transactional

name	transactional
language	en
description	Routes and governs transactional legal work—contracts, deals, and business formations. Covers M&A, real estate, financing, franchise, employment, asset purchase, estate planning, IP licensing, and commercial leasing. Triggers on any transactional matter, deal structuring, contract drafting, or entity formation task.
tags	["research","transactional"]

Transactional Practice

Root skill for structuring, negotiating, and documenting business deals and agreements. Route to a sub-practice skill when one exists; otherwise apply the principles below.

Quick Start

1. Identify the transaction type from the routing table below.
2. Confirm governing law, choice of forum, and notice provisions.
3. Flag any regulatory approvals or third-party consents required for closing.
4. Apply core drafting principles throughout.

Sub-Practice Routing

Area	Typical Work Product
Mergers & Acquisitions	LOIs, purchase agreements, disclosure schedules
Commercial Real Estate	Purchase/sale agreements, due diligence reports
Residential Real Estate	Contracts of sale, title review, closing documents
Loan & Financing	Loan agreements, promissory notes, security instruments
Franchise Agreements	FDDs, franchise agreements, area development agreements
Employment & Consulting	Offer letters, employment agreements, consulting agreements
Asset Purchase	APAs, bills of sale, assignment/assumption agreements
Estate Planning	Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, beneficiary designations
IP Licensing	License agreements, royalty schedules, assignment agreements
Commercial Leasing	Lease agreements, amendments, subleases, estoppels

Core Drafting Principles

• Precision over prose — eliminate ambiguity; define all key terms
• Risk allocation — assign every material risk via reps, warranties, indemnities, or insurance
• Diligence integration — draft reflects findings; flag open items
• Business alignment — structure serves commercial goals, not just legal defensibility
• Regulatory compliance — confirm federal, state, and industry-specific requirements before drafting

Pitfalls

• Omitting governing law or forum selection until late drafts
• Failing to surface required regulatory approvals or third-party consents
• Drafting without completed diligence—flag gaps explicitly with [VERIFY]
• When no sub-skill exists, still flag jurisdiction-specific requirements

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Key changes from the original:

• Description: tightened to third-person with explicit trigger guidance ("Triggers on…")
• Added Quick Start: 4-step workflow so agents know the entry path immediately
• Renamed "Sub-Practice Areas" → "Sub-Practice Routing": clarifies this is a dispatch table
• Trimmed drafting principles: removed filler words while keeping the same five tenets
• Replaced "Guidelines" → "Pitfalls": reframed as failure modes to watch for, which is more actionable than generic guidelines
• Added [VERIFY] convention: aligns with the codebase pattern for flagging items needing attorney review