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如何写好英文合同
(
中英文对照
)
Before You Write the First
Word
第一部分：在动笔之前
1. Ask your client to list the deal
points. This can be in the form of a list,
outline or narration. Doing this will
help the client focus on the terms of the
agreement.
1.
要求你
的客户列出合同交易的要点，也可以说是合同的清单、目录或概述。这一招首
先帮助你的
客户弄清合同的重点所在。
2.
Engage your client in
many
possible
factual
situations
and
express
the
parties’
understanding
in
case
those
facts arise. Talking to your client about this
will generate many issues
you may not
otherwise consider.
2.
让你的客户
提供一些假设可能发生的情况。好的合同不仅能够预见到许多可能发生的
情况，而且还能
清楚地描述出发生这些情况后合同双方的立场。和客户聊这些情况将有
助于你发现一些你
可能没有考虑到的问题。
3.
Ask your client for a similar contract.
Frequently, clients have had similar
transactions
in
the
past
or
they
have
access
to
contracts
for
similar
transactions.
3.
请求你的客户提供类似的合同。通常情况下，客户都保留着过去的交易
记录或者是类
似合同。
4. Search your office computer or the
Internet for a similar form. Many times
you
can
find
a
similar
form
on
your
computer.
It
may
be
one
you
prepared
for
another
client
or
one
you
negotiated
with
another
lawyer.
Just
remember
to
find
and
replace
the
old
client’s
name.
Starting
with
an
existing
form
saves
time
and
avoids
the
errors of typing.
4.
在办公室的电脑中或是在因特网上搜索类似的合同范本。通常你会在你的电脑上找到
你想要的东西，这些类似的合同范本要么是你给其他客户准备的，要么是你和其他的律
师共同协商起草的。使用这些旧合同可以为你节省时间和避免打印错误，不过，用这些
合同范本时别忘了替换掉老客户的名字。
5. Obtain forms in books or CD-ROM.
Typical forms of contracts can be found in
form
books,
such
as
West’s
Legal
Forms
(a
nationwide
set)
and
Florida
Jur
Forms,
as well as in
treatises and Florida Bar CLE publications. These
can be used as
the starting point for
drafting the contract or as checklists of typical
provisions
and
wording
to
include
in
the
contract.
Many
treatises
and
form
books
now
come with forms on disk or CD-ROM.
5.<
/p>
从书中或者是光盘上获取合同范本。典型的合同范本在一些范例书中都可能找到：比
如
,
西方法律文书（全国版）佛罗里达州文书
期刊，另外，在有些论文和佛罗里达州律师
协会的法律继续教育出版物中也可以找到一些
。起草合同时，你可以把这些范本当做原
始资料，利用其中某些典型的条款和措词。更为
方便的是，许多论文和书中的合同范本
都有电子文本储存在磁盘或光盘中。
6.
Don’t
let
your
client
sign
a
letter
of
intent
without
this
wording.
Sometimes
clients are
anxious to sign something to show good faith
before the contract is
prepared. A
properly worded letter of intent is useful at such
times. Just be
sure
that
the
letter
of
intent
clearly
states
that
it
is
not
a
contract,
but
that
it is merely an outline
of possible terms for discussion purposes. See
Appendix
C.
6.
如果
没有特别申明，不要让你的客户在意向书上签字。有时候，在合同未准备好之前，
客户为
了表示诚意，往往急于签署某些东西，当然，在这种情况下，如果客户急于签署
的是有特
别申明的意向书，这也是可以的，但一定要注明：本意向书并非合同，只是双
方为了更好
地沟通协商，而拟定的对未来条款的概述。类似意向书的范例见附录
C
< br>。
Writing
that First Word
第二部分：开始起草合同
7. Start with a simple, generic
contract form. The form in Appendix A is such
a form. It provides a solid starting
point for the structure of the contract.
Like a house, a contract must have a
good, solid foundation.
7.
从
简单、典型的合同入手。附录
A
就是一个简单、典型的合同，它
提供了一个合同的
基本支架。像房子一样，一个合同必须有一个牢固的根基。
8.
State
the
correct
legal
names
of
the
parties
in
the
first
paragraph.
As
obvious
as
this is, it is
one
of
the most common problems
in
contracts.
For individuals,
include full first and last name, and
middle initials if available, and other
identifying
information,
if
appropriate,
such
as
Jr.,
M.D.,
etc.
For
corporations,
check with the
Secretary of State where incorporated.
8.
在合同的第一段要写清楚双方的名称。，这是个简单而又不得不引起重视的问题。
如
果是个人
，
要写清姓和名
,
中间有大写字母和其他身份信息的
，
也要注明
，
例如
：
jr.,M.D,
等等；如果是公司，为避免弄错，写名称时可以到公
司注册地的相应机构去核对一下。
9. Identify the parties by nicknames.
Giving each party a nickname in the first
paragraph will make the contract easier
to read. For example, James W. Martin
would be nicknamed
9.
确定合同双方的别称
（简称）
。
为便于阅读
，
一般要在合同的第一段为双方弄一个别称，
如：将詹姆士
.
马丁简写为
马丁
。
10. Be careful when
using legal terms for nicknames. Do not use
a nickname unless that party is legally
a contractor. Do not use
you intend for
that party to be an agent, and if you do, then you
better specify
the scope of authority
and other agency issues to avoid future
disagreements.
10.
使用法定术语作为双
方当事人的别称时，要小心。除非一方当事人在法定上就是承包
人，否则不要将
承包人
作为其别称。同
样，除非你想让一方当事人成为法定上的代理
人，否则不要称其为
代理人
，如果坚持要用，最好明确一
下代理范围并找到其他可以
避免将来争执的方案。
11. Include a blank for
the date
in the first
paragraph. Putting the date in the
first
paragraph
makes
it
easy
to
find
after
the
contract
is
signed.
It
also
makes
it easy to describe
the contract in other documents in a precise way,
such as
the
11.
在合
同的第一段要为书写签约时间留下空格。把签约时间放在第一段，当合同签署
后，你就能
够很容易地找到它，而且，这样做还可以给你在其他相关文件中准确地描述
这个合同提供
帮助，范例如：不动产买卖合同，订立于
2000
年
12
月
20
日
12.
Include
to
provide
background.
Recitals
are
the
clauses
that
precede
the
body
of
a
contract.
They
provide
a
simple
way
to
bring
the
contract’s
reader
(party,
judge
or
jury)
up
to
speed
on
what
the
contract
is
about,
who
the
parties
are, why they are
signing a contract, etc. The first paragraph in
the body of
the contract can
incorporate the recitals by reference and state
that they are
true
and
correct.
This
will
avoid
a
later
argument
as
to
whether
or
not
the
recitals
are a legally binding part of the
contract.
12.
书写引述语。引述语是指那些放
在合同主体前面的
鉴于
条款。书写此类条款的目的
是为了让读者
（通常指合同
双方，法官，陪审团）
很快地了解到合同的主要内容是什么，
合
同双方是谁，以及他们为什么签订合同，等等。当然，合同主体的第一段也可以加上
引述
语并陈述其是真实准确的，如果这样做了，合同双方将来就不会争执：引述语作为
合同的
一部分是否具有法律效力？
13. Outline the contract by writing out
and underlining paragraph headings in
their logical order. The paragraphs
should flow in logical, organized fashion.
It is not necessary to write them all
at once; you can write them as you think
of them. Try to group related concepts
in the same paragraphs or in adjacent
paragraphs. For example,
wri
te an employment contract’s initial
paragraph
headings like this:
Recitals.
Employment.
Duties.
Term.
Compensation.
13.
按逻辑顺序列出合同段落的标题词
.
合同的段落是按一定的逻
辑顺序组织起来的，当
然，你并不需要一下子列出所有段落的标题词，想到多少就写多少
，不过，这些标题词
要力求总结出每个段落或相关段落的内容。比如：撰写劳动合同时列
出的标题词就像下
面这些：
引述语
聘用
职责
期限
赔偿
14. Complete each paragraph
by writing the contract terms that apply to that
paragraph. This is simple. You learned
this in elementary school. Just explain
in words what the parties agree to do
or not do paragraph by paragraph.
14.<
/p>
在撰写每一段时要注意内容集中，不要东拉西扯，是的，这很简单，你可能上小学时
就学过，但我还是要提醒你，要集中火力，一段一段地分别说明合同双方同意做什么，
不同意做什么。
15. Keep a pad at hand to remember
clauses to add. It is normal to think of
additional clauses, wording and issues
while writing a contract. Jot these down
on
a
pad
as
you
write;
they
are
easily
forgotten.
Also
keep
your
client’s
outline
and other forms in front of you as you
write, and check off items as you write
them.
15.
放一个便笺簿在
手边，以便记下需要添加的条款。在书写合同的同时，你可能随时会
想到一些需要添加条
款、措词和问题，要尽快记在便笺簿上，因为他们太容易忘了。另
外，你最好将客户列出
的要点和一些类似的合同范本也放在眼前，以便在书写过程中随
时查对。
16. Repeat yourself
only when repetition is necessary to improve
clarity.
Ambiguity is created by saying
the same thing more than once; it is almost
impossible to say it twice without
creating ambiguity. Only if the concept is
a difficult one should you write it in
more than one way. In addition, if you
use
an
example
to
clarify
a
difficult
concept
or
formula,
be
sure
that
all
possible
meanings
are
considered
and
that
the
example
is
accurate
and
consistent
with
the
concept as worded.
16.
除非是为了更清晰地说明问题，否则不要在合同中重复陈述某个内
容。将一个事实来
回地说很容易让人模棱两可。如果你将一个概念重复地解释，那理解起
来就更有困难。
另外，如果你想通过一个例子来阐明一个难以理解的概念或规则时，一定
要考虑到其所
有的含义、这个例子的准确性以及它和概念的相符性。
What to
Watch Out for When Writing
第三部分：撰写时的注意事项
17. Title it
a contract,
call it a contract. A judge now sitting on the
federal bench once
ruled that a
document entitled
by both parties. The
lesson learned is,
document
to
be
a
legally
binding
contract,
use
the
word
in
the
title.
17.
标题上注明
合同
<
/p>
两字。不要为碰运气而忽略这个。如果你的客户需要合同，就要注
明是合同。一个仍在联邦法院里任职的法官就曾经裁定：有双方签字，但标有
建议书
的文件并非合同。这给我们的教训就是，你
怎么想，就应该怎么说。如果你想让你的文
件成为具有法律效力的合同，就要在标题中注
明
合同
字样。
18.
Write
in
short
sentences.
Short
sentences
are
easier
to
understand
than
long
ones.
18.
写短句子，因为短句子比长句子让人更容易理解。
19.
Write
in
active
tense,
rather
than
passive.
Active
tense
sentences
are
shorter
and
use words more efficiently, and their meaning is
more apparent. Example of
active:
Property shall be sold to Buyer by Sell
er.
19.
用主动语态而不用被动语态。相对而言，主动语态
的句子更简短，措词更精练，表达
更明白。还是让我们来来看一个例子吧，主动语态的句
子：卖方将把此物卖给买方
;
被动
语态
的句子：此物将被卖方卖给买方。
20. Don’t use the word
other
week. The same applies to
or
20.
不要用“双周”之类的词，因为这有可能产生歧义是两周还是每隔一周？类似的
词还
有
双月
<
/p>
所以最好这样写
:
两周
< br>
或
每隔一周
。
21. Don’t say things like
writing either
termites.
apply to
both nouns or just the first one. If you intend it
to apply to both,
use parallel
construction and write the modifier in front of
each noun. If you
intend it to apply to
just one noun, place that one noun at the end of
the list
and the modifier directly in
front of it.
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