【正文】 美國資深律師經(jīng)驗(yàn)：二十一世紀(jì)寫好合同的五十招{翻譯稿}FIFTY TIPS FOR WRITING THE 21ST CENTURY CONTRACT THAT STAYS OUT OF COURT二十一世紀(jì)寫好合同的五十招 作者：譯者：胡清平Published in The Florida Bar Journal, Nov. 2000（本文於2000年11月發(fā)表於美國佛羅里達(dá)州的律師雜誌上）Note: This article is for background purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.作者注：本文僅供參考，並不旨在提供法律意見譯者注：翻譯本文並未得到原作者同意，故譯文僅供學(xué)習(xí)和研究使用，未經(jīng)允許，不得轉(zhuǎn)載Wele to the 21st Century. Where practicing law requires us to don the garb of puters and the Internet. And where litigation is as costly as ever. Lawyer bills running $10,000 a month are not unusual in a hotly contested breach of contract lawsuit. With every word, phrase and sentence carrying the potential for winning or losing, the stakes are high. Simple logic, therefore, directs us to cautious and thoughtful drafting.新世紀(jì)的到來，要求我們在法律實(shí)踐中應(yīng)該多用電腦和互聯(lián)網(wǎng)，不過，訴訟成本還是那麼地高，面對日益競爭激烈的違約訴訟，律師每月開出1萬美元的賬單也是常有的事。合同中的每一個(gè)字，每一個(gè)詞，每一句話，都意味著潛在的輸或贏，換句話說，押在這上面下的賭注也很大，所以，在起草合同時(shí)要把握兩條原則：小心謹(jǐn)慎和深思熟慮。Drafting contracts is actually one of the simple pleasures of practicing law. Just 3 years ago at this Convention I presented 50 tips for contract writing. This article updates those tips in the context of our new tools and abilities. Following these tips could result in your writing a contract so clear no one will want to litigate it, saving your client from the trials and tribulations of litigation, truly a good reason to write the contract that stays out of court.然而，起草合同的確又是法律實(shí)踐中一件有意思的事兒。大約三年前，也是在這樣一個(gè)會(huì)議上，我提出了合同起草的50招。本文在那些招數(shù)的基礎(chǔ)上，結(jié)合一些新的工具和技能，推出了下面這個(gè)新版本,但願(yuàn)它們能幫助你起草無可挑剔的合同，讓你的客戶免受訴訟的困擾。These tips apply to writing all kinds of agreements: office leases, real estate contracts, sales agreements, employment contracts, equipment leases, prenuptial agreements. They even apply to stipulations and settlements in litigation, where you want an agreement so clear that it avoids future litigation. Wherever clarity and simplicity are important, these tips will guide you there. The Appendix provides a few sample forms to illustrate these tips.這些招數(shù)適用于各種合同，比如，辦公租賃合同、不動(dòng)産合同、買賣合同、勞動(dòng)合同、設(shè)備租賃合同、婚前協(xié)議。同樣，如果你不想讓你在訴訟中所起草的和解條款與協(xié)議再起爭議的話，也可以參考一下這些招數(shù)。另外，通過瞭解這些招數(shù)，你就會(huì)明白，起草合同，清晰、簡明是多麼地重要。本文的附錄提供了一些簡單的法律文書範(fàn)本這將有助於你理解這些招數(shù)。Before You Write the First Word第一部分：在動(dòng)筆之前1. Ask your client to list the deal points. This can be in the form of a list, outline or narration. Doing this will help the client focus on the terms of the agreement.，也可以說是合同的清單、目錄或概述。這一招首先幫助你的客戶弄清合同的重點(diǎn)所在。2. Engage your client in what if scenarios. A good contract will anticipate many possible factual situations and express the parties39。 understanding in case those facts arise. Talking to your client about this will generate many issues you may not otherwise consider.。好的合同不僅能夠預(yù)見到許多可能發(fā)生的情況，而且還能清楚地描述出發(fā)生這些情況後合同雙方的立場。和客戶聊這些情況將有助於你發(fā)現(xiàn)一些你可能沒有考慮到的問題。3. Ask your client for a similar contract. Frequently, clients have had similar transactions in the past or they have access to contracts for similar transactions.。通常情況下，客戶都保留著過去的交易記錄或者是類似合同。4. Search your office puter or the Internet for a similar form. Many times you can find a similar form on your puter. It may be one you prepared for another client or one you negotiated with another lawyer. Just remember to find and replace the old client39。s name. Starting with an existing form saves time and avoids the errors of typing. Here are some Web sites where you can find forms:~wyman/。通常你會(huì)在你的電腦上找到你想要的東西，這些類似的合同範(fàn)本要麼是你給其他客戶準(zhǔn)備的，要麼是你和其他的律師共同協(xié)商起草的。使用這些舊合同可以爲(wèi)你節(jié)省時(shí)間和避免打印錯(cuò)誤，不過，用這些合同範(fàn)本時(shí)別忘了替換掉老客戶的名字。下面是些有關(guān)合同範(fàn)本的網(wǎng)址，供參考：~wyman/5. Obtain forms in books or CDROM. Typical forms of contracts can be found in form books, such as West39。s Legal Forms (a nationwide set) and Florida Jur Forms, as well as in treatises and Florida Bar CLE publications. These can be used as the starting point for drafting the contract or as checklists of typical provisions and wording to include in the contract. Many treatises and form books now e with forms on disk or CDROM.。典型的合同範(fàn)本在一些範(fàn)例書中都可能找到：比如,西方法律文書（全國版）佛羅里達(dá)州文書期刊，另外，在有些論文和佛羅里達(dá)州律師協(xié)會(huì)的法律繼續(xù)教育出版物中也可以找到一些。起草合同時(shí)，你可以把這些範(fàn)本當(dāng)做原始資料，利用其中某些典型的條款和措詞。更爲(wèi)方便的是，許多論文和書中的合同範(fàn)本都有電子文本儲(chǔ)存在磁盤或光盤中。6. Don39。t let your client sign a letter of intent without this wording. Sometimes clients are anxious to sign something to show good faith before the contract is prepared. A properly worded letter of intent is useful at such times. Just be sure that the letter of intent clearly states that it is not a contract, but that it is merely an outline of possible terms for discussion purposes. See Appendix C.，不要讓你的客戶在意向書上簽字。有時(shí)候，在合同未準(zhǔn)備好之前，客戶爲(wèi)了表示誠意，往往急於簽署某些東西，當(dāng)然，在這種情況下，如果客戶急於簽署的是有特別申明的意向書，這也是可以的，但一定要注明：本意向書並非合同，只是雙方爲(wèi)了更好地溝通協(xié)商，而擬定的對未來?xiàng)l款的概述。類似意向書的範(fàn)例見附錄C。Writing that First Word第二部分：開始起草合同7. Start with a simple, generic contract form. The form in Appendix A is such a form. It provides a solid starting point for the structure of the contract. Like a house, a contract must have a good, solid foundation.、典型的合同入手。附錄A就是一個(gè)簡單、典型的合同，它提供了一個(gè)合同的基本支架。像房子一樣，一個(gè)合同必須有一個(gè)牢固的根基。8. State the correct legal names of the parties in the first paragraph. As obvious as this is, it is one of the most mon problems in contracts. For individuals, include full first and last name, and middle initials if available, and other identifying information, if appropriate, such as Jr., ., etc. For corporations, check with the Secretary of State where incorporated.。，這是個(gè)簡單而又不得不引起重視的問題。如果是個(gè)人，要寫清姓和名,中間有大寫字母和其他身份信息的，也要注明，例如：jr.,等等；如果是公司，爲(wèi)避免弄錯(cuò)，寫名稱時(shí)可以到公司註冊地的相應(yīng)機(jī)構(gòu)去核對一下。9. Identify the parties by nicknames. Giving each party a nickname in the first paragraph will make the contract easier to read. For example, James W. Martin would be nicknamed Martin.（簡稱）。爲(wèi)便於閱讀，一般要在合同的第一段爲(wèi)雙方弄一個(gè)別稱，如：馬丁。10. Be careful when using legal terms for nicknames. Do not use Contractor as a nickname unless that party is legally a contractor. Do not use Agent unless you intend for that party to be an agent, and if you do, then