Parties often insert boilerplate provisions and standard contractual clauses into their contracts to:

However, companies or firms sometimes insert boilerplate provisions and other commonly used clauses into commercial contracts without due consideration of their legal effects, which can lead to disagreements. Courts may interpret vague or unclear provisions against the drafting party or sever the provision entirely. Parties can help avoid expensive and time-consuming disputes and loss of rights by understanding, negotiating, and clearly drafting effective clauses in their agreements.

This toolkit contains US-specific resources designed to assist parties in drafting and interpreting clauses commonly found in many types of commercial agreements. Depending on the jurisdiction, there are state-specific versions available for some of these resources.

The resources in this toolkit: