Contract Negotiation, Claims Analysis & Negotiation

When it comes time to negotiate the final contract, many project owners and procurement agencies spend an over-abundance of time, energy and money thrashing out issues that – either individually or collectively – are far from the true priorities of a project or a procurement.

An astute negotiation advisor identifies those qualifications and conditions that are best taken off the table, in order to bring time and cost efficiency to the process, and to optimise the client’s position at negotiation end.

Ensuring both a strategic and a tactical approach to a negotiation results in the client giving away less in terms of the strength of the contract, than would have been the case with the traditional approach, in which a large number of issues are raised, many of which are ultimately abandoned.

A variety of key objectives are to be struck, in a delicate dance around the negotiating table:  Maximising the client’s commercial position while transferring as much risk as is commercially realistic, and – at the same time – preserving the clarity and simplicity of the project, eliminating ambiguity and contradictory elements such that the likelihood of future disputes is minimised.