Contract Law

A contract is a promise between two or more persons involving the exchange of some good or service. Some of the basic elements of a contract include: an offer and an acceptance; "capacity," or being of legal age and sound competence; "mutual assent," or agreement on the terms of a contract; and "consideration," or compensation for goods or services rendered. The element that distinguishes a contract from an informal agreements is that it is legally binding: the law provides a remedy in the event that the promise is not fulfilled. By law, certain types of contracts must be in writing, but oral contracts are valid in many situations. An oral contract may be held to exist even in the absence of agreement as to all its terms.