Mistakes and omissions are an unfortunate, but common occurrence in contracts.Often times these mistakes and omissions will result in contractual defects that can invalidate a contract.Needless to say, these mistakes can be very costly.

The urge to cover for one's mistakes can be a strong one.I can recall a number of times where clients have asked me to help them cover up for costly mistakes they made, or to simply look the other way and pretend that I did not see/hear something that I clearly saw/heard.

Suppose you are reviewing the documents after a big business deal your boss recently closed.You realize that some blanks were not filled-in before the parties signed the contracts.Shortly after the documents were signed, the relationship between the parties soured.

You alert your boss to the defects in the contracts.He recognizes that this could be an expensive problem, and that the other side will probably not agree to sign another set of documents.Your boss tells you to just fill in the blanks and not to worry about it.

You express concern about doing this, but your boss tells you that you need to be a team player. He points out that no one will every know it was you who did it, and the company stands to lose a lot of money if you don't.

• What factors do you need to consider?
• Is there a way to turn this into a win-win?
• How do you decide to handle this?