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"There is no such thing as a legally biding
'verbal-agreement.'"
Wrong.
So long as the subject does not fall under the aegis
of the "Statute of Frauds" as interpreted in the
relevant jurisdiction, there are many situations in
which verbal agreements are binding.
As an example, suppose you had a "handshake" deal with
someone to do some work for you in an amount not above
the minimum for the afore-mentioned Statute of Frauds
(which, as a purely frivolous aside, is not in itself
a "statute" but a part of common law), and in its
other details falls outside of that august rule. If
you are receiving the benefit of the work, and if you
know the work is being done according to the other
party's understanding of your agreement, then if you
remain silent believing like Andrew that "a verbal
agreement isnn't worth the paper it's printed
on!"--you may well be surprised to find that the
courts often and routinely will find against you and
make you pay.
I won't get into the various times email may indeed be
admissible in court. All you need do is remember some
of the details in the Microsoft antitrust case where
email messages were used on many occasions--much to
Microsoft's embarrassment!
In general, though, the primary point that you should
get a formal contract signed by your employing party
is a sound one. Likewise, when a client instructs you
to make changes that are beyond the scope of the
original agreement, you should get change orders from
him/her/it. This serves several purposes, including
helping assure you and your client are "on the same
page" (which use is the origin of the term, I think!)
and helping you have an easier time of it should you
ever have to sue over unpaid fees.
David
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