Commercial Contract and Dispute Resolution Masterclass

ET Masterclass is an initiative of The Economic Times to disseminate knowledge, experience and expertise among professionals and leaders. Special Discount of 20% for all French Chamber members!

Negotiating and drafting commercial contracts has become an indispensable part of any business transactions in today’s highly competitive and cost-conscious environment. It has become necessary that contracts should be aligned with business requirements as every business transactions are governed by contracts and agreements. Legal Professionals are required to be well versed with the drafting techniques and expertise to foresee the risk and handle in the best interest of their organizations.

The upcoming Commercial Contract Masterclass focuses on critical issues in commercial and legal areas pertaining to commercial agreements and will guide you to improve your negotiating and drafting skills. This training will also help the organization to reduce exposure, avoid litigation and implement dispute management by being fully conversant with the knowledge, skills and strategies in ensuring that the contracts are well negotiated, properly drafted and managed. The masterclass will also discuss on cross-border agreements and on identification and mitigation of contractual risks and dispute resolution clauses.

What you will learn

• Strategic negotiation of commercial contracts
• How to draft effective commercial contracts
• Managing variation and modification of contracts
• Managing breach and termination of contracts

• Drafting and negotiating alternative dispute resolution clauses
• Techniques of drafting international contracts
• Effective risk control measures to minimize legal exposure and avoid disputes

Who will benefit:

• Contract Administration & Management Professionals
• Legal Heads / General Counsels
• Legal Managers / Legal Executives
• Corporate Legal Advisors

• Company Secretaries
• Corporate Lawyers
• Arbitrators & Mediators
• Procurement and Purchasing Managers

Agenda

09:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Strategic Negotiation of Commercial Contracts

• Contract negotiation: Tactics and strategies
• Planning and conducting Negotiation
• Determining the needs, rights and obligations of negotiating parties
• Deal or no-deal situations – how to keep the options open
• What is binding and non binding MoUs or Term Sheets
• The boundaries of negotiating and re-negotiating contracts
• Basics of Structuring Foreign Collaborations and Joint Ventures
• Understand the elements effecting negotiation process – Culture, Language & Legal System

10:30 AM - 10:45 AM

Tea Break

10:45 AM - 12:30 PM

A Hands-on Guide to Drafting Commercial Contracts

• What is a Commercial Contract- The contract law fundamentals & elements
• Difference between an MoU, a letter of intent, an agreement and a contract
• Formation of contract: The art of drafting an effective commercial contract
• Drafting techniques: Indemnity and risk allocations, recitals, boilerplate provisions
• Understanding varied types and interpretations of contract clauses – force majeure, liquidated damages, risk purchase, warranty, limitation of liability, etc
• Analysing how letters of intent, heads of agreement and memoranda of understanding affect a contract
• Sharing some cases on intricacies of:
  • Joint venture agreements/collaboration guarantees
  • Investment contracts (Share Subscription Agreement, Share Purchase Agreement and Shareholders’ Agreement)
  • Franchise Agreements
  • Distribution Agreements
  • Supply Agreements
  • Smart Contracts, IT [Computer and Technology] Contracts
  • Service contracts, underwriting contracts
  • Deed of amalgamation compromise, arrangement & settlement

12:30 PM - 01:30 PM

Lunch Break

01:30 PM - 02:45 PM

Drafting of International Contracts

• Analysing the key elements in cross border agreements
• Terms unique to overseas contracts
• Dispute resolution clauses for use in international disputes
• Understanding various jurisdictions issues

02:45 PM - 03:00 PM

Tea Break

03:00 PM - 04:00 PM

Dispute Resolution Clauses & Mechanism

• Understanding & identifying dispute prone areas
• Possible consequences and the medium of dispute resolution mechanisms
• Remedies for disputes emerging from contracts
• ADR provision in contract
• Litigation Or Arbitration – A comparative Analysis
• Role of corporate counsel in dispute management

04:00 PM - 05:00 PM

Modification, Breach & Termination of Contracts

• Modification of a contract by novation, accord and satisfaction or by simple variation
• Documentations involved in contract modification and variation, right time for “Lock-in-period”
• Anticipating contractual obligations to breach of a contract
• Filing a breach of contract complaint
• Breach versus repudiation
• Partial breach, material breach of contract, anticipatory breach of contract

Experts

Shreyas Jayasimha, Advocate | Arbitrator | MediatorFounder, Aarna Law

Kirindeep SinghSenior Partner, Dentons Rodyk & Davidson LLP, Singapore

Wendy LIN, Partner, WongPartnership LLP

Vivekananda Neelakantan, Partner (Foreign Law), Allen & Gledhill LLP

Ankit Goyal, Partner (Foreign Law), Allen & Gledhill LLP