Having been in these kinds of negotiations many times over the 15 years I've been in business, and having never been sued nor ever had a deal go seriously wrong

Having been in these kinds of negotiations many times over the 15 years I've been in business, and having never been sued nor ever had a deal go seriously wrong, the dad's advice seems perfectly sound. That is like saying "my grandfather smoked 3 packs and drank half a liter of bourbon a day, and died peacefully in his sleep aged 108, so all this talk about cancer and liver failure is baloney". Whilst your point isn't necessarily invalid (I agree with you to some extent), your example isn't very good.