Therefore, if the attorney rejects the additional terms in the fax, the law will fill any holes that would impede the full performance of the terms on which the parties reached an agreement. For example, if no time for performance is specified, a reasonable time will be implied. The law will also imply a requirement of good faith and fair dealing in the contract. The attorney's head begins to throb as the realization sets in that the never-ending fax may represent the beginning of many more months of litigation. Knowing that the client never agreed to the sheer number of clauses contained in the streaming fax and paranoid that the fax represents the other side digging in their heels, the attorney begins to formulate a plan to bring last night's' compromise to fruition.
Several options exist for enforcement of the oral settlement agreement.
The attorney can return to the court that was to hear the original lawsuit and ask that court to enforce the agreement. Alternatively, the attorney could file a new lawsuit for a breach of the oral settlement contract. Conclusion Finally, the paper has stopped streaming forth, the beeps and buzzes of the fax machine are silent, the coffee has staved off complete collapse, and the associate with dreams of partnership arrives with doughnuts. With the issues beginning to clarify, the attorney and client can now study the fax to understand the full effect of the late-night negotiations. Next time, the attorney thinks, I will not let this happen.