Contractual Relations in Small Business: Do the Benefits of a Custom-Made Contract Outweigh the Costs?

Abstract

This article was contributed to a symposium at Lewis & Clark Law School on The Role of Law in Small Business Transactions. Stewart Macaulay famously conducted empirical research that suggests that contract planning and contract law are not very important to small businesses. This article suggests that small businesses might in fact benefit from employing an attorney to create a hand-crafted contract for the particular business rather than using an off-the-shelf contract that is not written with the needs of the particular business in mind.

Keywords: Stewart Macaulay, small business, contracts, small business transactions