Los Angeles partner Robert Milligan and counsel Darren Dummit will present an online CLE webinar for Strafford on October 15, 2020 at 10 a.m. pacific for business counsel to provide guidance regarding legal concerns in negotiating termination and suspension provisions contained in commercial contracts drafted in a pre-pandemic world, as well as the considerations for such provisions in the post-pandemic economic environment. Other considerations and means of limiting liability and damages will also be discussed.

The global pandemic has destabilized all areas of commercial contracting and the supply chain. Counsel must examine default and termination provisions of ongoing and future agreements and how to calculate damages for those contracts. Force majeure provisions in commercial contracts are now under the microscope, although the clauses were most likely given little thought at the time of drafting. The expert panel will provide practical strategies for drafting and negotiating termination provisions of future commercial agreements to ensure clarity in issues of force majeure, the impossibility of performance, and damages to mitigate risks.

The panel will review these and other relevant topics:

What triggering events and provisions should an attorney consider when drafting a commercial agreement?
How can counsel tailor force majeure provisions in agreements during COVID-19?
When does impossibility or frustration of purpose arise in the performance of a commercial agreement?
How can damages be assessed in termination provisions to include the added costs of performance due to delays?
When and how should parties seek equitable relief in commercial agreements?