How Can Contract Billing Help my Business

Archive for the ‘Arbitration Contract’ Category

Here are three key strategies to be more successful with clients;

1. CLEAR AGREEMENT

The very best favor you can do for yourself and for your client is to get to an absolutely clear agreement about your relationship and the work to be done before beginning.

If you prepare a written proposal — this is the perfect opportunity to very clearly and firmly set out the objectives, describe what you will (and will not do), the timetable, the measurements of accomplishment, payment terms, everything … without the brutal formality of a contract, filled with “legalese.

If you deal with entrepreneurs, as I do more often than not, they have no “norm” in mind for what proposals ought to look like, so you have great flexibility. If you’re dealing with association committees, government agencies or big corporations, you’ll probably need to be more formal.

Brief or long, formal or informal, one thing to strive for in your “documentation” is to anticipate and prevent every possible future misunderstanding or disagreement.

2. FREQUENT, CONTINUOUS, QUALITY COMMUNICATION

First of all, all past and present clients and targeted prospective clients, referral sources, important peers, etc. should be on a “VIP mailing list” and get a regularly published newsletter or some sort of email communication from you.

Second, clients with projects in progress need to be kept informed. Here’s an important tip: the client waiting for and anticipating results feels time pass differently than does the consultant working on their behalf. A week seems like an eternity to the client, a few hours to the consultant. You can keep off a whole lot of problems by keeping your clients informed of your work and progress.

Personally, I like to send unexpected emails for this purpose. I’ll get brief up-to date memos off to my clients early morning or before the close of a business day. Sometimes I will even record a message and email it to them for clarity. Time spent sending out emails and recording messages prevents hours of needless phone conversations.

3. MANAGING FOR PROFIT

One of the the things I notice with new and experienced consultants is that they lose their focus in general. They start giving away way to much advice for free and then they feel really crummy. Ask yourself, what is the purpose of being in the consulting business? Your primary purpose must be to make as much money as humanly possible from your expertise, time, energy, resources and client relationships. Of course, you want to deliver extraordinary services. And you want to have an impact in your niche. And you want your clients to prosper, etc., etc., etc., But the smartest business decisions get made when there is one governing priority taking precedence over all others.

One issue this leads to is that of “product.” One of the very few ways for consultants to gain “leverage,” and make money outside the box of billable work/projects, is through selling your clients useful products linked to your advice and expertise.

I strongly recommend developing products of your own to support your consulting activities.

Author: April Gregory 

Technorati Tags: business consulting, management consultants, marketing consultants

In the UK, if you are a legal recruitment agency, the most common candidate you will have approaching you is a law graduate or LPC graduate looking for paralegal jobs UK and eventually a training contract.

Unfortunately there are not enough training contracts to go around and most will have to resign themselves to either paralegal jobs UK in Personal Injury or Residential Property, or a change in career choice.

A student typically has to study for 3 years to get their law degree and then a further year full-time at a college of law to attain their LPC. This is expensive and many can find themselves heavily in debt with no promise of a training contract.

There is another option available at the University of Northumbria, of a 4 year course which exempts the students from the LPC. Given the current ratios of training contracts to LPC graduates one would have thought this option should be made more widely available.

Once the prospective Solicitors have gone through this expensive academic process they then have to hunt for that fabled pot of gold - the training contract. At present those who have not attained a 2:1 at degree level will find this extremely difficult.

Training contracts are now often awarded two years in advance and as legal practices can now pick and choose the best, experience as a paralegal is becoming important. This means it can often be 2 to 4 years after graduating that the successful law graduate actually starts their training contract.

Outside of London most paralegal jobs uk will start on between 15-20000 per annum and can over a number of years progress to between 20-30000 depending on the area of law in which they practice. So those who are heavily in debt after their LPC will see no immediate fixes to their financial obligations until 5-10 years down the line if they are able to secure a training contract.

Legal Clerks who had practised law but were not qualified were common twenty years ago. However, the competitive nature of Residential Property and Personal Injury law over the last 10 years has led towards the proliferation of the career Paralegal and Legal Executive. Legal practices can take advantage of the large number of legal graduates on the marketplace desperately seeking further experience to increase their chances of a training contract, and quite often the best place to start is a legal recruitment agency.

This move towards a move assembly line practising of the law in certain areas such as Conveyancing and Personal Injury is also spreading to other fields such as Wills and Probate, Immigration, Family and Crime; although it is more the nature of Legal Aid funding rather than the competitive nature of the marketplace which is driving these changes.

So what does this mean for our prospective law student? Well we can say for certain that to progress through a career in law is not for the faint hearted. This will be an expensive and demanding process in which only the few will be very well rewarded at the end.

It is worth at an early stage looking towards those areas of law which tend to pay better, such as Corporate and Commercial Law and Commercial Litigation. Or perhaps look at areas of law which are in high demand such as Insolvency, Construction and Charities and avoiding those which are reliant on an ever decreasing legal aid budget such as crime and family.

Author: Mischa Weston-Green

Technorati Tags: legal insurance, legal property, training contracts

Dealing breach of contracts

Every one of us, in some way or the other enters into a contract with another person for many reasons whether as consumer buying a commodity or as a tenant for some lease of property, or as a businessperson in their frequent business dealings or as a professional in rendering its services. These contractual engagements are customary endeavor for all of us people, whether orally made or in writing.

With these, contracts are indeed a valuable tool for us, be for our security and convenience. However, the sad part though, that despite the normal contractual affairs that we engaged into, there are still considerable numbers of people who have no real knowledge about contracts, maybe as a whole, or in some important aspects of their specific contractual arrangements, including contractual breaches and law.

These concerns are something to wary about, as it is logically all-important for one to learn the constitutive matters involved in their contractual engagement.

Thus, it would be worthwhile to illuminate some aspect of contracts, the respective laws that sanctioned it, its remedies in case of breach and lawsuits.

Contracts, discussion:

Contracts

Contract is a document that is sanctioned by law that contains a legally binding agreement between parties whether to do or not do something. Some source defined contract as something that involves ‘an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act, which is enforceable in a court of law’.

Contract can be entered either orally or written, but for convenience and security of the parties, it would be perfect and preferred that agreements be set out in writing.

Contract laws

Each state and jurisdictions has its own versions of contract laws enforced within their territory.

These state contract laws thus created will usually govern contracts or agreement entered between the parties within their jurisdictional boundaries. But in a more complicated business deal, contract may be governed by one of two types of state law.

Breach of contract, explanation

Breach of contract is a legal term that pertains to circumstances where one party to a contract fails to perform his undertakings, whether deliberately or carelessly, or due to someone else’s interference, in the legally binding agreement.

A party’s failure or breach in fulfilling an end under a contract has legal consequences, which can come in varied forms like lawsuits for contractual breaches, damages, or suits for specific performance or reformation or for rescission.

Breach of contract lawsuits

In Breach of contract lawsuits, it usually involves the determination of whether a party has incurred damages. The issue of damages is an important element in this kind of litigation, though the damages due to a party when there is a contract breach are relatively different and is dependent to several factors.

Not all contract breaches are enforceable through the guise of litigation, as immaterial breaches can be cured by some other medium, outside lawsuits.

However, material or substantial breaches on the other hand necessitate lawsuits, as it affects the contract as a whole and that contract damages are apparent- the presence of contract killers.

Remedies in Material Contract Breaches

When material contract breach is committed by one party, the other party to the agreement is entitled to remedies under the law.

The main remedies for a breach of contract are:

(1) Damages,
comprising of compensatory, nominal, punitive and exemplary damages

(2) Specific performance,
Alternative remedies that can be availed when after assessment by a Contract Lawyer, damages are inadequate as a legal remedy. It is regularly referred to as an order of the court that requires a party to perform a specific act, usually what is stated in a contract.

(3) Cancellation
A legal remedy in contractual breaches, which works in voiding a contract relieving all parties on their obligations and undertakings under the agreement. This remedy is available to the non-breaching party.

(4) Restitution
The legal remedy of restitution is primarily a gains-based recovery, where the non-breaching party who has parted or given a benefit to the breaching party can ask the court to put them back in their former position prior to the breach.

Irrespective of remedies chosen and depending on what remedy is applicable to your case, it is paramount that in taking any of these Breach of Contract remedies, a contract Attorney shall be wage. These matters are all too complex and intricate that requires lawyer’s assistance and help. The Attorney with its experience and qualification can offer valued assistance in the hurdles of your breach of contract predicaments.

By: Claysphere Rivera

Technorati Tags: federal lawsuits, investment loss, legal malpractice attorney

A Lease means an assignment of the right to ownership and use of merchandise for a period of time in return for some mutually agreed on remuneration or recompense. A sale, whether it is a sale on agreement, or a sale or return, or retention or creation of a collateral interest, is not labeled as a ‘lease.’ Whether it is a real estate property that is to be leased or an automobile or any other kind of property, it must be done within the terms of a legal and binding contract to avoid misunderstanding, loss and breach of trust. A lease contract is an officially authorized document or record that certifies a lease transaction between the individual renting the property and the leaseholder.

A leaseholder can enter into a lease contract with the individual leasing property by approaching a lawyer and stating his assets and choices of remuneration. The individual leasing the property then states his conditions for leasing the property, as well as the expected remuneration. When the two mutually agree on payment, the contract is carefully drafted by the leasing lawyer or agent and signed by both parties.

The period of time the recompense must be made is also stipulated in the contract. In case of breach of contract by the leaseholder through non payment of remuneration or repeated, the contract also mentions the penalty incurred therein. Similarly, there is penalty for the individual leasing the property when there is compromise on promised quality, as well as unnecessary inconvenience caused to the leaseholder. However, it must be noted that lease contract are more in the interest of the leaseholder.

Sometimes, a lease contract is combined with an option-to-purchase contract, where at the end of the lease term, the leaseholder can buy the property under mutually agreed terms.

Author: Jimmy Sturo

Technorati Tags: creation of a collateral interest, lease contract, leaseholder

A restrictive covenant is a term placed into your contract of employment to prevent you from taking certain action when you leave your current role. They are put into employment contracts to protect the employer and not the employee?

What Types Of Restrictive Covenant Are There?

There are several different types of restrictive covenants including the following:-

1. Non-competition covenants (these restrictive covenants are inserted to prevent you from working in the same area as your employer after you leave. They can be for a certain period of time and within a certain specified geographical area).

2. Non-solicitation (these covenants will stop you from taking clients of your current employer).

3. Non-poaching (this covenant is inserted to stop you returning to your old employer and taking staff with you to your new role).

4. Restrictions on use of confidential information (these covenants will stop you from sharing confidential information which you obtained whilst you were working for your employer).

A restrictive covenant can have a dramatic affect on your ability to obtain employment after you leave your current role. Therefore it is essential that you realise how serious restrictive covenants are before you sign a contract of employment.

Can Restrictive Covenants Be Enforced?

If a covenant is reasonable and necessary to protect the business interests of your employer then they can be enforceable. However, if your employer attempts to make the covenant too broad by making it for too long a period of time or covering too large a geographic area this may prevent it from being enforceable.

Another factor to take into account when considering whether a restrictive covenant is enforceable is the position of employment of the employee; for instance, a managing director or a chairman of a company will have more severe restrictive covenants than a secretary or receptionist for example.

Restrictive covenants can also be rendered unenforceable if the employer fails to follow the disciplinary or grievance procedure laid down in the employment contract. This action alone can render a restrictive covenant unenforceable.

Summary

Restrictive covenants can have a severe impact on the ability to obtain employment after you leave your current role. You should seek expert and specialist employment advice from an employment solicitor before signing a contract that contains restrictive covenants.

By: N Jervis

Technorati Tags: employee rights, employment forms, legal employment

Almost all of us will have taken out some sort of insurance. Whether it be car insurance, home insurance, health insurance or travel insurance to name just a few, we will all have paid over considerable sums of money to an insurance company in exchange for the peace of mind that comes with knowing that should disaster strike, you are insured. However, how many of us have fully understood the details of the agreement we are entering into?

Within all the documentation that comes with any new insurance contract, there is contained some of the most complex legal provisions and contractual terms that you are likely to find anywhere. Insurance companies spend millions on lawyer’s fees and have teams of professionals constantly up dating and amending the terms of their contracts to cover for every possible eventuality. You on the other hand, probably have very little time to spend getting familiar with the contents of your insurance contract and will simply glance over the main points that are highlighted by the insurance company.

However, there are a couple of things that you can do to make sure you have at least a reasonable understanding of the contract you are signing. All insurance contracts basically have the same purpose and methods. They take on the risk of an event, which may or may not occur and pay the cost of it if it does. This may be any event, but the most common are car accidents, house damage, medical treatment and the like. Life assurance is slightly different in that it guarantees to pay out on your death, which unfortunately is still a certainty that is bound to occur. However, the timing of death is uncertain and in this sense there is still a very real risk that you will die at a time when your children or spouse is completely dependent on you.

There must also be some financial cost to the occurrence. The insurer must be able to have a reasonable idea of the cost of the loss if they are to be able to calculate the price of the premium accurately. Therefore, while medical expenses and lost earnings are recoverable under insurance, the pain and suffering, or the sadness of losing a loved one will not be recoverable under an insurance contract.

Therefore, what you will really be looking for in an insurance contract is what exactly is covered. In which circumstances will the policy pay out and which occurrences are not covered. Then there are the exclusions and conditions you must meet to keep the policy valid. This might include keeping your door locked or having health checks. Make sure you understand what you have to do under the contract and do it.

By: Joseph Kenny

Technorati Tags: contractors insurance, individual insurance, temporary insurance

Special financial and managerial accounting practices are employed for the preparation of accounts of construction contracts. Generally, payments are made on the basis of work certified by the contracted. Work certified generally includes some profit element also while work unidentified is always valued at cost to the contractor.

A contract is a big job requiring considerable length of time to complete and comprising activities to be done outside the factory promises, viz. construction of a dam or school building, laying down railway lines, etc. Special financial and management accounting is required to maintain the records of construction contracts. Since each contract involves considerable resources both in terms of men and materials, it is necessary to devise an appropriate accounting system to ascertain the cost and profit made on each contract separately.

Profit on incomplete contracts:

At the end of an accounting period it may be found that certain contract have been completed while others are still in process and will be completed in the coming years. The total profits made on completed contract say be safely taken to the credit of the profit and loss account. But the same cannot be done in case of incomplete contracts.

These contracts are still in process, and there are possibilities of profits being turned into to losses on account of heavy rise in prices of materials and labor and losses on account of other unforeseen contingencies. At the same time it does not also seem desire able to consider the profits only on completed contracts and ignore completely incomplete ones because this may result in heavy fluctuations in the figure of profit from year to year. A year in which a large number of contracts have been completed will show an abnormal high figure for profit while reserve may be the case in the year in which a large number of contracts remain incomplete. Therefore, profits on incomplete contracts should be considered, of course, after providing adequate sums for meeting unknown contingencies.

There are no hard and fast rules for the calculation of the figures for profit to be taken to the credit of profit and loss account. However, the following rules may be followed:

(a) Profit should be considered in respect of work certified only, work uncertified should always be valued at cost.

(b) No profit should be taken into consideration if the amount of work certified is less than 1/4 of the contract price because in such cases it is not possible to foresee the future clearly.

(c) If the amount of work certified is 1/4 or more but less than1/2 of the contract price, 1/3 of the profit disclosed, as reduced but the percentage of cash received from the contractee, should be taken to the profit and loss account. The balance should be allowed to remain as a reserve.

(d) If the amount of work certified is very much near completion, if possible the total cost of completing the contract should be estimated The estimated total profit on the contract then can be calculated by deducting the total estimated cost from the contract price. The profit and loss should be credited with that proportion of total estimated profit on cash basis, which the work certified bears to the total contract price.

(f) The whole of loss, if any, should be transferred to the profit and loss account.

Cost Plus Contracts:

In certain contracts the contractee agrees to pay to the contractor the cost price (usually prime cost) of the work done on the contract plus an agreed percentage thereof by way of overhead expenses and profit. Such contracts are known as cost-plus contracts. The system of cost plus contract costing is employed in cases where it is very difficult for the contractor to quote the contract price because there has been no precedent which he may take as basis. It is also employed where the work to be done is not fixed at the time of placing order for the contract. The method is generally used where government happens to be the contractee. The method suffers from the
following disadvantages

There is no incentive to the contractor to eliminate waste and economies the cost of completing the contract. On the other hand, he is tempted to increase the cost because greater the cost, the greater will be his share of profit. In case of this system the amount of overheads recovered and profit made depends upon the value of materials used, which is subject to considerable pricefluctuations. The agreed fixed percentage may, therefore, prove to be either too excessive or too low for covering overheads and profit.

Escalation Clause:

Escalation clause is usually provided in the contract as a safeguard against any likely changes in the prices of utilization of material and labor. The clause provides that in case prices of items of raw materials, labor, etc. specified in the contract, change during the execution of the contract, beyond a specified limit over the price prevailing at the time of signing the agreement, the contract price will be suitably adjusted. The term of the contract specify the procedure for calculating such adjustment in order to avoid all future disputes. Thus, such a clause safeguards the interests of both the contractor and contractee in case of fluctuations in the price of materials and labor, etc.

Work in Progress:

At the end of the accounting period a contract may still be in progress. The term work in progress refers to the work done so for in respect of the contract, which is still incomplete. It consists of the following:

(1) Working Certified:
It refers to the work approved by the contractee. In case of contracts it is the useful practice for the contractor to get the work approved from time to time from the contractee. This is helpful to the contractor in two ways; first in case the contractee finds the work not up to specifications, he may ask the contractor to take corrective actions in time.

Second, in contract accounts it is useful practice to have a system of progress payments, i.e., the contract agrees to pay a certain percentage of the work certified (say, 80 or 90 percent). This is advantageous to the contractor since he gets immediate liquid funds.

(2) Work Uncertified: It refers to the work which has been done by the contractor but not so far approved by the contracted.

Work certified generally includes some profit element also while work uncertified is always valued at cost to the contractor.

Sub Contracts:

The contractor may entrust some portion of the work to be done under the contract to a sub-contractor. Usually work of a specialized nature, i.e., steel work, special flooring, etc., is done by sub-contractors, who are responsible to the main contractor. The cost of such sub-contracts is a direct charge against the contract for which the work has been done. Special financial and management accounting is required to maintain the records of construction contracts.

By Rashid Javed

Technorati Tags: business accounting, contractors contracts, financial statement

Employment contracts are some of the most important UK business documents you will ever sign in your working life, and yet they are written in a deliberately convoluted and confusing manner, which often makes it difficult to get the clear points of what you’re signing up for. Take your time, and read and re-read every contract, but pay special attention to the clauses, to ensure you understand them.

Employers can put some unreasonable bits in here, so it pays to know what each one means. Here are some of the more common employment contract clauses so you know what to look for. And managers: if you want these points enforced, be sure to include them in your UK business documents!

Changes in Circumstances and Personal Information

This common employment contract clause forces all employees to inform the employer when their personal circumstances change. This may be accompanied by a list of circumstances covered by the rule.

Dress Code for Uniforms

If employees are required to wear a uniform, this can be used to enforce how they should be worn. This can include stipulations regarding cleanliness and how they physically are to be worn - though it has to be subject to religious or personal circumstances which can prevent employees from complying.

Gardening Leave

This employment contract clause means that employers can make employees who have handed in their notice, or been dismissed serve out the remainder of their time at home. They will be on full pay, but with the advantage to the company that they are held to the contractual agreements (e.g: confidentiality and exclusivity clauses still remain) and are available to be called back to work at short notice.

Office Conduct/Dress Code

Sometimes, the employer will outline exactly the kind of conduct and dress code they expect when employees are in the office - this would go here.

Office Relationships

If the employer chooses, inter-office romantic or sexual relationships can be discouraged here. This is especially common when involving two employees of different seniority for the conflict of interest it would create. This clause in a contract should then detail what action will be taken in instances where the rule is broken. Possibilities include re-deployment or firing of one of the employees.

Restrictive Covenants

There are a number of different restrictive covenants that can be enforced, and largely relate to restricting the employee’s competition to his/her employer when he/she leaves. This can include area-covenants, which prevent employees working for competitors, non-solicitation covenants which prevents the poaching of clients from the former employer and non-solicitation of staff covenants, which prevent the former employee dealing with his/her former fellow employees for a defined time after termination of employment.

Restrictions on Outside Employment

This is one of the more common employment contract clauses. It usually prevents employees taking on any additional work during their agreed hours of employment, and requires written permission from the employer for work outside the agreed hours. This is generally backed up by a note that permission will not be granted for work that competes with the employer’s business or that which will affect the employee’s work performance.

Rights to Intellectual Property

This contract clause can be used to ensure employees involved in creative production waive any right to intellectual property, and clarifies that the employer owns any copyright or other IP right. This can be open to interpretation, so should be accompanied by a definition of what the employer classes as intellectual property

Use of Protective Clothing

This won’t apply to the majority of offices, but this contract clause is designed to ensure that protective clothing and equipment is worn to comply with health and safety regulations. This section may also outline the possible disciplinary action to be taken in the even of a breach.

Keep an eye on these employment contract clauses, and feel free to seek legal advice if you don’t understand the practical application of any part of your UK business documents. It’s too important to get wrong!

Author: Iain Mackintosh

Technorati Tags: contract agreements, contractor agreements, legal services agreement

Productivity and sales may be slow at the moment but that does not necessarily mean that you should hit the breaks on everything in relation to your business. The fact that things are a little slow from a day-to-day workload perspective means that you have more time to step back and take stock of all those things you always mean to do, but never seem to get to.

Taking the time to review and make changes to the way your business functions could prove to be beneficial both now and more importantly in the long term, as the economy picks up again.

There are numerous facets of the business that can be addressed from financial considerations to trading terms and operations/procedures. Following are some helpful questions you may like to consider to prepare your business for the tough year ahead and put it in an optimal position for when the tides turn and business is on the up!

Ask yourself the following questions. Once you have ascertained the specific areas of your business that require attention, ensure that you speak to the relevant professional in order to get the best advice on how to improve your current situation.

Banking

* Do you have a positive working relationship with your banking manager?
* Do you regularly touch base with them to provide updates on the financial status of your business and to seek any necessary advice?
* Do you have strategies in place in the unfortunate event that something should go wrong with the business financially?
* Are your business assets correctly valued in order to support any business loans that you may have?

Accounting

* Do you have a positive working relationship with your accountant?
* Is your business structured in such a way that your personal assets are protected?
* Do you have private assets held separately from the assets of your business?
* Are business owned assets held in the correct way, under the correct structure for your situation? For example, sole trader vs. partnership vs. company vs. trusts.

Operations and Trading Terms

* Are your contracts with customers and/or suppliers correctly structured and legally compliant?
* If you are supplying materials in the course of your business, does your contract allow for the retrieval of unpaid goods?
* Do your current contracts and trading terms processes include provisions to facilitate the prompt recovery of debt owed to you?
* Are there areas of your business that could be cut down or made more cost effective but will not affect the operations and daily functioning of the business?

Protecting your business

* Do you have a compliant and up-to-date shareholder’s agreement?
* Do you have clearly defined corporate governance practices in place?
* Does your current insurance policy adequately cover your business structure and assets?
* Is any intellectual property sufficiently protected and/or legally registered? For example business names and logos, personally developed products, methods or innovations.
* Do you require confidentiality, non-disclosure or restraint of trade agreements with suppliers or current or previous employees?

Protecting you, the owner

* Do you have an up-to-date and valid Will?
* Do you require an enduring power of attorney?

Of course these are just a few areas that you can look to in order to start strengthening your business. Other areas you may wish to consider include Marketing practices, Staffing and Human Resources and Management processes.

If the above checklist has highlighted some areas on your business that could do with a ‘touch up’ contact the team of accountants and lawyers at The Quinn Group. We are able to assist you with everything from drafting contracts and negotiating with financial institutions to reviewing or restructuring your business structure and providing cash flow and budgeting advice.

For more information, or to organise to speak with one of our team about your business needs call us on 1300 QUINNS or click here to submit an online enquiry.

By: Michael Quinn

Technorati Tags: business education, business marketing, sales training

Perhaps in no sector of business is globalization having a greater impact than in information technology, or IT. The extent to which this sector crosses borders is considerable, as is the complexity involved in associated legal issues.

When it comes to information technology, and those doing business in the field, it can be difficult to know what laws apply to which aspects of a service or product. There are software licensing agreements to consider. There are manufacturing locations to take into account. To add to the confusion, there are questions pertaining to when certain jurisdictional concerns overlap one another when considering the extent to which products and services interact.

If you have software licensed in the US, for example, but hardware made in Britain, which jurisdiction applies to an issue at hand? Add to that the fact that the service provided could come from India, it’s not surprising that IT professionals can be confused about just where their contract agreement has jurisdiction, or even what can be considered legal software in any particular country.

These kinds of questions and issues are why jurisdiction with respect to the contract agreement has become a challenge being confronted by more and more people in the IT industry around the globe. If both the international private and public sectors don’t meet these challenges soon enough, the legal quagmire in which we could all find ourselves could be considerable. It’s why waiting is not an option, and why the IT sector is engaging in ways to meet the challenges involved regarding issues like what is or isn’t legal software.

If things go well, what constitutes legal software will be a much less complex issue to sort out. This means less worrying, less red tape, and a more streamlined process to deal with contractual issues in the IT sector. This is an outcome many people are working hard to achieve soon enough.

One of the factors involved in the complexity is just how diverse countries and regions are around the world. This particularly holds true regarding information technology, as countries as far apart and diverse as the United States and India have become major players, not to mention just about every other corner of the earth. Above and beyond the complexities involved in international IT law itself, what makes the issue of contract agreement and legal software even more complex is that different cultures and peoples have different ways of approaching the law in general. These are hurdles that all IT professionals encounter as they tackle the field of jurisdictional law.

Perhaps the greatest focus being placed when it comes to resolving issues of international jurisdiction is determining the best resolution mechanism to be instituted.

As it stands now, figuring out jurisdiction for a contract agreement can be more difficult than figuring out how to create, install, and fix software itself. If a dispute does arise regarding things like legal software, often the first jurisdiction to kick in is local. Where it goes from there can be anyone’s guess.

What is developing now is a move towards some international arbitration system where, instead of the current maze of making one’s way up the food chain of jurisdictional procedures, all the parties involved can have access to an established system of settling disputes. Such a mechanism would not only make the entire process that much easier, but the environment created could be more conducive to creativity and problem solving which, in the end, is what that IT sector is supposed to be about, isn’t it?

In most business situations, one of the purposes of a contract agreement is to in fact make the process a simpler one where everyone understands their duties and obligations as part of the contract. Not only does this make things like financial obligations easier to sort out, it allows service and products to be rendered in an atmosphere of mutual trust, and it lets everyone know what cards are on the table. There is no reason why this can’t hold true in the IT sector. A world where the IT contract agreement is made simple might lead to a world where we no longer ask if something is legal software or not. It’s probably something we can all hope for.

Is there something that IT professionals can do to make the situation easier for themselves? Part of the problem is the international situation regarding the contract agreement. With this component of the problem, one has to be resolved with the fact that people are working on it. There is just too much money at stake to let the situation fester. Without international regimes in place to deal with these issues, dollars will be lost, egos will be shattered, and service will be diminished. Absolutely nobody wants to see that happen.

Alternatively, as with so many issues when involved in business, and in particular the IT business, talking to people and knowing as much as you can about the issues involved can only help. It’s hard to imagine that IT professionals at some point or another have not encountered jurisdictional issues, especially as it relates to things like what is and what isn’t legal software. Networking and doing some homework can go a long way in ensuring that the contract agreement issues you deal with will work out in your favor at least until some broader international issues are resolved, of course.

By: James Cochran

Technorati Tags: letter of agreement, terms agreement, waiver agreement