Legal Corner

Exclusivity contract?
nobody 28187 reads
posted

I'm interested in the legal ramifications surrounding a year-long exclusivity contract with a client, which I am considering for the following year.  

In negotiating this, I would expect to have to be VERY cautious in protecting my interests, and I'd like to know if any lawyers out there can assist (a tentative contract has been given to me by the potential client) with review and analysis of terms.  Or perhaps someone has a recommendation for an attorney who could look this over?  Many of my clients are counselors, but of course it's best not to request what would be somewhat-biased advice! :)  

Additionally, if any escorts have experience in this manner (I have never arranged anything more than two weeks at a time), I'd appreciate the help.  Please private-message me at this site, if possible.

Thanks!

Girlfriend20917 reads

You are using an alias, so I cannot PM you.  I have had exclusive arrangements with gentlemen a couple of times.  The attorneys here can inform you of the legalities, but I will tell you my experiences.

My first exclusive arrangement was a very long-term one with a married man.  He owned his company, so he had his attorney draw up an employment contract (which covered, among other things, my salary, benefits and severence pay), and he paid me a salary with company checks.  Aside from the emotional entaglements, which can be difficult to avoid in such situations, the arrangement worked, and he more than honored our contract.

The other time I agreed to an exclusive arrangement, it was for one month.  We had nothing in writing, and I agreed to be paid most of the fee for the month up front in cash, with the remainder to be paid at the end of the month.  I was paid, but it was not without a little hassle, and I would not do it that way again.  

I would enter into an exclusive arrangement again only with someone whose company I enjoyed a great deal.  I liked the first gentleman very much, but often found myself mostly tolerating the second one, whose pleasure seemed to be derived in large part from pushing my good temper to its limits.

Good luck to you!

You can put in writing the purported "agreement", but from a legal perspective, that contract, which is likely for services which are illegal, and compensation for those services, is not enforceable.  As a result, you will probably find that neither party has the ability to enforce the agreement in a suit or arbitration.  If you want to have a guide for the expectations of each party, a writing is often useful, but, again, that is very different from making it enforceable.  Also, you need to keep in mind that people sign binding agreements all the time, and many are breached.

If you want more detail, post a contact e-mail address and I will send you a note (but not a bill!  And you know what they say about free legal advice...it's worth every penny that you pay).

The previous reply is mostly correct.  You can agree to any terms, and basically contract for anything. But, just because you put it in writing, and carefully negotiate the terms, it does not mean the agreement is per se enforceable.  

I agree with the previous writer, that if you were ever to try to enforce such an agreement, it would be found to be invalid.  You cannot enter into a contract which by it's very nature requires one party (or both) to perform an illegal activity.

If you have more questions, you can email me.

anotherlawyer22856 reads

On another note, keep in mind that this "exclusive contract" is at most an exchange of promises.  

When I have a client tell me they want an ironclad contract because they don't trust the other party, I tell them that no matter how the contract is drafted, if one party never intends to live up to its promise, the best you can hope for is a lawsuit.

Former posts are correct about the enforceability of contracts for illegal activity.  However, I can think of two ways to get around these issues.  

The legal principle that one should attempt to uses is “the law will not inquire into the adequacy of consideration in a contract.”  All this means is that you could legally make a contract to by a 10 cent plastic pen for 1 million dollars.  As long as all of the elements of the contract are present it’s enforceable.  Obviously, most courts, juries are going to see right through this, but it’s worth a try.  You could make a contract for a meager thing, such as, working as a contract secretary who shows up twice a week to type for a large sum of money.  It does NOT have to be market rate for someone to type.   If any part of the contract refers to some illegality then it’s not enforceable.  So you would have to convince the other party to not explicitly state the acts to be performed.  NO lawyer in their right mind would draft such a blatantly absurd contract in the first place.  

The second idea is a bit complex.  We know that contracts can be voided due to illegality.  However, in counties with less than 250,000 people in the state of Nevada, such services for monetary compensation are legal.  However, I’m not an attorney in Nevada, and I don’t know the legal requirements for such a contract.  I believe at the minimum, it’s regulated, which means you would have to register with the state, and get health checks.  Next, it would have to be in accordance with a business, not just independents, which mean one of two things.  You would either have to coordinated with an established business, like one of the famed ranches or establish your own business which I don’t believe is easy.  After, these requirements are met, you could simply make a long term contract for such services to be performed.  I don’t know if there are restrictions on where the services can or cannot to be performed.   If you do take this route, the advantage is that the contract CAN be explicit about the activity, and it’s enforceable, in Nevada, so long as the cash transaction took place there.  This scenario should be interesting, I’m actually dying to see some case law on the matter.  Though I haven’t done any research on this.   I want to see this taken to the appellate level so I can be satisfied in the knowledge that I started it all right here.  LOL.  Hell this could set new predence and establish a whole new industry base in NV.  Any Nevada attorneys want to speak up.


The responses you have received are accurate. Under any state law, you cannot enforce a contract that is for services that are illegal. In other words, an agreement to provide sexual favors in return for compensation is illegal and unenforceable. You can however, enter into a contract that pays you compensation for the services you provide short of sex. For example, companionship, massage, etc. Any contract you enter into should include a severability clause. The following is a sample provision:

If any provision of this Agreement is held to be illegal, unlawful, invalid or unenforceable under present or future laws effective during the term of this Agreement, such provision will be fully severable. This Agreement will be construed and enforced as if such illegal, unlawful, invalid or unenforceable provision had never comprised a part of this Agreement, and the remaining provisions of this Agreement will remain in full force and effect and will not be affected by the illegal, unlawful, invalid or unenforceable provision or by its severance from this Agreement.

Feel free to send me the agreement you have in mind and I will respond with my comments. I have performed legal work for providers in the past and would be happy to assist you. If yo like, you can send me a private message and I will respond with my Email address and office telephone number.

If the contract is illegal, it will not be enforced.  You have a piece of paper; that's it.  If you go to court with it, you will be thrown out.  

You can try to "dance around" the illegality part with Marathon's severance clause; but then the "compensation" term of the contract will also be subject to "adjustment" (quantum meruit).  And the lawful "services" will not justify the rather pricey contract hourly rate.


Simply put, if the guy flakes out, you are SOL; and a trip to court to enforce the contract will not be worth the effort (even if you win on the non-illegal part).

Having said the foregoing, I have seen many "arrangements" that work successfully, and for  many years on end.  Success depends on the person involved.  If you find a person who has some basic sense of responsibility, and reliability (i.e., will follow through on his promisses), then you have all the ingredients for a successful arrangement, with or without the paperwork.  And, since the paper K is useless as a practical matter anyway, best to look deep into the bonafides of the person involved, rather than convoluted useless "contract" language.

nobody19953 reads

I love my clients and love the independence of meeting people when I like, and having time off when I prefer!  So, after much thought, I have decided this is not something I'm open to--at least not at the salary and terms offered...!

Thanks very much for your sage advice.  It was certainly appreciated, and will be kept in mind should I ever opt to accept a contract of this sort in the future.

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