Contract Negotiation Tip 007 | Dispute Resolution Clauses and  the Art of War
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Contract Negotiation Tip 007 | Dispute Resolution Clauses and the Art of War

The Art of War, written around 500 B.C. by the legendary Chinese General Sun Tzu, has been studied by military commanders for the past 2,500 years. Today Sun Tzu’s strategies are also used by CEOs and their corporate lawyers. It’s wisdom can be applied in contract negotiation to control the terms of engagement should conflict later erupt. Most commercial contracts have a dispute resolution clause. This is where the parties agree how a war will…

Contract Negotiation Tip 006 | Pin Down the Party Representative
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Contract Negotiation Tip 006 | Pin Down the Party Representative

When the parties to a commercial contract are living up to mutual performance expectations it’s a pleasure doing business. Both sides are happy to receive phone calls from the other and everyone is quick to take credit for the commercial success. But when things start to go pear-shaped, you may soon find your telephone calls are no longer being returned. The individual who signed the contract, who you may have never met, is near the…

Contract Negotiation Tip 005 | Liquidated Damages – Keep it Real
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Contract Negotiation Tip 005 | Liquidated Damages – Keep it Real

A breach of contract may be obvious. It’s easy to tell when a contractor on a building project has not achieved practical completion on time. The hard part is figuring out how much the breaching contractor must pay in damages. This bit tends to get murky. Parties can spend a lot of time, money, and effort arguing over the measurement of damages. That’s why the law allows parties to include liquidated damages clauses in contracts….