Vancouver Mandarin Chinese Contract Lawyer
Contracts are the lifeblood of most modern businesses. They touch your operations, govern how you interact with your partners, and adjudicate how you will create joint vendors, deal with vendors, and negotiate with your business partners. Some businesses require the use of sales and employment contracts as well.
For many Chinese immigrants attempting to launch, build, or run businesses in Canada, getting fair contracts and managing contracts comes with a hurdle: a language barrier.
If English is not your first language, we can help. Our team speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and is here to help you manage and negotiate your contracts. We will use the law to protect your business and use our keen negotiation skills to help you get the best possible terms for your agreements. We will also help you defend yourself in court if you are accused of a contract breach, or hold other parties accountable if they fail to live up to the terms of their contracts.
Types of Contracts
We help with every type of contract, including:
- Buy/sell agreement
- Service agreements
- Franchise agreements
- Employment agreements
- License agreements
- Indemnities
- Independent contractor agreements
- Influencer agreements
- Releases
- Non-disclosure agreements
- Non-compete agreements
- Partnership agreements
- Lease agreements
- Security agreements
- Statements of work
- Security and privacy agreements
- Terms of use agreement
- Transfer agreements
- Warranties
What to Include in Contracts
The purpose of a contract to make sure the responsibilities of each party are crystal clear. When they work well, both parties uphold the terms of their agreement, preventing future misunderstandings and litigation. Either party can always refer to the terms of their contract to decide who should be doing what.
Contracts should include:
- The rights and responsibilities of each party. Who will do what, and in return for what?
- What happens if either party cannot perform the obligations under the contract through no fault of their own.
- A clear time span. How long will the contract last?
- What happens if either party goes out of business.
- The option to renew the contract if either party desires it.
Certain specific contracts may need to include other important provisions as well. Your Vancouver contract lawyer will go over each of those terms with you and make suggestions as to how these contracts should be structured.
Contract Negotiations
When two parties are entering into a contract almost every provision in that contract is negotiable.
When we negotiate a contract we do it with an eye towards securing the terms that are most important to you. Before drafting any contract we discuss your goals and concerns so that we get the best possible chance of sealing an agreement that will be advantageous to your company.
Poorly conducted negotiations are a severe risk to your company’s future. Protect yours by ensuring that you work with a skilled law firm like ours.
Contract Disputes
While a well-drafted contract can prevent many disputes, it is not unusual for businesses to end up embroiled in a contract dispute at some point in their lifecycle.
Common disputes include disputes over representations and warranties, and disputes over contract breaches.
Even the best and most careful companies end up both as plaintiffs and as defendants in these cases. Fortunately we stand ready to help you defend your interests.
FAQ
What Makes a Contract Legally Binding in BC?
To make a contract legally binding it must:
- Include one party making an offer of terms and the other party freely indicating their acceptance of those terms.
- Each party must receive something of value. This does not mean the exchange has to be equal or even, only that each party must receive something.
- There must be an indication that both parties have an intention to be bound by the agreement.
- The terms of the contract must be enforceable under the law.
- Each party must be honest with the facts that they represent to the other party while negotiating the contract.
- There must be no indication that one party defrauded the other or that one party signed the contract under duress.
Many contracts do not have to be in writing to be valid, though it is always a good idea. Few businesses will agree to a contract without putting the terms in writing. In addition, contracts involving real estate, debts, distance sales, direct sales, or payday loan agreements must always be written out.
Finally, there must be a genuine “meeting of the minds.” Should the contract go to court the courts will examine whether both parties read and understood the contract before signing it. There have been cases where parties have treated contracts as routine matters without taking this vital step, and they found themselves without recourse when things went wrong.
How Can My Business Get Out of a Contract in BC?
There are five ways for a business to terminate a contract.
One is to prove that it has become impossible for one or both of the parties to perform the contract as written.
Another is to prove that the other party has already breached the contract.
You can also terminate the contract if all parties agree to contract termination or if, per the terms of the contract, either party may terminate the contract with written notice.
Another way is to prove that one of the parties misrepresented some portion of the agreement.
Finally, your business can get out of the contract if all the obligations of the contract are met. At that point, the contract would automatically come to an end.
What Happens to a Contract If a Company Goes Out of Business?
Often the terms of the contract will dictate what happens when a company goes out of business, or is in the process of going out of business. This is especially important since closing down a company is rarely a one-day process.
If the company is being acquired, the contract will often pass to the new owner, but this can lead to contract disputes. Your lawyer will need to closely monitor the situation. Often it is possible to modify the existing contract, or to negotiate a new one.
What are Examples of Breach of Contract?
Most breaches of contract are about one of the following issues:
- Failure to pay an agreed-upon monthly amount.
- Failure to deliver services as promised.
- Interfering with someone’s ability to meet obligations.
- Failure to complete or performed an agreed-upon project or task.
- Failure to pay a lump sum within an agreed-upon time frame.
- Failure to deliver goods on time or to the agreed-upon location.
There are some instances where a failure to perform these duties is allowed by the contract. For example, a force majeure clause gives one or both parties a grace period to fulfill their duties, or remedies for getting out of the contract, if unforeseeable circumstances such as a major natural disaster prevent them from meeting the agreed upon terms and conditions.
How Do You Enforce a Contract?
In many cases parties won’t have to be enforced. Most entities just wish to adhere to the terms of the contract and will do so without additional prodding.
In the event that the contract is breached you can start with simply reminding the other party of the terms of the contract. In many cases this will be enough to prod them into offering the remedy.
A formal “notice to cure” can be sent if a less formal reminder fails to get the job done. This gives the other party a set period of time to fulfill the terms of the agreement.
If that does not work you can launch a lawsuit. If the failure to uphold the contract has caused monetary damages then the courts may force the other party to pay you money to remedy those damages. Sometimes both parties will reach a settlement out of court, but either way the damage done will be remedied. In many cases a breached contract will result in the termination of the agreement, leaving your company free to get its needs met somewhere else.
Can Contracts be Sold?
Sometimes agreements pass to the new owners of a business when they buy a company or merge with it. Some contracts are even valuable enough to be worked into the valuation at time of sale.
Consult with your lawyer any time you are purchasing or acquiring a business so that you can evaluate the legal obligations you will be acquiring.
Why Choose Us?
We are top-notch contract negotiation lawyers with extensive experience both negotiating new contracts, drafting boilerplate contracts, and litigating contract disputes.
We have worked with a wide variety of companies in a wide variety of industries, and we are known for both our negotiation skills and our litigation skills.
You can also count on us to have an understanding of international contracts. This can protect you no matter where in the world you are doing business.
Call to set up an appointment today. You’ll be matched to one of our skilled Mandarin Chinese-speaking lawyers. We’ll sit down with you to discuss your current and future contract needs, and the steps we will need to take to protect your interests.
Chinese Lawyer Vancouver serves clients in Vancouver, Abbotsford, Langley, Surrey, and White Rock. Call to set up an appointment today.