第一部分：在動筆之前 　1、Ask your client to list the deal points. This can be in the form of a list, outline or narration. Doing this will help the client focus on the terms of the agreement.

　1、要求你的客戶列出合同交易的要點，也可以說是合同的清單、目錄或概述。這一招首先幫助你的客戶弄清合同的重點所在。

　2.、Engage your client in "what if" scenarios. A good contract will anticipate many possible factual situations and express the parties' understanding in case those facts arise. Talking to your client about this will generate many issues you may not otherwise consider.

　2、讓你的客戶提供一些假設可能發生的情況。好的合同不僅能夠預見到許多可能發生的情況，而且還能清楚地描述出發生這些情況后合同雙方的立場。和客戶聊這些情況將有助于你發現一些你可能沒有考慮到的問題。

　3、Ask your client for a similar contract. Frequently, clients have had similar transactions in the past or they have access to contracts for similar transactions.

　3、請求你的客戶提供類似的合同。通常情況下，客戶都保留著過去的交易記錄或者是類似合同。

　4、Search your office computer or the Internet for a similar form. Many times you can find a similar form on your computer. It may be one you prepared for another client or one you negotiated with another lawyer. Just remember to find and replace the old client's name. Starting with an existing form saves time and avoids the errors of typing. Here are some Web sites where you can find forms:

　4、在辦公室的電腦中或是在因特網上搜索類似的合同范本。通常你會在你的電腦上找到你想要的東西，這些類似的合同范本要么是你給其他客戶準備的，要么是你和其他的律師共同協商起草的。使用這些舊合同可以為你節省時間和避免打印錯誤，不過，用這些合同范本時別忘了替換掉老客戶的名字。

　5、Obtain forms in books or CD-ROM. Typical forms of contracts can be found in form books, such as West's Legal Forms (a nationwide set) and Florida Jur Forms, as well as in treatises and Florida Bar CLE publications. These can be used as the starting point for drafting the contract or as checklists of typical provisions and wording to include in the contract. Many treatises and form books now come with forms on disk or CD-ROM.

　5、從書中或者是光盤上獲取合同范本。典型的合同范本在一些范例書中都可能找到：比如西方法律文書(全國版)佛羅里達州文書期刊，另外，在有些論文和佛羅里達州律師協會的法律繼續教育出版物中也可以找到一些。起草合同時，你可以把這些范本當做原始資料，利用其中某些典型的條款和措詞。更為方便的是，許多論文和書中的合同范本都有電子文本儲存在磁盤或光盤中。

　6、Don't let your client sign a letter of intent without this wording. Sometimes clients are anxious to sign something to show good faith before the contract is prepared. A properly worded letter of intent is useful at such times. Just be sure that the letter of intent clearly states that it is not a contract, but that it is merely an outline of possible terms for discussion purposes. See Appendix C.

　6、如果沒有特別申明，不要讓你的客戶在意向書上簽字。有時候，在合同未準備好之前，客戶為了表示誠意，往往急于簽署某些東西，當然，在這種情況下，如果客戶急于簽署的是有特別申明的意向書，這也是可以的，但一定要注明：本意向書并非合同，只是雙方為了更好地溝通協商，而擬定的對未來條款的概述。