Sarah

Author. Contract strategist. Mission to get businesses to read, understand & use their contracts to build trust and avoid disputes. Contracts should be simple and effective.

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22

Apr2016

A to Z of Letters of Intent

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Collected at last, links to my LinkedIn posts on letters of intent A How Can You Accept a Letter of Intent What is the legal equivalent of 'hell yes'? B What to Do Before Sending A Letter of Intent Searching questions to check a letter of intent is ... Read More

22

Apr2016

Which is Better: Litigation or Arbitration?

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On alternate Thursdays, Sarah Schutte of Schutte Consulting and I are holding blab debates about various issues in construction. This debate discusses the relative merits of two popular dispute resolution methods. This blab covers: what is litigation or arbitration? when can you use ... Read More
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19

Apr2016

When Letters of Intent Go Wrong: A Contract Administrator Perspective

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The contract administrator on a construction project is the "coordinator and guardian of the client's interests". She is critical in finalising the building contract on a construction project. In Ampleforth v TTPM (2012) the court reviewed the role of the contract administrator on letters of intent and said: the CA was not under ... Read More

15

Apr2016

Which is Better: Letter of Intent or Contract?

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This explanation from  HH Judge Keyser QC in Ampleforth Abbey Trust v Turner & Townsend Project Management Ltd perfectly explains why letters of intent are meant to be temporary: The execution of a contract is to be seen not as a mere aspiration but rather as fundamental. It is ... Read More

13

Apr2016

What’s Your Response to Increasing Risk?

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What is the long-term impact of transferring all the risk on a construction project to the contractor? In April 2016, defects found in 17 schools in Edinburgh resulted in those schools being closed to pupils. Like design and build, construction management and other procurement strategies, the Private Finance Initiative schemes were ... Read More

06

Apr2016

Get it Signed

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Do we hate paperwork so much that we are prepared to start multi-million pound construction projects without a contract? The NBS Contracts and Law Survey 2015 (like its predecessors) highlights that roughly 1/3 of projects start without a proper contract being finalised: Just over two thirds (67%) tell us they ... Read More

30

Mar2016

Simplest is Best

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As the judge in Twintec v Volkerfitzpatrick said: As with so many things, the simplest solution is often the best When you next write a collateral warranty, construction contract or letter of intent, keep it simple. The survey of contract users reported in the 1995 Latham Report proposed that simple contracts would solve ... Read More

23

Mar2016

When Letters of Intent Go Wrong: the Contractor Perspective

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A letter of intent is a contract to start a construction project in the form of a letter. It may also confirm the sender's intention to award the contract for the whole project to the recipient - the contractor. The purpose of a letter of intent is two-fold: (1) to start ... Read More

15

Mar2016

What Is Your Purpose for Your Letter of Intent?

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The main problem for writers of letters of intent is that they don’t ask why the parties are using a letter of intent. You may not need a letter of intent at all. What's Your Purpose? Is the purpose of your letter to … award the contract for the works to the Contractor? If ... Read More

08

Mar2016

How Do You Minimise Letter of Intent Disputes?

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There are three elements to avoiding and minimising disputes when you are using a letter of intent. Stepping Stone The first is to recognise that a letter of intent is merely the first stage in the contract negotiation process. A letter of intent is a means to an end not the end ... Read More