“Legal” documents seek to effectively account for the facts and law that can impact the parties to a document. The lawyer’s role in “drafting” a legal document is to ensure they identify all the relevant facts and law and then apply them to prepare a document that accomplishes their client’s goals.
Legal documents are typically a set of instructions for others to follow in an effort to fulfill the intent of one or more parties to the document. Clear, complete, and functional instructions promote the client’s goals.
Contracts can be verbal (spoken), written or a combination of both. Some types of contract such as those for buying or selling real estate or finance agreements must be in writing.
Written contracts may consist of a standard form agreement or a letter confirming the agreement. Verbal agreements rely on the good faith of all parties and can be difficult to prove. It is advisable (where possible) to make sure your business arrangements are in writing, to avoid problems when trying to prove a contract existed. Regardless of whether the contract is verbal or written, it must contain four essential elements to be legally bindings.