FAMILCLUB article – Feb 2009

GET IT IN WRITING AND GET IT EARLY!

And a happy new year to everyone in the meetings and events business!
In my first column for this publication I am going to make a promise.  I will be brief! - I plan to provide some bite sized insights on legal issues that, in my experience, are most relevant to the meetings and events business.  The goal is not to turn you all into budding lawyers (I have enough competition already, thank you!) but to offer some practical tips that’ll help you sail straighter and stronger.

So for my first topic, I want to address one of my favourite themes – contracts!  You’ll hear a lot from me on this subject…because it is in my view the single most important risk management tool at your disposal.
Negotiation of contracts has, for many event and meeting managers, become one of the issues of recent times.  The days when business arrangements are formed by swapping a few emails about price and dates for service delivery are over.

Most businesses now appreciate that contracts are a bit more complex than that – and that even rudimentary risk management requires written terms and conditions.  And this is all the more important in turbulent economic times.  Forge ahead without appropriate written contracts and you risk not just a bad deal, but the loss of clients and revenue.  You’ll also expose yourself to the possibility of claims, legal action and cost - and even insolvency!

My bite sized tip this time is simply this:  Get your contracts in order!  This has two sides to it – you as supplier of goods or services and you as buyer of goods or services.  There is a third side – “internal” contracts with your business “partners” – but we’ll leave that for another day.

As you are in business supplying goods or services you need terms of trade.  If you don’t have a proper set of trading terms, have them written by someone who knows what they are doing – a lawyer who understands meetings and events.  A good set of trading terms will save you time and money.  It will also showcase your professionalism and will engender confidence for both you and your clients. 

And for those who may be tempted to just copy someone else’s document, remember the old (but compellingly true) adage that you’ll get what you pay for.  And whatever you do, don’t just plonk your terms on the back of your invoice or statement – it’s unlikely they’ll apply at all !

As a buyer of goods and services, you also need to pay attention to the terms and conditions on which you are buying.  Remember, price is only one of many relevant issues.  And the mistake I see made most often here is that focus on the contract commences when it is all but too late to find an alternative supplier.  This is especially the case with venue contracts.  As I am sure many of you have experienced, you can easily get “locked in” to using a particular venue.

So look carefully at the terms of contract offered by your suppliers and do this early.   If you don’t like what you find (eg a harsh indemnity) and you cannot get the supplier/venue to delete it, you have time to go elsewhere – and thus more bargaining power, too!.

Matt Crouch**

**Matt is an Executive Lawyer at Bartier Perry Solicitors of Sydney and has over 25 years specialist experience in the meetings and events sector.  Matt is a regular speaker at meetings industry conferences and teaches the law component of the tourism, hospitality and event courses at Sydney TAFE.  Matt can be contacted on 02 8281 7800

Email mcrouch@bartier.com.au website address: www.bartier.com.au