ABSTRACT

Decisions around scope, specification, risk management and incentives will have enabled you to give instructions to your lawyers to produce the draft contract. When the draft arrives at your desk, it will contain more clauses than the ones you specifically asked for. Contracts generally contain a lot of clauses that pop out of the lawyers’ precedent bank and are slotted into every contract they produce in virtually identical terms. These clauses are known as ‘boilerplate’ and many clients don’t bother to read them. Sometimes even the lawyers don’t bother to read them. This is a mistake.

These clauses are known as ‘boilerplate’ … Sometimes even the lawyers don’t bother to read them. This is a mistake.