On June 26, Cohen Seglias attorneys Matt Gioffre and Dan Fierstein presented their seminar on killer contract clauses for the Mechanical & Service Contractors Association (M&SCA).
The typical construction or service contract can contain thirty pages or more of fine print. Some contract terms, in particular, can severely impact your rights and, once enforced, can directly affect profitability. In the construction context, these contract clauses may impact payment rights, notice responsibilities, scope changes, and the right to recover for costs resulting from project delays. Key terms in service contracts should provide for clear delineation of maintenance versus system upgrades and also should allow for some flexibility in pricing.
While some of the terms may be non-negotiable, some of them will be. And for those that are non-negotiable, there are project management strategies and techniques that can help minimize their effect. It is essential that M&SCA members be able to identify these key provisions, have strategies for reducing their impact when negotiating contracts, and understand how to manage the project to maintain your rights and maximize the chances of success on a job.
Matt and Dan explained these Killer Contract Clauses, how courts interpret and enforce them, and provided best practice tips for managing a project to minimize the impact of these contractual provisions.