Advanced Document Drafting

1.30pm: Login/Welcome  

1.35pm: Contractual interpretation in 2024 and beyond  

Speaker: Alex Ottaway, Partner, HWL Ebsworth   

• Current approach of the High Court
• Ambiguity
• Inconsistency
• Correction of mistakes by construction
• Contractual maxims; the modern approach
• Interpretation of specific types of contract
• The future of contractual interpretation

3pm: Break

3.15pm: Drafting contracts in a commercial context

Speaker: Chris Bland, Principal, Legal Tradecraft Consulting    

• Drafting in the business context:
  • Aims and objectives
  • The drafting process from initial instructions to document execution
  • Developing drafting technique
  • Use of precedents
  • Practical drills on style, active & passive voice. sentence length etc  
  • Drafting and commercial risk allocation
  • Capturing the business relationship and terms of agreement: the drafting translational skill 
  • Six top tips for stress testing your drafting
• Conclusions

4.15pm: Drafting exercise and discussion

4.45pm: Close  

This webinar is ideal for solicitors who want to improve their drafting skills.

This webinar is produced in NSW and features NSW based practitioners. This webinar is available to practitioners from all Australian jurisdictions.

All times listed for this course are Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT). Please take note of any time differences if you are registering from WA, QLD, SA, NT or from outside Australia.

The course complies with the mandatory requirement of Professional Skills.

If you intend to claim CPD units for this educational activity, please note that CPD activities are not accredited by the Law Society of NSW or any other equivalent local authority, with the exception of Western Australia. If you hold a practising certificate in a state or territory other than Western Australia and this educational activity extends your knowledge and skills in areas that are relevant to your practice needs or professional development, then you should claim one (1) "unit” for each hour of attendance, refreshment breaks not included. The annual requirement is ten (10) CPD units each year from 1 April to 31 March. Some practitioners, such as accredited specialists are required to complete more than ten (10) units each CPD year.

Practitioners holding WA practising certificates are eligible to earn CPD points for this course. For instructions to earn CPD points, please click here.

Chris Bland, Principal, Legal Tradecraft Consulting

 Chris is an experienced in-house lawyer and management executive with over 29 years of legal and business experience as a property, projects and commercial transactions lawyer in the UK, Europe, Asia and Australia. He was at Transfield Holdings for 21 years, where he led Transfield’s in-house legal team as General Counsel between 2003 and 2013. During that time, he negotiated and implemented commercial, investment and development deals, projects and transactions involving Transfield Services Limited, Charter Hall Limited, ADI Limited, Sydney Harbour Tunnel, Perisher Blue Ski Fields, and Novatec Solar. Chris also led infrastructure project development transactions including the $650m Walsh Bay redevelopment project. He continues to undertake in-house legal project development work as a legal consultant for the student accommodation business Campus Living Villages.

"An essential skill in good drafting is learning how to effectively translate business objectives into contract concepts. Our workshop seeks to unpack and explore that translational skill. Giving the commercial deal clear contractual expression."

Alex Ottaway, HWL Ebsworth, Sydney

Alex is a Partner in the Sydney construction and infrastructure group. Alex has over 10 years experience as a qualified solicitor, specialising in the resolution of disputes involving construction and infrastructure projects. He advises and acts for participants in diverse industries such as infrastructure (roads/ports/tunnels), industrial (chemical/polymer plants), resources (LNG/oil & gas), energy, advanced manufacturing and housing. He practiced in Sydney and in London.

"The caselaw is replete with lengthy and unedifying disputes over what a contract means.  If some straightforward principles can be borne in mind and followed when drafting or interpreting a contract, those types of disputes can be avoided, or  if a dispute of that type has already arisen, a persuasive claim or defence can be prepared.  This webinar explains how."

Please be aware that this webinar organised by the College of Law for use on our website, marketing materials and publications. By attending and participating in a College of Law Continuing Professional Development course, you consent to the College of Law photographing or recording and using your image and likeness and/or voice.