What to brief an attorney so the contract fits your actual deal

You've found an attorney you trust. They've quoted you a price. Now comes the moment that decides whether your contract actually reflects your deal or whether, months later, you'll discover gaps that leave you exposed. What you brief them with—and how clearly you brief it—shapes everything that follows.

Many attorneys begin contract work by asking for existing documents: previous agreements, email chains, notes from negotiations, any handshake details you've hammered out verbally. If you show up with fragments scattered across devices and memory, the attorney has to piece together intent from guesswork. If you've organised what matters before the first meeting, they can focus on drafting precisely rather than investigating. That's not pedantry on their part; it's the difference between a contract that works and one that leaves you arguing about what you both meant.

What a good attorney will ask you for—and why

A competent drafter doesn't just take your word for the broad strokes. They'll ask for specifics because vagueness in your brief becomes ambiguity in the contract, and ambiguity is where disputes live.

Expect them to ask for emails or notes documenting what you and the other party have already agreed. If you said "We'll split costs 50/50" in a WhatsApp chat three months ago, bring it. If a handshake deal included a three-month wind-down clause, write it down now before details blur. They'll also want to know what happens if things go wrong: if payment is late, what's the remedy? If someone walks away mid-project, who covers costs already incurred? If a key person leaves, does the agreement dissolve or transfer? These sound like worst-case scenarios, but contracts exist precisely to answer them.

They should ask what laws apply and where disputes would be resolved. This matters enormously if you're contracting across provinces or with someone overseas. They need to know whether either party has special obligations—someone in your position might be bound by regulations you haven't mentioned, or the other party might be a close corporation with specific governance quirks. They'll ask about timing: when does the work start, how long does it run, can it be extended? They'll probe payment: is it upfront, in stages, on delivery, on invoice? Are there holdbacks or retention clauses? None of this is the attorney being overcautious. It's them ensuring the contract says what you actually want it to say.

How to prepare so nothing gets lost in translation

Before your first substantive meeting, create a single document—email, memo, even a well-organised WhatsApp note—that covers the essentials. Include the names and trading status of both parties (whether anyone is a close corporation, a sole trader, a partnership). Spell out the core obligation: what is one party doing for the other, in plain terms? List the price, the payment schedule, and any conditions attached (does payment depend on milestones, on approval, on delivery?). Note any fixed dates: when must work start or finish? Are there renewal or termination windows? Write down any exclusions or limits you've already agreed—things explicitly not covered, or caps on liability.

If either party has walked you through a previous contract that worked well, or one that caused friction, share it. If there are industry-standard terms you know matter (retention clauses in construction contracts, for instance), mention them. If the other party has sent a draft they prefer, include it so the attorney understands their starting position.

This groundwork isn't extra work—you're just transferring information you already hold into a usable form. The attorney then reads it once, asks clarifying questions only where genuine ambiguity exists, and drafts a contract that reflects your actual deal rather than their assumptions. When you later review what they've drafted, the gaps (if any) jump out because you're comparing it to a clear brief you wrote, not trying to reconstruct intent from memory.

On Strove, you can find attorneys who specialise in contract drafting and message them with your brief before you book—many will give you a sense of whether they grasp your situation from how they respond. That early read matters.