In my field written agreement is a very important aspect of our work. When we share research outside of the company we have to come up with agreement documents to outline what information is to be shared or not, who owns the rights to the research that comes from the agreements, and how that information can be distributed within each company and who is able to access that information. It all needs to be outlined in these agreement documents and can at times take months to prepare cause of all the litigation and other things that the entire legal team needs to agree to before us as researchers are able to collaborate with other institutions. 

Hi kbs27,
In my past, I once had a verbal contract go bad, leading to a messy lawsuit because key details weren’t documented. I wont get into the details too much but I was not paid for work that I did for a startup company. I will say this, while verbal agreements can be legally binding, their lack of written proof makes disputes hard to resolve. Oral and verbal agreements are the same, but be careful in relying on them. It is much better and safer to have a written agreement because they are crucial as they clearly define terms, protect all parties, and minimize misunderstandings. From my experience, always get agreements in writing, no matter how trustworthy the other party seems.

The obvious reason for choosing a written contract over a verbal one is that verbal contracts are more challenging to defend or enforce in court, but another key advantage of written contracts is setting clear expectations. It is a long proven fact that memories people hold change over time, and if a contract is verbal, certain parts of the agreement can easily be forgotten or misremembered by one or both parties. With a written contract, every part of the agreement is written in detailed, specific language to ensure that both parties know what they are signing and it can be referred back to in the event of a disagreement.