Contracting needs to be customer-centric, technology-friendly and process-conscious to succeed in the current tech age. Customer-centric Customer-centric contracts are ones which are simple to read, understand and use, and provided as part of a simple, clear process to convert a prospect into a raving fan! We all know the frustrations
Even without recessions, pandemics and a ‘cost of running a business’ crisis, not everyone can afford to invest in the legal documents to support their business. However, there are five issues to avoid with writing or using contracts. Copying content If you copy and paste your contract content (irrespective of
Studies estimate that the vast majority – 70% – of friction points occur before your contract is signed (Deloitte article)… assuming it is ever signed! Why does this matter? It means a company is losing money, losing customers, and burdened with unnecessary admin during the contracting process. Streamlining contracting can
What do you think the next decade holds in terms of how we write, create, review, negotiate and sign business deals (or contracts)? In my 2020 survey, the three most likely items to impact contracting as a process were: Machine learning (ML) ie giving computers ‘the ability to learn without
As you know, I am a big fan of contracts being tools to enhance trust. This post is inspired by Episode 98 of The Hearing (a legal podcast) on Trust and Scepticism for Lawyers, featuring Dr Larry Richard, Ann Rainhart and Michael Callier. What is trust? Dr Larry Richard says
Following on from last year’s report, the HKA Crux Insight Report 2022 Battling the Headwinds has again reviewed claims and disputes on global construction projects. Changes in scope (the #1 cause of disputes) might be an unavoidable side-effect of major construction projects, but the #3 cause of disputes is contract
A 2022 report into Construction Adjudication in the UK (Tracing trends and guiding reform by Kings College London) has strongly suggested that the project team are the biggest cause of construction disputes that end in adjudication. The four most common causes cited by the 249 respondents were: inadequate contract administration
The RIBA Construction Contracts and Law Survey 2022 has again shown that roughly 1/3 projects start without a contract being in place: 65% signed before construction starts (yay) 32% between the start and end of construction (ahem) 2% after completion (oiks) 2% never signed (arggh). Back in 2011, David Mosey
The 2022 RIBA Construction Contracts and Law Survey reviewed whether the Net Zero goals of the UK government, the climate crisis and wider sustainability goals were being reflected in contracts for projects. The Chancery Lane Project, Zero Construct and the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals are all encouraging us to
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