Contracts
Three clauses that cost clients the most
Elise Marlowe · 9 October 2026 · 1 min read
Liability caps, payment terms and termination rights decide most contract disputes long before anyone argues about the work itself.
By the time a dispute reaches me, the argument is almost never about the quality of the work. It is about a clause nobody read closely at the start. Three of them account for most of what I see.
1. The liability cap
A clause limiting liability to the fees paid sounds reasonable and can be ruinous when a small fee sits in front of a large loss. Check what it excludes, whether it applies to both sides, and whether the cap is a single amount or a multiple of fees.
2. Payment terms that do not say what happens next
“Payment within 30 days” is not a payment term. A workable one says what is payable, when it becomes due, what interest applies, and whether work can stop while an invoice is unpaid. Silence on the last point is where projects stall.
3. Termination, and what survives it
Who can end the agreement, on how much notice, and what happens to work already done? A contract that can be ended on seven days’ notice with no payment for work in progress leaves you exposed regardless of how well you performed.
What a review is for
A review is not a search for something to argue about. It is a short conversation about which of these three clauses would hurt most if the relationship turned, and whether that risk is acceptable.
General information only. It is not legal advice for your circumstances.