作者：James. Martin
Keep Your Client Informed While You Write
第五部分：書寫時要常和你的客戶溝通
35. All contracts should come with a cover letter. This gives you a place to instruct your client on how to use and sign the contract.
35.所有的合同都應該有一封說明書---用來告訴你的客戶如何使用和簽署合同。
36. Tell your client the ideas that come as you write. Many ideas will occur to you as you write: things that could go wrong with the deal, things that might happen in the future, things that happened in the past, ways to structure things better. Write these in your letter to the client.
36.告訴客戶你在撰寫過程中的一些想法。比如：哪些事情可能會隨著交易變得很遭，哪些事可能會在將來發生，哪些事情已經發生了，哪些可以讓事情朝好的方向發展的方法.....你最好在給客戶的說明書中都將這些都寫上。
37. Inform your client of the risks. Writing a letter to the client as you write the contract is the perfect way to inform the client of the risks and rewards of entering into the contract. Frequently, problems do not become apparent until time is spent trying to word a contract.
37.告訴客戶合同的風險所在。在撰寫合同時，你最好向客戶說訂立合同需要承擔的風險和能夠得到的利益。通常情況下，只要你花時間來起草合同，你就會發現真正的風險在哪里。
What To Do After the First Draft Is Written
第六部分：完成初稿后做什么
38. Check spelling, paragraph numbering, and cross references both manually and with your word processor's spelling and grammar checker. This almost goes without saying today, especially since Microsoft Word now checks your spelling and grammar as you type. (Unfortunately it also changes "per stirpes" to "per stupid" if you fail to watch it closely.) And now there are even computer programs that check contract documents for undefined terms. DealProof is packaged with Corel WordPerfect for law offices, and DocProofReader is available for download for MS Word 97 and 2000.
38.核實合同的拼寫情況、段落序號以及上下文的注解，你可以自己手動來做，也可以用文字編輯軟件中的拼寫和語法檢查功能來完成，特別是自從有了微軟的 word軟件后，做這樣的工作你似乎不要費多少精力（但機器有時也不可靠，如果你不看仔細，它就會把"per stirpes"改變為 "per stupid"）。現在，這類專業的軟件甚至可以幫你檢測到合同中沒有釋義的術語，如：Corel公司專門為法律辦公開發的文字處理軟件包中的 DealProof軟件，還有可供word97和word2000下載安裝的DocProofReader軟件。
39. Let your secretary or paralegal read it. Not only will your staff frequently find spelling and grammar errors missed by your word processor's spell checker, but they will find inconsistencies and confusing areas that you missed when drafting.
39.讓你的秘書或者助手閱讀你草擬的合同。你的同事不僅能通過文字處理軟件來幫你檢查到你沒有查到的拼寫和語法錯誤，而且他們還能發現你起草時沒有察覺到的矛盾和混淆之處。
40. Stamp "Draft #1 6/22/2000" on it. This may be the first of many drafts, so avoid confusion early by numbering and dating all drafts at the top of the first page. It is also a good idea to write "DRAFT" across the face of each page to preclude the possibility of an impatient client signing a draft rather than waiting for the final version.
40.在合同上注明“第一稿于200年6月22日”,第一稿完成后，可能還要草擬幾個版本，為了避免他們之間相互混淆，最好在每份草稿首頁的頂部注上序號 和起草時間。另外，在每一個版本的封面上注明“草稿”字樣，也能夠避免你那急躁的客戶不等到最后的定稿文本就急于簽字。
41. Let your client read it. Letting the client in on reading the first draft assures that your drafting will stay in tune with the client's wishes.
41讓你的客戶讀你草擬的合同。你的客戶讀第一稿，可以確保你的起草的東西和客戶的愿望相符。
42. Save the drafts as multiple files on your computer. If you save the first draft on your computer as two files, you will have one file identified as the first draft and the other identified as the current version. This can be done by naming the current version "contract" and the first draft as "contract.d1." Then, subsequent versions can be named "contract.d2", "contract.d3," etc., where the "d" in the extension indicates draft. (Of course, if you're not using WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS, as I do, you can use long file names to show the contract name, draft number and draft date, such as "Contract Smith Jones draft 2 datd 6 22 2000.")
42.在電腦中將草擬的合同多保存幾個復件。如果你將第一稿合同存了兩份在電腦中，那么其中的一份可以用來存檔，另一份則可以用來繼續修改。用來存檔的文 件可以命名為"合同.草1"。用來修改的文件可以命名為"合同"。以此類推，以后修改的版本就命名為"合同.草2"，"合同.草3"，等等。帶"草"字的 擴展名表示此合同是草擬版本。（當然，你可能不經常用DOS下的WordPerfect 5.1軟件，我是經常用的，你也可以用一個較長的文件名來清楚地表達出草擬合同的名稱、編號及起草時間，范例如："史密斯.瓊斯于2000年6月22日草 擬的第二版合同"。）
43. Compare the current version to prior versions. If you save draft versions, it is very easy to compare one version to another using the word processor's compare feature or using the CompareRite computer program. When you compare "contract.d1" to "contract.d2", save the comparison as "contract.c21" and print it to show the client what changes were made.
43.將當前的草擬版本和以前的版本進行比較。如果你存了很多合同的草擬版本，那么你就可以很容易地用文字處理軟件或者是CompareRite軟件來比 較分析兩個合同版本。當你用軟件比較"合同.草1"和"合同.草2"兩個版本時，最好將軟件的分析結果打印出來送給客戶看，讓他知道變化在哪里。
How to Print and Sign the Final Draft
第七部分：怎樣打印和簽署最后的定稿合同
44. Print the contract on 24 pound bond paper instead of 20 pound copier paper. Using a heavy bond paper will make it easy to tell the original contract from copies. It will also last longer.
44.用24磅的銅板紙而不是用20磅的復印紙來打印合同。用厚一點的紙不僅復印副本很容易，而且，它被保存的時間也要長一些。
45. Print on pages using the same paper, and if pages are changed, reprint the document using the same paper. This will avoid an argument that pages were substituted after the contract was signed.
45.打印整個合同要用同樣的紙，如果打印過程中紙發生了改變，一定要用同樣的紙再打印一次。這樣做，對方就不會說合同在簽署后被偷換了。
46. Sign the contract in blue ink, not black ink. This, too, will make it easier to differentiate the signed original contract from photocopies.
46. 最好用藍墨水而不是用黑墨水來簽署合同，因為藍墨水可以很容易地讓人區別出哪個是合同正本，哪個是影印副本。
47. Initial every page of the contract. Having each party initial each page of the contract will make it less likely that anyone could claim a page was changed after the contract was signed.
47.讓雙方在每頁合同上簽字，這樣做可以避免有人懷疑合同簽署后被更改過。
48. Identify the parties and witnesses who sign by providing blank lines below their signature lines for their printed names and addresses. This will make it easier to find the witnesses if the contract is contested. And remember to include two witnesses for commercial leases.
48.在合同簽名欄的下方留下一些空白行，以便合同雙方和見證人填寫他們的名字和地址。這樣，一旦合同引起糾紛，就能很容易地找到證人。要記住，一般的商業租賃需要兩個見證人。
49. Be sure that corporate officers include their titles, the corporation name and the word "as." Failure to do this can result in personal liability of the officer. The proper way to sign in a representative capacity is as follows:
ABC Corporation, a Florida corporation
By:____________________________________
John Jones, as its President
49.簽名者如果是公司官員，一定要寫上他們的職務和其所在公司的名稱。不這樣做就可能導致這個官員個人承擔責任。簽約代表簽名的正確方法如下：
ABC公司，佛羅里州分公司
簽約代表：________________
公司總裁：史密斯.瓊斯
50. Add a notary clause that complies with the notary law. The notary acknowledgement in Appendix B is such a clause.
50.根據公證法增加公證條款，類似的范例見附錄B
Concluding Advice
最后的忠告
If these 50 tips don't keep your contracts out of court, try mastering Strunk & White's Elements of Style*. I hear it's real handy in appellate work.
如果這50招都不能讓你起草的合同免于訴訟，那你就去掌握斯創得.懷特先生的《設計原理》吧，我聽說它對應付上訴非常有幫助。
（來源：美國佛羅里達州律所雜志）
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