Commercial Contract Termination for Experienced Litigators

Introduction

Termination of contracts is a crucial plank of litigation. The best litigators have the depth of knowledge to assist clients in terminating to put them in the best possible position to litigate. These skills include analysing the contractual nexus in order to ascertain the consequences of each termination, how to protect clients from an inopportune termination and maximising the advantages of termination including quantum of damages.

This virtual classroom seminar will provide a summary of the UK law governing contractual termination of commercial relationships, the mechanisms for doing so and the consequences of terminating including how to deal with your client’s own termination in breach of contract.

These principles will be illustrated with up-to-date case law and concrete examples from practice, providing the tools to scrutinise a contract for its strengths and weaknesses in serving your client’s interests.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive session will cover the following:

• How to assess whether termination or renunciation is the appropriate mechanism to extricate your client
• How to execute a solid and defensible termination in accordance with the contract provisions
• How exclusion clauses interact with termination rights
• The effects of fraud or dishonesty on the right to terminate
• The relationship between the right to terminate and deliberate or inadvertent breaches
• Key differences and areas of overlap between common law and contractual termination, including the damages which can be claimed
• The role of election in the process of termination, including the benefits that may accrue depending on the route taken
• Analysis of when to act: in a termination arms race, time may be of the essence in terminating a contract or electing to accept a repudiation
• Practical advice on construing termination clauses in contracts
• Practical advice on common termination provisions including at-will or unilateral termination
• Discussion of the contractual clauses which survive termination and their potential effects
• Common errors to avoid, such as terminating without a proper basis
• Recent developments in UK case law

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.