NFU CONTRACT CHECKING SERVICE

You may be farmer looking to sell your produce to a supermarket buyer, to independent shops or direct to consumers. You might have developed a new technology which you’re using on your farm and want to commercialise. Whether you are looking for advice on a contract you receive from a customer or a supplier, or if you wish to have a new contract or terms and conditions drafted or even when you need to make changes to the terms of an existing contract, our team will be able to support you.

Our lawyers are experienced in working with agricultural businesses and advising them on contractual terms. Our aim is to become part of your team, so that we can support you with any legal issues that arise and protect the value you grow in your business. We will take time to get to understand your business and your commercial objectives so that we give advice and support that is tailored to you.

If you require us to review a contract or terms and conditions you’ve been presented with by a customer or a supplier, we will review the document, taking care to cover off any particular concerns or risk areas that we have discussed. We will deliver our review of it in an easy to read format. Following the initial review, you may instruct us to make some amendments to the contract or the terms and conditions and we may also become involved in negotiating these with your counter-party.

Where you need support in preparing a new contract or set of terms and conditions to apply to your business, we will work with you to scope out your requirements, taking into account your risk areas and your commercial and operational objectives. Once our first draft is ready, we will share this with you and, often, a follow up call is all that is needed to finalise the draft. Once the draft is finalised, we may also become involved in negotiating the draft with your counter-party however often these are template documents and very little negotiation is required.

At all times, we will do all we can to work to the timescales that we agree with you. If you are an NFU member and subscribe to the NFU’s Legal Assistance Scheme then there may be some funding available from the NFU towards your costs via the NFU’s Contract Checking Service.  If so, then once we have completed the work for you, and with your agreement, we will report back to the NFU’s Contract Checking Service so that they know we have finalised the matter successfully. The NFU will then pay you directly.

Acting as National Farmers Union panel solicitors for more counties than any other law firm in the country. We are also proud to be the sole designated legal contributor to the Farmers Weekly Business Clinic.

NFU Members

We are proud to have been chosen by the National Farmers Union to act for its members in more counties than any other legal firm and to be appointed by Farmers Weekly to provide legal advice to its members through its Business Clinic feature.

Free NFU Legal Health check

We offer a free NFU Legal Health Check and are also pleased to offer a 12.5% discount on our fees for qualifying cases for NFU members. Find out more about this, and other helpful information for farmers, on our Information for Farmers page. Read our five-minute Take Five Guide to your farm’s legal health check.