for example, a standard form agreement I recently saw from a service provider tried to disclaim any responsibility or liablity for their own negligence and any performance or non-performance under the agreement.  The net result was that they weren’t obligated to do anything.  But boy were you obligated to pay, pay, pay.

The five year contract only had price protection for 3 years with no formula or cap for subsequent cost increases thereby putting the company at the vendor’s mercy.  Yet, if you wanted to terminate the contract early you still owed them 90% of the fees for the balance of original five year contract period.  Ouch!

The fine print can turn a good deal inside out.  It really does pay to read it.