Managing Contracts to Avoid Disputes
While the goal of contracting is to draft a document capable of avoiding or minimising disputes, the cold, hard reality is that disagreements and dustups are inevitable. A dispute might arise from a failure by one of the parties, a misunderstanding as to the expectations and obligations under the contract, or good old fashioned unscrupulous behavior. Gain an understanding of precisely how contract disputes can arise and how to deftly manage them.
Description
Attend and earn 4 CPD units in Substantive Law
This seminar was recorded in NSW on 23 November 2018
Chair: Andrew Tokley SC, Barrister, 5 Wentworth Chambers
9.00am to 9.05am Opening Comments by the Chair
9.05am to 9.50am: Smart Contracts: Aren’t We all Supposed to be Out of a Job by Now?
- Smart Contracts have recently been a hot topic, but what smart contracts are actually being used?
- How are legislatures and courts dealing with Smart Contracts around the world?
- What are some practical examples and proofs of concept that might start to impact legal practice soon?
- Smart contract dispute hypothetical
Presented by Michael Bacina, Partner, Piper Alderman
9.50am to 10.35am: Governing Law and Jurisdiction: International and Interstate Contract Disputes
- Choice of law
- Forum selection and the dispute resolution clause
- Restraint of local proceedings
- Restraint of foreign proceedings
- Substance and procedure
Presented by Christopher Freeman, Barrister, Culwulla Chambers
10.35am to 11.20am: Statutory Intervention in Contract Law: Unfair Terms and Unconscionable Conduct
- The philosophy underlying statutory intervention
- When a term will be regarded as ‘unfair’?
- What is the ACCC’s enforcement approach?
- The factors that influence a determination of unconscionable conduct under the ACL
- The available remedies
Presented by Alister Abadee, Barrister, 7 Wentworth Selborne
11.20am to 11.35am Morning Tea
11.35am to 12.20pm: The Complexities of Terminating Contracts
- Methods of termination
- Drafting effective termination clauses
- Reducing risk in terminating a contract
Presented by Lucy Robb Vujcic, Barrister, 12 Wentworth Selborne Chambers
12.20pm to 1.05pm: A Practical Approach to Understanding Damages: Quantification Issues
- Fundamentals
- Heads of loss
- Special types of claims including loss of a chance
- Gathering evidence and the role of experts
- Lessons from the authorities
Presented by David Jury, Partner, HWL Ebsworth; Recommended Construction & Infrastructure Litigation Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2017
1.05pm to 1.15pm Final Q&A and Closing Comments by the Chair