A contract is a promise, or set of promises, for breach of which the law gives a remedy, or the performance of which the law in some way recognizes as a duty. Contracts law involves assisting individuals and businesses in the negotiation and execution of all types of legally enforceable agreements -- including contracts for the sale of property, employment agreements, and promissory notes -- and also to represent clients in legal disputes and litigation to enforce contracts.
Hercules is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 19,488 at the 2000 census, but has since grown significantly; the Census Bureau estimated that its population was 24,776 in 2006. Formerly just one of many small bedroom-communities along the I-80 corridor in Western Contra Costa County, the city is undergoing a metamorphosis into a transit-oriented, mixed-use town. It is located about 20 miles (32 km) northeast of San Francisco, and approximately a half-hour drive (without traffic) from either Oakland or San Francisco. Neighboring towns are Pinole to the southwest, Rodeo to the north, as well as Martinez to the east via CA-4. The city's ethnically diverse population generally ranges from middle class to affluent. Hercules is home to a small amount of light manufacturing and high-tech industry as well as various commercial and retail activities. Most of the housing and other building stock is from the 1970s or newer. Attempts to develop mixed-use new development have begun in the waterfront district and around the intersection of I-80 and CA-4. The waterfront redevelopment includes the historic preservation and integration of a handful of buildings, some dating to Hercules's founding as a company town (see history below).