02nd Jun 2008
Reading contracts closely = A S S U M E
When I read an associate or independent contractor contract, I pay close attention to words. I ask myself, “Is the meaning of this term clear?” For example, I recently saw a contract that used the term “net collections.” Do you know what “net collections” means? Net of what? Net means something is taken out, but what?
Today I saw an associate contract that used the term “earnings.” I don’t know what “earnings” means, either. Is it the amount of earnings (profit) of the practice as a whole? Or is it (more likely) the collections attributable to a specific associate? It’s much better to clarify assumptions now than to find out later that something didn’t mean what you thought (assumed) it meant.
Don’t assume you know what a term means. ASK. Remember what “ASSUME” stands for - “ASSUME makes an “A**” out of “U” and “ME.” (sorry for ther terminology, but you get my point)
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