With rising interest rates and a recession looming, the warning signs are clear: businesses face difficult times ahead.
Rising prices and higher borrowing costs are likely to add pressure to day-to-day business operations, increasing the risk of conflicts arising between suppliers and customers throughout the supply chain. As relationships become strained, there is an increased risk of businesses defaulting in their contractual obligations and falling into dispute.
As a well-known central London litigation law firm, Saunders Law acts for clients seeking to enforce their contractual rights, or for those who are the victim of a default.
Often, commercial disputes could have been avoided or resolved sooner (protecting a valuable commercial relationship), if pro-active steps were taken earlier to understand the terms of an existing contract, and/or to strengthen and redraft existing Terms of Business. Waiting for the dispute to mature, or default to occur, is too late.
Our contract review lawyers can work alongside you to conduct a tailored contract review service that helps to clarify your current position and potential risks, both in the short and long-term.
Find out more about the firm, its teams and its typical work by taking a look at our clients.
Speak to our commercial contract review lawyers
For expert assistance and to receive a bespoke commercial contract review, contact Saunders Law today for a free, no obligation initial discussion of how we may be able to help.
Call us on 020 7315 4807 or make an enquiry online.
Our Expertise
We offer two distinct contract review services, at fixed costs:
- Specific Contract Review (£600 plus VAT); and
- Terms of Business Review (£600 plus VAT).
Our Contract Review Services
Once the parties have entered into a contract, there may be little that can be done immediately to vary the contract however, if a potential for default has been identified, it is important to understand the potential legal position take steps to minimise or mitigate risk.
Taking informed strategic decisions now may save the future of a contract, and a valuable commercial relationship. Alternatively, it might all be over, and you need some advice on the contract.
Our Specific Contract Review service is a strategic review of an existing commercial contract. A report is produced by our contract review lawyers, summarising the important and relevant contract terms, presented in an easily readable format, normally in no more than 2 pages.[1] The report is easily shareable and can be used as a crib sheet from which to work if you are seeking to revise or renegotiate terms in the future.
The Contract Review Service summarises key information, including advising on:
- specific concerns as to contract clauses or drafting;
- approaching key dates, including break clauses;
- relevant termination provisions and mechanisms, including notice periods;
- the contractual implications of defaulting;
Terms of Business Review Service
Without a contract, negotiated with each customer/commercial partner, standard Terms of Business/T&Cs are vitally important to a business limit liability and manage risk – and to clearly record who is doing what.
On that same note, a general ‘boilerplate’ contract or standard set of terms and conditions can quickly age and fall out of legal enforceability.
Even where contract terms are considered to be enforceable, it is not uncommon for parties to not undertake the necessary measures to incorporate standard terms in a business relationship.
As part of our commercial contract review service, we can assess your existing terms of business, including an objective analysis of your standard terms of business/T&Cs.
Read more about our Terms Of Business Review Service.
Assumptions
Our Specific Contract Review and our Terms of Business Review services are based on the following assumptions:
- We are advising on one contract;
- You will provide clear instructions to us, in a timely manner when requested; and
- The contract is subject to the laws of England and Wales.
- Any relevant standard contract terms which appear to be missing from the contract, which may expose a party to liability or risk;
- Dispute resolution provisions in the contract, and how those could be applied to seek to protect the contractual relationship;
- The enforceability of key terms: liability clauses and damages clauses in light of our experience in the courts; and
- Any specific concerns identified to us about particular contract terms.
Why Work with Our Commercial Contract Lawyers in London?
Independently recognised expertise
At Saunders Law, we have been independently recognised for our market-leading expertise in a number of areas, with strong rankings in highly respected client guides, the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners to reflect this.
Commercially minded approach to match our client’s priorities
No matter what your commercial requirements may be, and what you are looking to achieve from our commercial contract review, our team will make sure to construct a carefully tailored strategy that aligns with your priorities. We will be in the best position to advise you on the best approach to take following a business contract review, based on your specific requirements.
Exceptional personal service & client satisfaction
Our business contract review lawyers are proud to be consistently able to deliver an exceptional service to all of our clients. You will always receive a call back on the same day following an enquiry regarding our contract review service, and you will have the opportunity to speak to one of our partners whenever required. As a result of this, we consistently achieve excellent feedback from our clients.
Contact our commercial contract review lawyers
If you would like to enquire about our services, or simply need a lawyer to review business contacts you already have in place please email the following information to [email protected]
- Company Name
- Telephone number
- Specific contract issues to cover or concerns
- Please upload a copy of the relevant contract
Once we have received the above information, we will contact you to confirm if we can act, and the next steps.
FAQs
A commercial contract review will involve a detailed examination of an existing legal agreement you have in place, or one you intend to sign, to make sure that there are no specific concerns or risks you should be aware of.
The business contract review will also help you to better understand whether any standard contract terms may be missing from the contract, which could expose you to certain liabilities, the enforceability of key terms and the inclusion of dispute resolution methods which can help to protect the contractual relationship.
Our team can review a wide range of commercial contracts, so long as they are subject to the laws of England and Wales.
Contracts we can review include:
- Supply contracts
- Website terms and conditions
- Computer and IT contracts
- Agency agreements
- Confidentiality agreements
- Joint venture agreements
- Data protection
- Franchise agreements
- Licensing agreements
- Copyright and intellectual property matters
This is not an exhaustive list. You can find out more about whether our team can help you with a commercial contract review by getting in touch and detailing the exact type of support you need.
At Saunders, we provide fixed fees for our contract review service. The costs are as follows:
- Specific Contract Review (£600 plus VAT); and
- Terms of Business Review (£600 plus VAT).
If any additional fees are required for further work, our team will let you know in advance.
All you need to do is send the information we request, and we will respond to you. We will send you our client retainer which sets out the work we will carry out for you, the timescale for the work, and the cost. Once we are placed in funds on account by you, we will start work.
Please provide us with specific concerns you may have about the contract upon which you would like advice. We will factor those into the report we produce.
The report will be in plain English, not legal jargon. We understand that you will want commercial straightforward advice, and we will aim to deliver that.
We aim to produce our report within 7 working days following receipt of all relevant information requested from you and payment of our fees on account. If there is a more urgent deadline, please let us know (at which stage, alternative fees may apply).
The fixed fee we offer is to produce the report. We would be happy to act for you and provide additional further advice or drafting services; we will provide you with an estimate of the costs for that work on request.
[1] Where contracts are more complex, we will work with you to present our findings in an easily accessible report.
Call us on 020 7632 4300 or make an enquiry online.