Formal agreements between two or more parties usually involve contracts. There are at least two areas in which a paralegal with knowledge of contract law may be very useful to an attorney: The drafting stage and litigation involving an alleged breach.
Drafting a contract is actually the easier of these two areas. This is because paralegals, and lawyers, rarely create a contract from scratch. As a paralegal, you are much more likely to be asked to use a previously existing example of a contract, modifying it for the current legal matter. Having an understanding of the proper elements of a contract will help ensure that you create a valid new document.
Most paralegal contract work revolves around litigation of an alleged breach of a contract. You may be working for the plaintiff or the defendant, depending on the case. Whichever side you are working for, having a foundation in the elements of a contract, what constitutes an offer and an acceptance, as well as potential defenses to a breach will make you a much better researcher and writer when your attorney needs assistance in the litigation.
