Many of our clients are involved either in lending transactions or are providing significant goods and services on account. As the economy fluctuates and uncertainty abounds, we are seeing an increase in the number of clients looking to “paper” these transactions and this work much more thoroughly than they might have a year or two ago.
As lawyers, we couldn’t be happier. As a corporate lawyer, it makes me rest easier knowing that my clients are protecting themselves. As litigation lawyers, with particular skills in the area of debt recovery, Inga and Paul are much more confident about the likelihood of recovering on behalf of a client who has secured his lending to the greatest extent commercially possible.
Papering the deal is going to mean different things in different circumstances. If you’re a small business owner doing work for a client on credit, it may mean getting a personal guaranty on your account where once you worked on faith. For a larger business, it may mean more extensive searching of background parties, registering security under the PPSA or even guarantees that extend to the personally-held assets of guarantors.
In short, if you have any concerns about getting paid, before or after the fact, contact us. There are a variety of options available for protecting yourself, for clarifying repayment expectations and for making sure you get paid first in the event of an insolvency situation.
Scott Young