Commercial Contracts for UK Companies: Formation to Exit

This book provides a lay reader whose business may not be large enough to employ full-time in-house counsel with an introductory and authoritative resource enabling meaningful engagement with external lawyers during the business life-cycle. It helps those running businesses to recognise legal and compliance issues at an earlier stage and to enrich the level of discourse between the business and its advisers.

Covering topics including commercial transactions, drafting issues, analysis on the choice of business vehicle, the relationship between collaborating entrepreneurs/joint venturers, guidance on the protection and exploitation of IP rights and other business assets, the book illustrates the business life-cycle through annotated precedents of legal documents (e.g. incorporation documents, transactional agreements etc.) providing clause-by clause commentary and analysing the purpose and operation of those documents.

The purpose of the book is not to replace the legal adviser, but to assist directors when negotiating deal terms and to recognise common contractual pitfalls and areas of risk.