How many errors can one contract have in their clauses relating to liquidated damages? Genuine pre-estimate of loss In Buckingham v Peel, the contract included a clause stating: The Parties agree that… having given careful consideration to this matter, all LADs payable by the Contractor are considered by the Parties
Do your contracts enhance trust with your prospective clients? What’s the point of creating awareness, interest, and a decision to work with you <yay> if your processes and terms damage your relationship and stop them converting into a client <boo>? Remember, they’re not a client until they’ve signed on the dotted
Reinforcing my experience The latest Arcadis Global Disputes Report (2022) confirms a few of the experiences I have as a contracts lawyer: contracts are rarely without errors – in 2021 errors or omissions in the contract documents were the second biggest cause of global disputes contracts reviews are worth the
What are the alternatives to retention? In my view, the retention is effectively ransom money and the parties rarely know who actually owns it. It can be kidnapped and held as a form of leverage. Its two key purposes are: security against defective work or security against insolvency within the
No-one cares what you think your contract meant… As an English court said: What each of the parties intended or understood by their written and spoken communications is irrelevant unless that intention or understanding was shared with and agreed or accepted by the other party. English legal rules on contract
When I review contracts, the first section of my report lists the red flags ie those clauses that you really really ought to know about (and ideally get removed). These are the ones which could turn your perfect deal into a complete nightmare. One of my red flags is whether
If you are not ready for radical simplicity, do you just want simpler contracts? If so you are in good company as 48% of companies said they were interested in simplifying their contracts. Read the full edition here If your contracts are signed quickly every time, without a murmur, why bother simplifying?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ahpjHO4tvA&feature=youtu.be
In 1759 Arthur Guinness signed a 9000-year lease at a rent of £45. A long lease is normally 99 years and a lease for 999 years is often seen as equivalent to freehold. So 9000 years? You won’t be surprised to know that he purchased the site a few years
Back in 2017 I read Speed of Trust by Stephen MR Covey and came across this story: In the construction industry, which is typically very ‘win/lose’ and adversarial between contractors and subcontractors, Shea Homes decided to create a different model. Among the many steps they took, they renamed their subs
Is collaboration ever going to be the norm, or will it always be niche? A panel at the World Commerce and Contracting EMEA Summit 2022 debated this issue. The drivers in favour of collaboration were: The pandemic effect. The events of 2020 forced many clients to collaborate with their suppliers