A contract is only as reliable as the negotiation and drafting behind it, and as local and international trade keeps growing more complex, contracts professionals need more than legal instinct to get it right. This course, delivered by the Arab British Fellowship Training Academy, walks participants through what a contract does and does not require from each party, and what the consequences of falling short look like for both sides.

The course is built around the three real stages of contracting: negotiating the deal, documenting it in a way that is both robust and practical, and managing its performance once signed. Along the way, participants pick up practices from other industries they can bring back to their own work, and are deliberately pushed to view each contract from the other party's side as well as their own.

Who Should Attend?

• Contract administrators, contracts managers and project coordinators across project, construction, cost and quantity functions.
• Engineers and contracts operatives handling day-to-day contract administration.
• Professionals new to the contracts function preparing for a major project, and experienced practitioners looking for a refresher.

Knowledge and Benefits:

After completing this training course, participants will be able to:

• Gain a broad understanding of contracts and how to use them to protect their organisation's interests.
• Understand how legal and contracting approaches differ between jurisdictions, and how to deal with both international and local contracts.
• Apply principles widely used in international contracting, including risk allocation and dispute management, and learn how to monitor contract quality.
• Recognise the need to negotiate the “deal” before structuring the contract documentation, and use tools and techniques that make that negotiation more effective.
• Assess the drafting and modification of specific contract clauses using real examples.
• Apply the latest international thinking on avoiding disputes, managing them successfully, and improving commercial outcomes.

• Module 1: The Deal Behind the Contract
  • What constitutes a contract: form, ingredients and basic structure, and the commercial context behind it.
  • Innovative commercial solutions such as partnering and “BOOT” contracts, and how negotiation and contract drafting relate to one another.
  • Closing a deal: signing authority, agency principles and the formalities needed to finalise a contract.
• Module 2: Negotiating Principles and Difficult Situations
  • Core negotiating principles in contracting, and negotiating in difficult or complex situations.
  • Using and modifying standard forms, and precedent in international contracting.
• Module 3: How Contracts Are Created and Made Enforceable
  • The need for contractual relationships, and the ingredients and formalities required for a valid contract.
  • Authority and agency, the tender process and alternative sourcing.
  • Making contracts enforceable, with particular emphasis on the international context.
• Module 4: Structuring the Contract Document
  • Form of agreement, hierarchy of terms and conditions, and traditional versus newer contractual structures.
  • Risk and title (ownership) in international trade – when it transfers – along with notices and other formalities.
  • Choosing the governing law and courts.
• Module 5: Collateral and Security Documents
  • Securitising performance obligations through bonds, guarantees and parent company guarantees.
  • Letters of intent, comfort or awareness, insurance policies, and assessing the need for financial security.
• Module 6: Drafting the Key Clauses
  • Operative provisions and performance obligations, and title, risk and payment provisions.
  • Termination, suspension and remedies for default, and limitation and exclusion of liability, force majeure and waiver.
  • The governing law of the contract and dispute resolution clauses.
• Module 7: Handling Change, Variation and Claims
  • Changes to contract documents, and how assignment and novation are distinguished from one another.
  • Variation clauses and changes to the scope of work.
  • What claims are and how they arise, and dealing with delay, disruption and force majeure.
• Module 8: Managing Contract Performance
  • Risk assessment and management, and setting and managing expectations through kick-off meetings.
  • Handling defaults, delay and disruption, and managing claims and payment issues, including in international trade.
  • Capturing lessons learned for future contracts.
• Module 9: Resolving Disputes – Traditional and Modern Approaches
  • Recognising potential problems early, and distinguishing legal rights from commercial outcomes.
  • Negotiation structures for internal dispute resolution, and external dispute resolution through litigation and arbitration.
  • Modern alternatives in dispute resolution: adjudication, expert determination and mediation.