Although it was over 200 pages (with 30 pages of defined terms), given that it had been through 21 iterations and redrafts, you would have thought the lawyers would have ironed out all the wrinkles and resolved any drafting issues… or not! A contract relating to joint ventures and letters
Although not common in the construction sector, contractual jargon which regularly confuses users is an ‘endeavours’ obligation. Like reasonable skill and care, this is an input standard – often subjective, qualified and tricky to prove. But what is the difference between best endeavours and reasonable endeavours? A spectrum of inputs
No-one really likes disputes (except a few claims consultants or lawyers). So why don’t we spend more time engineering them out of construction? As HHJ Brian Preston said The best way to resolve to a dispute is to pre-empt it and not have the dispute in the first place… A
To paraphrase William Shakespeare (the Bard): “If contracts be the food of love, play on. Give me excess clauses that, surfeiting, The appetite for jargon may sicken and so die. That Latin phrase, it had a dying fall… O contract spirit, how mean-spirited art thou, That, notwithstanding thy word-smithery Is
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
We need contracts that are easy to operate and easy to use to gather relevant data. Simplification deals with the easy to operate bit. At the World Commerce and Contracting EMEA Summit 2022, Stefania Passera, their designer-in-residence challenged her audience of contract and procurement specialists to rethink contracts. She suggested
I’ve said it before, and it’s worth repeating… until they sign on the dotted line they are not a client, they are a prospect. So your contract is part of your marketing resources – a seamless set of resources, on-line and off-line collateral and actions, that reflect your brand. What
When I first started my journey to contracts in just 500 words, I focused mostly on content. Simple balanced effective content. I worked with an information designer who added some visuals, structure and design. I didn’t want my samples to look like walls of text! Together we had the beginnings
One of my 10 essentials for a construction contract is to agree the remedies one party will have if the other breaches the contract. A common remedy for construction contracts is to agree damages payable for a specific breach. Typically these are the employer’s remedy for delays to completion, but
There is a growing global movement towards plain language contracts, especially for individuals or consumers. What does plain language mean and is it enough? What is plain language? According to the Plain Language Federation (and this is the definition in the proposed new ISO on the topic): A communication is
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