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Lawyers work on a huge variety of transactions, but all of them will in some way involve written agreements that will need to be executed by the parties. For this reason, it is very important that lawyers know when a deed is required and fully understand the differences in how deeds and simple contracts are executed.

This subtopic summarises the law, guidance and practice relating to simple contracts and deeds, including in particular:

1. •

   the key elements that must be present to create a contract

2. •

   what simple contracts are and how they are executed

3. •

   what a deed is and the particular transactions for which a deed (rather than a simple contract) is required

4. •

   the formalities for creating valid deeds

5. •

   guidance on executing deeds and simple contracts in counterpart, and

6. •

   how to circulate pre-signed counterpart signature pages and virtual closings

The law and practice relating to the execution of simple contracts and deeds under English law is summarised in Practice Note: Executing documents—deeds and simple contracts , as well as the key differences and the execution formalities for each. For more information, see Practice Notes:

1. •

   Virtual