Breach of Contract 101
When you have made an agreement with someone else, you have entered into a contract. A contract may be either written, or oral. An example of a written contract would be a rental lease agreement, a marriage license, or an agreement to buy or sell real estate. An example of an oral contract would be a business agreement between you and someone else, or an agreement to perform services for someone else, such as doing yard work for your neighbor.
A breach of contract occurs when one person fails to honor the contract terms. For example, you rent an apartment on the agreement that the rent will be $700 per month, and that you will pay it by the 5th of each month. On the second month, you do not pay your rent and tell your landlord that you do not have the money. That is a breach of contract .
There are many different ways that a breach of contract can happen. The most common is to fail to pay for goods or services promised under the contract. A party has also breached the contract if he or she delivers goods or services of inferior quality or different objects or services than is specified in the contract. Other breaches are providing services late or not providing them at all.
A breach of contract can happen without any intent on the part of the person or entity who is breaching the contract. The person may be sick or injured, unable to get to his job, or lose a larger source of income. The reasons do not matter in the law, however, only the fact that a breach has occurred.
A local breach of contract lawyer can help you to determine whether a breach of contract has occurred.
Why you need to hire a breach of contract lawyer
Contract law is not just an area of law; it’s a legal discipline. It has many sub-disciplines or types of contract law practice areas, and most of them have a foreign atmosphere that is difficult for the average citizen to understand. This includes the laws of contracts.
Some people who try to settle contract disputes never bother to review the dispute with a lawyer. They think they can wing it. This is a common mistake in contract disputes. Directors of companies have been sued over such issues because they did not consult with a lawyer before signing on the dotted line.
The bottom line is that even minor contract disputes should be handled by a contracts lawyer. Even when a company leadership is certain that the contract is in their favor, consulting a lawyer is never a bad idea. Mistakes can be costly. The amount of money you save could be substantial.
Never underestimate the value of a lawyer. Especially when used during negotiations for a contract. It’s not enough to read about contract law. A layperson does not have the training or knowledge to handle a contract properly. Your reputation in your community is at stake if you lose a contract dispute. For a business, that liability could lead to the end of the company. A breach of contract attorney understands contract law better than anyone else, and they can save you from unnecessary problems and mistakes.
How to search for the best breach of contract lawyer in your area
Finding a local breach of contract lawyer who is a good fit for your specific needs can feel like a daunting task. However, there are several steps you can take to find the best legal professional in your area. First, consider asking family and friends for referrals. Sometimes the best leads come from personal recommendations. You can also search online for lawyers in your area who specialize in breach of contract cases. Law firm websites often provide a detailed overview of the attorneys’ areas of expertise and their success rates.
Another useful resource for finding a breach of contract lawyer is local lawyer referral services. These organizations can match you with lawyers who have experience in the relevant field. Once you have a list of potential candidates, be sure to review their qualifications. Some essential questions to ask include: How long have they been practicing? How many breach of contract cases have they handled? What is their success rate? Reading client reviews can also give you a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. After researching and narrowing down your options, it is a good idea to schedule initial consultations with each lawyer to discuss your case. Most lawyers will provide an initial consultation for free, allowing you to better determine if they are the right fit for your needs.
What to ask during your first appointment
The most important thing to do when considering the retention of a local breach of contract lawyer (and any lawyer, for that matter), is to make sure that you have questions prepared and that you remain fully engaged during the meeting. Here are some likely questions that you may consider asking your prospective local breach of contract lawyer. For example:
What are your fees and costs? Some local breach of contract lawyers bill by the hour, some on a contingent fee basis, some with a "retainer." How does that work? Sometimes, there are administrative fees as well.
How much will it cost me? Obviously, you can’t predict this with certainty, but you can get a sense of whether the litigation will be "worth it" based on the nature of the damages and the defenses you will face.
How long will this take? You may have no idea, and if you have just received a breach of contract complaint (or have just drafted or received a breach of contract demand), you probably have no idea what is going to happen. Expect this local breach of contract lawyer to say that you won’t know for certain until more facts are gathered, and the deadlines of the case begin to run out. Litigation is about the long game, and that means that (usually) it can take months, and years even, to get an answer, trial, judgment, etc.
What will the process entail? This is a good question because you will probably want your prospective local breach of contract lawyer to go through the procedural steps with you. A "strong" local breach of contract lawyer will be able to walk you through a phone book of steps from pleading through trial and appeal.
What are my chances of winning? This question is a tough one, especially since the local breach of contract lawyer hasn’t gotten into the facts yet . The lawyer may give a few pros and cons about the case (for instance, "it depends if they can show a stiff interest rate in the contract.") Expect the local breach of contract lawyer to tell you it isn’t possible to state whether you will win the case, especially if the breach of contract lawyer hasn’t yet met with his team (the team could include local breach of contract paralegals, local breach of contract assistant paralegals, or a local breach of contract lawstudent all of whom will be able to do some research on the matter).
What’s the best scenario? I always tell clients that the non-litigious route is always the funnest, most cost effective and most pleasant way of getting to a resolution. I think a local breach of contract lawyer might respond similarly.
What’s the worst scenario? Since they’re your local breach of contract lawyer, they should be able to give advice on worst case scenarios. Of course, the local breach of contract lawyer will probably need facts on the other side of the case and the claim itself, but may be able to avoid such hypotheticals entirely.
What is my obligation to mitigate damages? This is a tough one, because – again – it is one dependent on a ruling from the court and an analysis of the facts. Usually, the mitigation requirement has some flexibility, and so the local breach of contract lawyer might position this as a nuanced answer.
What should be my next steps? I’ll bet that you expect the local breach of contract lawyer to give guidance on that question, and a good local breach of contract lawyer will be able to do so. Of course, it would be a mistake not to review all fact patterns, but that’s why you hire a local breach of contract lawfirm!
Payments and billings
While hourly fees and retainers are the most commonplace, there are also alternatives, such as flat fees for a discrete piece of work or a free initial consultation. Some lawyers offer payment plans to make legal representation more manageable for their clients’ budgets. Comparing the rates offered by different lawyers or even within a single firm is just one part of the picture when considering an hourly rate; your choices may be affected by what type of retainer the lawyer requires, how and when payment is expected and what the lawyer’s reputation and experience are regarding issues and cases like yours.
In addition to the hourly rate, you will have to ask about the amount you must put up as a retainer. Many lawyers demand a retainer which they then draw against until the retainer runs out. Of course, if the lawyer’s work takes longer than expected, you will simply be billed for the additional time at the hourly rate. The retainer will typically be a round number, such as $1,000 or $5,000, but don’t be surprised to be asked for a much larger retainer from a lawyer who bills by the hour.
Payment plans are a viable option for people facing expensive litigation, and increasingly, clients are finding lawyers receptive to the idea of accepting payments over time. Be sure to find out such details as:
For some claims, contingency fees are available as an alternative to hourly fees or retainers. A lawyer who accepts a case on a contingency fee basis does not get paid unless he or she prevails, so a client who wins or settles out of court pays only a percentage (which may range from 15 to 40 percent, depending on the prevailing rate in the area and the complexity of the case) of the amount of the settlement or judgment. If the client loses, he or she does not pay the lawyer at all. In a less common hybrid arrangement, a lawyer may agree to work on a contingency fee basis for the first few months of a case, then expect to be paid by the hour for the remainder of the representation if the case is not then resolved. The drawback to a contingency fee arrangement is that the lawyer has no financial incentive to bring the case to a speedy conclusion.
Outcome of the case – Settlements
Lawyers, especially litigation attorneys, are generally very good at estimating the range of possible results in a dispute. I want to be careful not to represent what they tell me as a guarantee because if that guarantee they offer doesn’t turn out to be valid, then a lot of time and money may have been spent with nothing to show for it. So, not a guarantee, but a good ball park estimate. This estimate could be anything from no money changing hands because both sides would rather tie the dispute up in court for months or even years rather than pay attorney’s fees and costs (yes, there are people like that in this world). It could be an offer of settlement by your opponent, which will generally always be much lower than the total you hope to get, since your opponent of course does not want to pay you anything, or much. It could also be an estimate of what the Judge or Jury is likely to award after hearing all the evidence if the dispute should go that far. This is why coming into the consultation organized and having documents such as a demand letter, your response to the demand letter, the original contract and any amendments, emails, proposals and other evidence of the scope of work, payments, and the dispute will allow the attorney that you’re consulting with to give you a much more accurate estimate. When clients walk through the door without the necessary documents, they are then left to explain everything that has happened from the beginning to the present day (and in some cases, there are months or years of history) and it is very difficult for the attorney to accurately estimate possible outcomes based on that information alone. For the client, this means a longer consultation and potentially a higher bill. Therefore, I always recommend that you come to your consultation prepared with all relevant documentation. In fact , I request that the documentation is emailed to me before the consultation. This allows me to read over everything before the meeting and to potentially request additional documentation or information. If I do not ask for anything more, I usually give the potential client some homework in the form of questions that I need answered regarding the documentation provided. Many times, they will email me back with that information, or I will schedule a follow up meeting or call. The same variables that come into play during the initial consultation will also come into play if you decide to file a lawsuit and proceed with litigation. These include whether the other party will fight the claims that you are asserting, whether they will make an offer to settle early in the dispute before incurring too many attorney’s fees and costs, whether they will proceed to trial, and what findings of fact and conclusions of law the Judge or Jury will ultimately make. If the parties are able to amicably resolve the dispute, most of the time, this will be done through a settlement agreement (which is a contract) whereby the terms are set forth in writing for all to see and agree to. Many times before a case goes to trial, the parties are required to attend an Alternate Dispute Resolution session which consists of a judge arbitrating the dispute in an attempt to have the parties agree to the terms of a resolution. Due to the fact that pursuing a breach of contract lawsuit in San Diego is expensive, takes a rather long amount of time, and oftentimes the best result that can be achieved is the amount of money owed under the contract (or the goods and/or services required to be provided under the contract), sometimes an amicable settlement is best for all parties. But, being right, and having a written contract specifying the correct outcome, in conjunction with a Legislative and Judicial system that means what it says, is sometimes the most satisfying result and sometimes the best way to make sure it was worth all the trouble to begin with.