On a simple house refurbishment project in Putney, London, Mr & Mrs West ended up with an extended house with no proper waterproofing, serious defects in the plumbing and all the newly installed M&E services needing replacing. Disaster! When planning and creating their contracts that the clients were failed by
Getting a contract in place before you provide works, goods, or services is not something the UK construction industry is great at (roughly one-third of projects start without any contract). But I expect more of the companies that sell a simple off-the-shelf product. So when I bought my recent JCT
What should be the contractor’s remedy when a subcontractor is running late? Under freedom to contract, the parties can decide their rights, remedies, obligations and liabilities – they are masters of their contractual fate. The choice is between recovering an uncertain amount provided you can prove breach and loss in
When writing a contract, you may be tempted to use the kitchen sink approach ie shove in terms that you like… irrespective of whether they: help you do business build trust create clarity manage expectations avoid disputes One type of term, which surely meets none of these aims for a
Last week I was working with a specialist subcontractor client to improve their management of contractual risk (as their MD put it). As part of a workshop on Contract Awareness, I asked various staff to read a variety of T&C and answer questions such as: when are you going to
A smart contract means a ‘computer protocol intended to digitally facilitate, verify, or enforce the negotiation or performance of a contract.’ [source] From this definition, a smart contract is just the code – it has been said that it is neither smart nor a contract! More recently, the Law Commission
A condition precedent is a clause or term which one party MUST comply with before it is entitled to other rights or remedies. It’s like a contract bouncer – if you don’t have the right code then you don’t get in. Examples The UK standard forms contain a selection of
Many years ago, I sat in Ed’s diner at Euston Station (London) waiting for my train. I was chatting to my sister and she challenged me to write a contract in just 500 words. In a rash moment I agreed, and being a woman of my word, I had to
One of the key problems with contracts is knowing how and when to use them effectively. This decision should be part of a clear contract strategy. Even if you don’t have a mature contract strategy, any strategy is better than hope! As fellow speaker and internet marketing expert, Ian Brodie,
One of my favourite standard forms is MF/1 the IET Model Form of Contract for the design, supply and installation of electrical, electronic and mechanical plant. It is clear, logically ordered and user-friendly. [It used to be printed on pink paper but that’s not why I like it.] This post