Contract Drafting and Negotiation for Entrepreneurs and Business Professionals

The book should be titled contract interpretation. I thought I would find tailored contract drafting advice for start-ups and entrepeneurs , not so. Just standard boilerplate that I learned in contracts in law school. I received this note from the author complaining about my review: Hello Mr. Wheelock, I wanted to let you know that I was disappointed to see your extremely negative review of my book today. Clearly the book contains far more information than "Just standard boilerplate that I learned in contracts in law school." Your characterization of the book as just mindless "boilerplate," contrary to every other review, including Kirkus, is likely to deter many who would benefit from reading it for years to come, which is disappointing. You're obviously free to express yourself however you wish, but, by its title the book is clearly aimed at entrepreneurs and business professionals, and not experienced attorneys who work with contracts regularly, as both you and I do. I did not title it "Advanced Contract Drafting Techniques for Business Counsel." Just wanted to let you know that I had noticed, and been disappointed by, your trashing of my book. Sincerely, Paul A. Swegle I stand by my review. I did not use the word "mindless" anywhere in my review. In my experience as a corporate attorney, entrepeneurs and business professionals do not need this kind of primer on contract provisions because they already routinely deal with the basics discussed in this book. In my opinion entrepeneurs and business professionals need clear discussion of the types of contracts and specialized provisions for agreements between start-up founders, venture capitalists, restricted sales agreements of start-up equity between founders, principals and lenders, employment agreements between founders, capitalization and financing agreements among start-up principals, management of intellectual property rights, provisions for liquidation and/or bankruptcy. These are the deficiencies that prompted me to call out the author for his misleading title. This paperback is 6" x 10" and less than 150 pages. It is not what it is advertised to be - and in my opinion clearly not worth the money. I called this book to the attention of my clients, all of whom are running growing start-ups, especially after Mr. Swegle went to the trouble to search me out and send me the personal note quoted above on my gmail account because I wanted to be fair and get their opinion (I find attorney Swegle's conduct find a little creepy - in fact I reported his stalking of me to Amazon - and because there is no time limit on reporting ethical misconduct I am keeping an open mind on reporting his invasion of my privacy to the Washington State bar) . Those who bought the book looked at it and returned it, agreeing with me.

I've taken a legal class from Paul Swegle and can tell you that the price of this book may save you a lot of money and headaches in the future. I've run two businesses now and from my first one of the biggest lessons I learned was that it pays to understand contracts - how to structure them so they are fair and balanced for both parties, and what your legal obligations and rights are in any contract scenario. Many lessons to learn in this book.

I have read several books on contract law and this is by far the best. It conveys lots of excellent strategic insights and practical advice for anyone responsible for reviewing, redlining or negotiating contracts, and it does so in an easy to read style. I work in industrial sales and I highly recommend this book to other business professionals.

Paul Swegle writes with the voice of experience. A longtime corporate attorney, he has much to share on the subject of negotiating, drafting, implementing, and working with contracts--and he does it in plain language, accessible to non-lawyer businesspeople. This easy-to-read and easy-to-use little book is the only desktop handbook to contracts you'll ever need. It's a delightful and insightful read, handy for looking up a specific topic or for just spending an hour introducing yourself to the language and world of contracts. This should be on every businessperson's desk, from top executive to beginning entrepreneur.

Put this book high on your gift list. Better yet, buy it today for yourself and get extra copies for anyone that negotiates or fulfills contracts for you or your company. It is mercifully succinct compared to most books on contracts. This one will actually get read and be understood. Swegle has a passion for helping people develop confidence negotiating and entering binding written agreements -- all in an easily understood writing style perfect for non-lawyers. The many great ideas can be implemented immediately in your real world of business dealings. Readers will be rewarded with powerful knowledge, and learn to avoid the most common errors that lead to distracting disputes. If things do go awry, Swegle has great advice about when and how to involve lawyers. Keep this book at your desk, and it will help you enter contracts that make sense for your company.

I am an entrepreneur, where business ideas run rampant in my thought process. One of the things that I have realized reading this book is to consider that every one of those business ideas potentially could require some sort of contract and or negotiation. This is where Paul's book comes in handy. What I have noticed is that it is an easy read and an easy reference guide for looking up information that pertain to common contracts and negotiation. I know the author Paul Swegle personally... this is a person that I think has at least 4 identical brothers...one who plays drums professionally (ala Kieth Moon), one who seems to hike upwards of 100 hikes a year including climbing Mt. Rainier, another one who runs a successful Law Office, and then another who has a successful Air BnB that has one of the highest ratings out there....and he is a dedicated father of 2 very active teenagers and now has written this book in his spare time. So there have been many times sitting over a beer or during a commercial watching a Seahawks game I have brought up a legal issue with Paul and now to think that I now have this easy to read manual at my fingertips.

Book came in the time stated. This book is great for students, business owners, etc.

This book is surprisingly easy to read, has great real world examples, and covers important concepts of contract drafting and negotiating that every business person should know. I highly recommend this book to people who are looking to better understand the contracting process in order to improve their business acumen. The writing is clear, the examples make the content memorable, and I learned important tools in what can be a tricky area for non-lawyers. Any business person interested in understanding the contracting process better will find this book extremely useful.

This book is a gold mine of information for business development and management professionals, entrepreneurs, lawyers and more. I was privileged to work for several years at a company where Paul Swegle served as Chief Legal Counsel. My group negotiated multi-million-dollar contracts with business partners, and Paul was a critical member of the team that reviewed, improved and approved each and every contract we executed. His deep knowledge of business and contract law gained over years of experience, as well as his incisive thinking and insights, were a major advantage to our side as we negotiated with other companies, from small start-ups to Fortune 50 and 100 companies. With this book, Paul shares his deep knowledge, experience and thinking with you to give your business that same advantage. I highly recommend it!

This book takes a complicated subject and breaks it down into an easy to understand format without losing any of important content. The writer makes learning about contracts interesting, by giving real examples of how minor mistakes in a contract can lead to unanticipated and costly outcomes. He shows how to avoid those mistakes by knowing what to look for in a contract and, equally important, paying attention to what is not in the contract. I would recommend this book for entrepreneurs or for anyone seeking step by step instructions on how to negotiate a business contract.

The book should be titled contract interpretation. I thought I would find tailored contract drafting advice for start-ups and entrepeneurs , not so. Just standard boilerplate that I learned in contracts in law school. I received this note from the author complaining about my review: Hello Mr. Wheelock, I wanted to let you know that I was disappointed to see your extremely negative review of my book today. Clearly the book contains far more information than "Just standard boilerplate that I learned in contracts in law school." Your characterization of the book as just mindless "boilerplate," contrary to every other review, including Kirkus, is likely to deter many who would benefit from reading it for years to come, which is disappointing. You're obviously free to express yourself however you wish, but, by its title the book is clearly aimed at entrepreneurs and business professionals, and not experienced attorneys who work with contracts regularly, as both you and I do. I did not title it "Advanced Contract Drafting Techniques for Business Counsel." Just wanted to let you know that I had noticed, and been disappointed by, your trashing of my book. Sincerely, Paul A. Swegle I stand by my review. I did not use the word "mindless" anywhere in my review. In my experience as a corporate attorney, entrepeneurs and business professionals do not need this kind of primer on contract provisions because they already routinely deal with the basics discussed in this book. In my opinion entrepeneurs and business professionals need clear discussion of the types of contracts and specialized provisions for agreements between start-up founders, venture capitalists, restricted sales agreements of start-up equity between founders, principals and lenders, employment agreements between founders, capitalization and financing agreements among start-up principals, management of intellectual property rights, provisions for liquidation and/or bankruptcy. These are the deficiencies that prompted me to call out the author for his misleading title. This paperback is 6" x 10" and less than 150 pages. It is not what it is advertised to be - and in my opinion clearly not worth the money. I called this book to the attention of my clients, all of whom are running growing start-ups, especially after Mr. Swegle went to the trouble to search me out and send me the personal note quoted above on my gmail account because I wanted to be fair and get their opinion (I find attorney Swegle's conduct find a little creepy - in fact I reported his stalking of me to Amazon - and because there is no time limit on reporting ethical misconduct I am keeping an open mind on reporting his invasion of my privacy to the Washington State bar) . Those who bought the book looked at it and returned it, agreeing with me.

I've taken a legal class from Paul Swegle and can tell you that the price of this book may save you a lot of money and headaches in the future. I've run two businesses now and from my first one of the biggest lessons I learned was that it pays to understand contracts - how to structure them so they are fair and balanced for both parties, and what your legal obligations and rights are in any contract scenario. Many lessons to learn in this book.

I have read several books on contract law and this is by far the best. It conveys lots of excellent strategic insights and practical advice for anyone responsible for reviewing, redlining or negotiating contracts, and it does so in an easy to read style. I work in industrial sales and I highly recommend this book to other business professionals.

Paul Swegle writes with the voice of experience. A longtime corporate attorney, he has much to share on the subject of negotiating, drafting, implementing, and working with contracts--and he does it in plain language, accessible to non-lawyer businesspeople. This easy-to-read and easy-to-use little book is the only desktop handbook to contracts you'll ever need. It's a delightful and insightful read, handy for looking up a specific topic or for just spending an hour introducing yourself to the language and world of contracts. This should be on every businessperson's desk, from top executive to beginning entrepreneur.

Put this book high on your gift list. Better yet, buy it today for yourself and get extra copies for anyone that negotiates or fulfills contracts for you or your company. It is mercifully succinct compared to most books on contracts. This one will actually get read and be understood. Swegle has a passion for helping people develop confidence negotiating and entering binding written agreements -- all in an easily understood writing style perfect for non-lawyers. The many great ideas can be implemented immediately in your real world of business dealings. Readers will be rewarded with powerful knowledge, and learn to avoid the most common errors that lead to distracting disputes. If things do go awry, Swegle has great advice about when and how to involve lawyers. Keep this book at your desk, and it will help you enter contracts that make sense for your company.

I am an entrepreneur, where business ideas run rampant in my thought process. One of the things that I have realized reading this book is to consider that every one of those business ideas potentially could require some sort of contract and or negotiation. This is where Paul's book comes in handy. What I have noticed is that it is an easy read and an easy reference guide for looking up information that pertain to common contracts and negotiation. I know the author Paul Swegle personally... this is a person that I think has at least 4 identical brothers...one who plays drums professionally (ala Kieth Moon), one who seems to hike upwards of 100 hikes a year including climbing Mt. Rainier, another one who runs a successful Law Office, and then another who has a successful Air BnB that has one of the highest ratings out there....and he is a dedicated father of 2 very active teenagers and now has written this book in his spare time. So there have been many times sitting over a beer or during a commercial watching a Seahawks game I have brought up a legal issue with Paul and now to think that I now have this easy to read manual at my fingertips.

Book came in the time stated. This book is great for students, business owners, etc.

This book is surprisingly easy to read, has great real world examples, and covers important concepts of contract drafting and negotiating that every business person should know. I highly recommend this book to people who are looking to better understand the contracting process in order to improve their business acumen. The writing is clear, the examples make the content memorable, and I learned important tools in what can be a tricky area for non-lawyers. Any business person interested in understanding the contracting process better will find this book extremely useful.

This book is a gold mine of information for business development and management professionals, entrepreneurs, lawyers and more. I was privileged to work for several years at a company where Paul Swegle served as Chief Legal Counsel. My group negotiated multi-million-dollar contracts with business partners, and Paul was a critical member of the team that reviewed, improved and approved each and every contract we executed. His deep knowledge of business and contract law gained over years of experience, as well as his incisive thinking and insights, were a major advantage to our side as we negotiated with other companies, from small start-ups to Fortune 50 and 100 companies. With this book, Paul shares his deep knowledge, experience and thinking with you to give your business that same advantage. I highly recommend it!

This book takes a complicated subject and breaks it down into an easy to understand format without losing any of important content. The writer makes learning about contracts interesting, by giving real examples of how minor mistakes in a contract can lead to unanticipated and costly outcomes. He shows how to avoid those mistakes by knowing what to look for in a contract and, equally important, paying attention to what is not in the contract. I would recommend this book for entrepreneurs or for anyone seeking step by step instructions on how to negotiate a business contract.

I have been getting more entrepreneurial lately. I traded in my corporate job and started a consulting company. I have also been collecting real-estate and been working on some startup ideas with friends, but in all these areas I've felt intimidated by some of the legal documentation required to make all these things happen. I am not, however, the kind of person who feels comfortable completely outsourcing all these things and trusting everyone else to have my back, so I'm working on educating myself. This book on contract drafting has definitely helped me get more comfortable with contracts but also with legal documentation in general. It makes some points that stuck with me like how what's not written in a contract is at least if not more important than what is written. It helps that it's an easy read with stories strewn throughout that serve as examples of how certain, many times simple, mistakes can result in unintended outcomes that can be very good or bad depending on which side you're on. If you are interested in learning more about contracts and the law then you should definitely read this book!

This book is exactly as promised - both in terms of content and style. It provides an amazingly clear, concise, and complete discussion of not only contract drafting, but also problem solving, the negotiation of business deals, and even great advice for when deals start going bad. And if that was not enough, it is written in a friendly and clever style that makes it as enjoyable to read as it is informative. I am a 25+ year practicing attorney and I am amazed at how the author was able to take technical concepts law students spend an entire year learning, and distill them into a completely understandable discussion that could be read cover to cover in a couple of sittings - it is that easy of a read. Even as someone who *is* an old hand at reviewing and litigating contracts, I found many great pieces of advice and thoughts which, even if on a topic I already knew, gave me a better insight. I highly recommend this book to not only entrepreneurs and business professionals as the author sub-titles the book, but as an attorney I would highly recommend this to my clients in contract disputes so they can better understand what is going on.

This book is great. I just started a new job, primarily reviewing contracts. This books provides a quick, easy to follow, reference guide. I keep it by my desk and use it frequently. It's written in plain English without of a lot of unnecessary legalese. I would highly recommend.

This book provides an incredible amount of practical and insightful information and best practices on contract drafting and negotiation in a clear style that is easy to read and comprehend. It's a must-read for any business person negotiating or drafting commercial deals. I liked the author's frequent use of anecdotes to emphasize key points and I also found the last chapter on preventing and resolving disputes very useful.

An extremely helpful and insightful guide for anyone who is involved in contract drafting and negotiating. A great guide for someone like myself who might not be trained or experienced in the topic, but wants to learn quickly and effectively to prepare for the future. The book contains a great mix of technical and practical explanations. Overall, I think there is a wide audience who will benefit from the knowledge and expertise Paul Swegle has assembled and conveyed in this book.

As a business owner, i wish i would have had Paul's invaluable reference guide earlier in my career. Just the section on "Common Contract Terms" can streamline conversations with costly attorneys and save hundreds if not thousands of dollars. The chapter on "Negotiation" is foundational and should be a required read for any business executive. Highly recommend this book.

Super helpful and beneficial! This book is perfect for business professionals in either an entrepreneurial or corporate environment. As a MBA and not a lawyer, I appreciate the author's non-use of heavy legalize, etc. Mr. Swegle's straightforward and no-nonsense approach is refreshing and welcome. I am in the process of purchasing a small business, so the timing of getting this book couldn't be better and I will make full use of many aspects--including mistakes to avoid, ensuring necessary pieces of the contract are present, and negotiating. Looking forward to the author's next book!

...and most certainly not a good one. So by all means consider yourself better informed for having bought and read this book, then think about what you want and need from the contract negotiations as well as (perhaps most important) your limitations concerning implementation, performance and delivery, then get the lawyer(s) directly involved. You may learn, as I have, that they have a healthy respect for clients who have thought things through or at least have made the sincere effort and preferably before the negotiations begin if not the drying of the ink (so to speak) on the contract signature block. As for the book proper, I find it succinct though in some places quite abrupt and almost perfunctory in its treatment of certain substantive topics. In fairness that's what the author may have aimed for.

Great book, super easy to read. The large font, short paragraphs, plain words makes you actually want to read every page and become a contract negotiation expert. I just started my own startup and working on bunch of contract templates to use with clients and this book was super useful! Previously I always worked for someone and used their in-house legal team, but now that I’m a business owner I need to be more aware of what I’m signing and what I need others to sign. I highly recommended for any startup owners.

Contract Drafting and Negotiation for Entrepreneurs and Business Professionals by Paul A. Swegle is a tremendous resource for anyone interested in expanding her or his contract expertise. I particularly like that this book goes beyond drafting and discusses understanding the deal, actively analyzing contract terms, and, once the contract is signed, properly implementing the contract. I could have used this book when I first graduated law school.

Paul provides practical tips and insight for all parts of the contracting process. The information is clear, concise, and presented in a way that does not require a legal degree to understand. I'd recommend this book to any entrepreneur or business owner looking to better understand the different phases of entering into a contract and why certain terms exist in most contracts.

This book now has a permanent place on my desk. As an entrepreneur that regularly negotiates service contracts and leases, I’ve found this book indispensable. I’ve especially enjoyed the section on successful negotiation and have put the lessons taught into daily use. Overall, this book is extremely well written and detailed, but also easy enough to understand for non-legal professionals.

Although the book is titled "Contract Drafting and Negotiation for Entrepreneurs and Business Professionals" -- for me, a practicing attorney for 24 years, I consider it a fantastic reference guide for for legal and business practitioners from all areas of the business to learn about and watch out for. Ideally, once contract is negotiated and the business relationship begins -- the contract itself is stuffed in a drawer (electronic or physical) and never looked at again until and unless the business parties have a problem with each other. So getting the contract done right --before being stuffed in that drawer-- is obviously critical. This book is a common sense guide for complex, challenging transactional issues. Somehow, the author has successfully synthesized very challenging subject matter into 130ish pages; a doable read for anyone. Smart C-levels will make this a must-read for anyone in their company who will partake in business relationships that involve contracting (i.e., basically, every single one). What's also great about this book is that it doesn't just cover basic contracts and licensing, but also professional services, service level agreements, intellectual property, and other legal quagmires like contract termination, warranties, limitations of liability and damages. I highly recommend this book and would not be surprised if savvy law professors utilize it in their courses, as it provides practical solutions for legal and business professionals at all levels.

I am an attorney who often negotiates and reviews contracts for clients. I found Mr. Swegle's book to be clear, straightforward and entirely accurate. It is easy to read and the information is readily understandable for a non-attorney business owner or executive. It is also a good refresher for attorneys who do not regularly practice in this area of law. I recommend this book highly.

Nice addition to any contract drafting library. Will be a great tool for working with my business and startup clients to help explain basics of contract law and why it is necessary to carefully consider every clause in a contract to ensure it is necessary and reflects the intent of the agreement. Bought the paper version and the paper quality isn't the best, particularly if you like highlighting as you read. Otherwise, as I say, worthwhile addition to you legal library. Michael Cherry

This book is a must read for business professionals looking to both understand and sharpen their skills when negotiating contracts. No agreement is one size fits all and this easy and entertaining read walks you through the step-by-step process of what pitfalls to avoid and how to structure your contracts for success.

Contract law was never better explained. Practical considerations when drafting or entering a contract are well addressed and offer helpful information to avoid expensive pitfalls. For the experienced drafters of contracts, the organization of this book allows for easy access to areas of particular concern or interest. Recommend purchase.

As a CFO that specializes in working with small business owners, I often see decisions made without consulting trained professionals. While this book doesn't take the place of a good attorney, it will help business owners to better understand when to contact one and to know what their attorney needs to protect them properly. I've reviewed a lot of contracts and I still learned a lot from this book. It is now recommended reading for my clients.

Like it. Very through review on the revision of drafting Contracts. Excellent book!

As someone who negotiates commercial contracts for a top company, this is an excellent overview of contract law. Keep in mind this is not an in-depth/advanced reading (nor is it a replacement for experienced counsel). Paul’s book is a great place to start for beginners or as a quick read to review core concepts.

This book is a must have for anyone involved in the drafting, negotiating or reviewing of contracts. As a sales professional without any legal background this book was easy to understand and I was immediately able to put the learnings into practice. Paul is unrivaled in his ability to expertly explain complicated topics in a way that anyone can understand, and most importantly, act upon. This book has a permanent place on my desk, and it should for you too!

Surprisingly helpful and informative, especially for a laymen like myself. Not going to lie, I was not sure how useful this was going to be, and afraid of it being dry and technical. Not the case, and highly recommended!

I am not a lawyer so Paul's book was extremely helpful because he removes most legal jargon. Additionally, he creates the setting (buyer perspective), gives good instruction/feedback on negotiation and then discusses the methods a business person might use to review the each section of the contracts legal language.

This is a comprehensive resource for anyone drafting or signing contracts. An important resource with helpful examples making it an easy read.

First, this book is very helpful for thinking through contacting, whether you are an attorney or a non-attorney. Second, it’s easy to read and it’s easy to find what you’re looking for when using it as a quick reference guide. Third, where else can you get this info at such a reasonable price? I highly recommend this for anyone looking to build or refresh their contracting prowess.

A wonderful resource to have as a new In-House Counsel that was getting stuck on my approach to company contracts. It was recommended by my GC and I’m so glad he did. I wish I’d had this in law school. Fresh, straightforward approach to what can become heavy concepts. Reading this book took away the feeling that every contract has to be complicated, because it doesn’t. This one will be a well worn book on my shelf for a long time to come.

Swegle's writing is informed by a sharp legal mind and, more importantly, a keen understanding of practical, business situations. His primer will be invaluable to professionals of all stripes. Read it!

The book is reader-friendly. I’ve been looking for advice on contract drafting best practices. This book has been an excellent resource. I will recommend it to my co-workers in the contracts department.

I was expecting better discussion of Contract Drafting and Negotiations for people like me. Non-lawyer but Entrepreneur and business owner. It reads like a dictionary of words and definitions. Discussion very limited. Content seem accurate but I think you'd need to be a lawyer to be able to make sense of it. I don't think the description was very accurate either. I returned it and am still looking for a better book. return went smoothly though.

Purchased for a friend involved in negotiating multi-million dollar contracts. She has assured me that it has been most helpful in understanding the accompanying legalese.

"As a business owner and non-attorney, I found this book extremely helpful for negotiating and drafting contracts that regularly come across my desk. Easy to read, very insightful, and lots of great tips. Wish I had found it sooner."

The book is well written and technically sound in my opinion. It touches on the major aspects of contract formation in negotiation I have not finished reading it entirely blame off to a good start and have already established a good impression of the book

Its a great book and its especially useful to refer back to after spending sone time away from contracts.

Liked the clause by clause comments and advice. Good resource for any contract negotiator. Good purchase I do recommend it

A great book!

Easy read and great summation.

Excellent source of general knowledge as it pertains to contracts. It is a great starting point for a business professional to be able to navigate discussions with attorneys and other contributors

This book is extremely hard to follow and read. This book is meant for Highly intelligent people. It certainly is not written for someone like me who is just getting started

It was a good read. I could refresh my lots of basic concepts...

Excellent book. Recommend this book to anyone interested in a primer on contacts.

This has to be the best practical book on contracts, or any other legal subject, that I’ve ever read. Swegle not only covers all the basics, but also virtually every situation and consequence you probably haven’t thought of. Two other things about this great guide that stand out are 1) the simplicity, clarity and readability of the writing and 2) the author’s consistent use of on-point, real life examples that illustrate his points. If you are a business owner, a legal professional, a law student, or even just someone with a general interest in how contracts work, I couldn’t recommend this book more highly. Great stuff.

The author clearly writes from a place of experience, providing entrepreneurs and business development professionals alike with clear tools to bring to action in an a easy read. A great resource for anyone entering the start up space or that has to work in the contract negotiation process.

This book does a great job explaining contracts in a way that non-lawyers can understand. Goes over the common problems with contracts in the business arena. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that is in business and wants to know more about contracts!

As a law professor with the focuses on Emerging Technology and Cyber Security, I found this book extremely informative. Negotiating over technological contracts and software licensing agreements involve different dynamics than standard old school transactional negotiations. We are in the age of disruptive and in some cases displacement business model such as; Uber, Airbnb, Netflix, Amazon Prime, 23&Me and more. We are facing Data explosion everywhere. Compliance requirements are increasing in multiple jurisdictions combined with hefty liabilities of GDPR up to 4% of annual turnover fines. It is time to think outside the box and ahead of the curve. Paul has done incredible job outlining these subjects in this book. The book is presented in an easy-to-read format and real-life examples. I met Paul about 8 years ago at the board of Bellevue College Foundation, where he led the board as a president. Paul has an in-depth knowledge of business contracts and emerging technology which makes him a subject matter expert in this new paradigm. This book will be a great addition to any law student, entrepreneur, or practicing law office to gain a better understanding of the emerging technology challenges in contracts negotiations."

Paul Swegle has written a terrific book that should be required reading for every business lawyer. If I were still a managing partner of a business litigation law firm, this book would be required reading for each young lawyer in th efirm and they would be tested for comprehension!

This book provides an excellent framework surrounding legal concerns and situations that every entrepreneur or business owner has or comes into contact with as they start and grow their business. It becomes a reference on what to be aware of and what to do or not to do when maneuvering the legal aspects of your business, from writing or reviewing contracts and agreements to negotiating with customers, suppliers, partners, or investors. I highly recommend this book for any business owner or person thinking about going into business on their own or with others.

This book is a valuable primer on the best practices for negotiating and drafting contracts and does a great job of bringing legalese and the tenets of sound drafting down to earth for non-lawyers. It's lucid, well-organized, and memorable. Strongly recommend it if you are embarking on contract negotiation for the first time, or need a refresher on the same.

As an experienced lawyer, I liked best the commentary about common boilerplate and the war stories about what clients have done with and without legal advice. Conversely, as an experienced lawyer, I liked least the primer on contract formation—but it was a good review and law students and lay persons should find that part useful too. I bought the kindle version.

This book would be a nice addition to any corporate library. I found it extremely informative. It’s presented in an easy-to-read layout, filled with definitions and real-life examples used to clearly illustrate the author’s points. Mr. Swegle’s matter-of-fact approach makes for a quick, complete, and very effective education on the topic.