Avoiding the Most Commonly Litigated Areas in Commercial Contracts

Introduction

This in-person seminar aims to provide contract and commercial lawyers with practical advice on how to tackle the most common and difficult problems that arise in relation to commercial contracts.

What You Will Learn

• The legal risks audit: tools for risk assessment
• Drafting to avoid litigation: recognising the dangers of inappropriate boilerplate or "standard term" provisions
• Useful statements
• Battle of the forms: the current view on incorporation
• The pitfalls of undertaking work in anticipation of a contract
• Unread but signed written terms failing to reflect pre-contractual discussions: who wins?
• Evidencing the existence of oral contracts
• Failure to agree key terms: when could there be a binding contract?
• Entire agreement clauses: pushing them to their limits
• Excluding liability for misrepresentation: non-reliance clauses
• Liquidated damages and penalty clauses revisited
• Time of performance, frustration and force majeure
• "Best" or "reasonable" endeavours and clauses of obligation
• Breach and affirmation: the practicalities
• Material breach: termination rights and pitfalls
• Exclusion clauses and limitations of liability
• Guarantees, warranties and indemnities
• Contractual damages update: consequential loss, indirect loss and loss of profits
• Breach of confidence, loss of profits, causation and remoteness
• Notices and errors in service
• ADR, mediation and arbitration