Business Contract Law Training Course

Duration 10 days 18 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Contract Managers, Procurement Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-L-035

Before you join: Participants should have experience reading, negotiating, administering or approving business agreements, purchase orders, supplier terms, statements of work or service contracts.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Business teams make contractual commitments every day through proposals, purchase orders, emails, supplier terms and signed agreements. Poorly defined obligations, unauthorised promises, weak liability wording and missed notice deadlines can turn a manageable commercial issue into a costly dispute. This course helps participants identify the legal and commercial consequences before commitments are made, and manage contracts properly after signature.

Participants examine the contract lifecycle from formation and authority through drafting, negotiation, performance, change control, breach, remedies, termination and dispute resolution. They apply English common-law contract principles and learn where statutory controls, procurement rules, data protection, intellectual property, anti-bribery and sanctions requirements affect contractual terms. The course develops the ability to read contracts critically, identify red flags, propose workable amendments and explain risk decisions to operational and senior stakeholders.

Teaching combines concise legal briefings with clause analysis, contract-review cases, negotiation simulations, drafting work and facilitated group discussion. Participants work progressively on realistic commercial scenarios, including outsourced services, technology supply and procurement arrangements. They leave with a contract review and negotiation dossier containing a risk matrix, issue log, redrafted clauses, negotiation plan and contract administration plan. A certificate of completion is issued to participants who complete the course.

The programme suits commercial, procurement, contract-management, project, sales and operational professionals who work with business agreements and need greater confidence when identifying, negotiating and administering contractual risk. It is also suitable for managers who approve contracts or oversee third-party relationships without serving as legal counsel.

What you will be able to do

  • Analyse contract formation, authority and enforceability using common-law principles
  • Interpret contractual terms using textual, contextual and purposive methods
  • Draft measurable obligations, payment provisions, service levels and acceptance criteria
  • Assess liability caps, indemnities, exclusions and statutory enforceability controls
  • Conduct structured contract reviews using red-flag checklists, issue logs and risk scoring
  • Manage notices, changes, breaches and termination rights through documented procedures
  • Prepare negotiation positions using BATNA, ZOPA and clause playbooks
  • Produce a contract review and negotiation dossier for a complex commercial agreement

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence identifying binding commitments before approval or signature
  • Practical ability to challenge unclear liability and indemnity wording
  • Stronger contract negotiation positions supported by documented risk analysis
  • Improved control of notice deadlines, change requests and termination decisions
  • Reusable contract review methods for procurement, sales and delivery agreements

For your organisation

  • Fewer unauthorised commitments and poorly documented commercial concessions
  • Earlier identification of liability, pricing, performance and termination exposure
  • More consistent contract reviews using shared checklists and escalation criteria
  • Better evidence trails for changes, breaches, claims and dispute resolution
  • Improved alignment between legal, procurement, commercial and operational teams

Course modules

18 modules over 10 days

Participants can map the contract lifecycle and identify the legal sources governing a commercial agreement.

  • Contract lifecycle mapped from request, negotiation, signature, performance and close-out
  • Legal sources distinguished: statute, case law, regulation and contractual terms
  • Common-law and civil-law approaches compared for international contracting decisions
  • Jurisdiction, governing law and forum selected using transaction facts
  • Contract risk allocation linked to commercial objectives and approval limits
  • Legal advice triggers identified before commitments become binding obligations

Participants can assess whether commercial communications have created an enforceable contract.

  • Offer, invitation to treat and acceptance separated using communications evidence
  • Counteroffers, enquiries and revocations assessed under the mirror-image rule
  • Consideration, intention and certainty tested before contract formation
  • Electronic signatures and click-wrap acceptance evaluated against applicable law
  • Subject-to-contract wording controlled during preliminary commercial discussions and correspondence
  • Letters of intent structured to limit unintended binding commitments

Participants can verify signing authority and apply appropriate execution controls.

  • Actual, apparent and ostensible authority distinguished through agency principles
  • Corporate signing rules checked against constitutions, delegations and board approvals
  • RACI matrix assigns drafting, approval, signature and contract-management responsibilities
  • Unauthorised commitments escalated through defined ratification and rejection routes
  • Procurement authority thresholds aligned with contract value and risk
  • Signature blocks, counterparts and execution formalities verified before closing

Participants can classify contract terms and organise agreement documents coherently.

  • Express terms classified as conditions, warranties, innominate terms and representations
  • Pre-contract statements documented to prevent representation and misrepresentation disputes
  • Entire-agreement clauses tested against collateral warranties and statutory controls
  • Contract schedules organised into specifications, pricing, milestones and governance
  • Order-of-precedence clauses resolve conflicts between master agreements and purchase orders
  • Definitions drafted to control scope, dependencies, dates and calculation methods

Participants can interpret disputed wording and identify terms implied by law or custom.

  • Textual, contextual and purposive interpretation approaches applied to disputed wording
  • Commercial common sense used without rewriting parties' agreed bargain
  • Implied terms assessed through custom, statute, necessity and business efficacy
  • Ambiguity reduced with defined terms, examples, exclusions and measurable criteria
  • Contra proferentem considered when construing unclear exclusion and limitation clauses
  • Drafting assumptions recorded where operational language requires legal confirmation

Participants can assess financial exposure and allocate key contractual risks.

  • Risk register links obligations, failure events, owners, controls and remedies
  • Liability caps calculated against fees, insurance limits and foreseeable exposure
  • Direct, indirect and consequential loss categories analysed under governing law
  • Indemnities distinguished from damages, guarantees, warranties and insurance recoveries
  • Force majeure clauses define events, notice, mitigation and relief
  • Change-in-law and hardship provisions allocate regulatory and economic disruption

Participants can test exclusion clauses against statutory limits and reasonableness requirements.

  • Unfair Contract Terms Act reasonableness factors applied to exclusion clauses
  • Consumer Rights Act protections contrasted with business-to-business contracting rules
  • Statutory implied terms identified for goods, services and digital content
  • Non-reliance wording reviewed for enforceability and evidential support
  • Negligence, fraud and personal-injury exclusions tested against mandatory limits
  • Clause prominence, plain language and incorporation evidence documented

Participants can control conflicting standard terms during purchasing and supplier onboarding.

  • Request-for-proposal terms aligned with evaluation criteria and contract priorities
  • Battle of the forms analysed through offer, acceptance and performance
  • Purchase orders, acknowledgements and supplier terms compared clause by clause
  • Framework agreements distinguish call-off mechanics, minimum commitments and pricing
  • Public procurement obligations flagged where tender procedures constrain negotiations
  • Supplier deviations logged, ranked and routed through commercial approvals

Participants can draft clear, measurable terms that reflect commercial requirements.

  • Plain-English drafting converts business requirements into testable contractual obligations
  • Obligations assigned using verbs, actors, timing, standards and evidence
  • Service descriptions connect deliverables, acceptance criteria and dependency assumptions
  • Payment clauses specify invoices, tax, currency, withholding and disputed amounts
  • Milestone schedules establish dates, prerequisites, approvals and payment triggers
  • Drafting checklist detects gaps, conflicts, undefined terms and circular provisions

Participants can establish contract administration controls for delivery and change management.

  • Contract administration plan sets governance, reporting, records and escalation routes
  • Obligation tracker monitors deliverables, deadlines, dependencies, notices and evidence
  • Service levels define metrics, measurement sources, credits and remediation
  • Acceptance procedures establish testing, rejection, cure periods and deemed acceptance
  • Change-control process records scope, price, schedule and risk impacts
  • Meeting minutes preserve decisions without varying contracts inadvertently

Participants can respond to non-performance while preserving contractual remedies.

  • Material, anticipatory and actual breach distinguished using contractual consequences
  • Notice provisions followed for content, timing, delivery method and proof
  • Waiver and election risks controlled when responding to non-performance
  • Cure periods managed through recovery plans, milestones and documented reservations
  • Reservation-of-rights letters preserve remedies during continuing commercial performance
  • Root-cause records separate operational failure from contractual liability analysis

Participants can evaluate available remedies and prepare evidence for a potential claim.

  • Expectation damages calculated from loss, causation, remoteness and mitigation
  • Reliance and restitution measures compared for failed contractual transactions
  • Liquidated damages assessed against penalty rules and proportionate protection
  • Specific performance and injunctions evaluated where damages are inadequate
  • Debt claims, interest and collection rights assessed under payment terms
  • Evidence plan identifies documents, witnesses, calculations and preservation actions

Participants can assess termination rights and plan an orderly contractual exit.

  • Termination rights mapped for breach, insolvency, convenience and force majeure
  • Repudiatory breach assessed before accepting termination or affirming performance
  • Termination notices drafted with grounds, cure history and reservation language
  • Exit plans address handover, data return, final payments and transition
  • Survival clauses identify obligations continuing after expiry or termination
  • Termination decision paper compares legal exposure, operational continuity and alternatives

Participants can prepare disputes for escalation, settlement or formal resolution.

  • Escalation clauses sequence negotiation, mediation, expert determination, arbitration and litigation
  • Without-prejudice communications used correctly during settlement discussions and negotiations
  • Dispute chronology assembles events, notices, correspondence and key contract provisions
  • Claim narratives connect facts, clauses, evidence, losses and requested relief
  • Settlement authority, concessions and release terms documented before agreement
  • Arbitration clauses specify seat, rules, language, tribunal and enforcement

Participants can identify and address specialist clauses in commercial agreements.

  • Confidentiality clauses define protected information, permitted use, duration and exceptions
  • Data processing terms allocate controller, processor, security and breach duties
  • Intellectual property clauses distinguish background rights, foreground rights and licences
  • Anti-bribery commitments connect due diligence, records, training and termination
  • Sanctions and export-control clauses address screening, notifications and suspension
  • Audit rights balance assurance needs, confidentiality, frequency and cost

Participants can prepare and conduct contract negotiations using structured bargaining methods.

  • Negotiation preparation separates positions, interests, alternatives and concession limits
  • BATNA and ZOPA inform bargaining strategy for disputed contract provisions
  • Clause playbooks set preferred, fallback and unacceptable drafting positions
  • Package trades exchange value across price, risk, scope and timing
  • Redline discipline records rationale, ownership and unresolved negotiation points
  • Negotiation record captures agreed wording, conditions and implementation actions

Participants can conduct a prioritised contract review and route issues for approval.

  • Contract review workflow triages clauses by value, exposure and negotiability
  • Red-flag checklist identifies missing protections, unacceptable terms and approval triggers
  • Issue log records clause references, proposed edits, owners and decisions
  • Risk scoring ranks probability, impact, control strength and residual exposure
  • Internal legal escalation distinguishes business decisions from legal advice requirements
  • Contract summary translates obligations into operational owners and calendar actions

Participants can produce, review and present a complete contract review and negotiation dossier for a complex services agreement.

  • Scenario facts converted into a contract risk matrix and issue log
  • Priority clauses redrafted using approved positions, evidence and measurable obligations
  • Liability, indemnity, service-level and termination positions justified with calculations
  • Negotiation plan sets BATNA, concessions, authority limits and escalation points
  • Administration plan assigns owners, notices, milestones, records and governance
  • Peer review tests enforceability, commercial fit and residual risk
  • Presentation defends recommendations to a simulated executive approval panel

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Contract risk matrix template
  2. Contract review red-flag checklist
  3. Clause issue log template
  4. Commercial negotiation plan
  5. Contract administration plan
  6. Termination and notice checklist

Who should attend

  • Contract Managers — need to control obligations, notices, changes and supplier performance
  • Procurement Managers — need to evaluate supplier terms and negotiate acceptable risk allocation
  • Commercial Managers — need to protect margin, rights and delivery commitments during deals
  • Project Managers — need to manage contractual dependencies, acceptance and change control
  • Sales Managers — need to recognise authority limits and negotiate customer contract terms
  • Operational Leaders — need to oversee contract delivery and escalate legal issues promptly

Skills and tools covered

Contract risk assessmentCommercial contract draftingClause negotiationContract administrationDispute preventionLegal issue analysis

Tools and standards

IRAC legal analysis framework, RACI responsibility matrix, BATNA negotiation method, ZOPA negotiation framework

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to explain legal rules, followed by clause-based case work, group analysis and individual drafting tasks. Participants assess realistic business agreements, compare supplier and customer positions, and practise responding to contract problems such as delayed performance, disputed invoices and termination threats. Negotiation simulations test preparation, concession planning and authority control. Throughout the programme, participants apply each method to a continuing commercial scenario and record decisions in reusable templates. Facilitated review connects legal principles to operational actions and internal escalation requirements.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience reading, negotiating, administering or approving business agreements, purchase orders, supplier terms, statements of work or service contracts. Familiarity with their organisation's contracting process and approval rules will help participants apply the material quickly. A law degree, legal qualification or prior contract-law course is not required. The course explains legal concepts in plain language, but participants should be comfortable working with commercial documents, discussing risk and interpreting written terms. Participants should bring examples of anonymised contracts or clauses where organisational policy permits.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

No legal qualification or law degree is required. Participants should have experience working with contracts, procurement documents, sales terms or delivery agreements and should be comfortable reading commercial documents.

Participants should bring anonymised contracts, clauses or recurring contract issues if their organisation permits this. These materials can be used during application planning without disclosing confidential information.

The course is intended for contract, procurement, commercial, sales, project and operational professionals. It is particularly useful for people who negotiate, approve, administer or deliver under business contracts.

Drafting is an important part of the programme, but the course covers the full commercial contract lifecycle. Participants also address formation, authority, risk allocation, performance, breach, remedies, termination and disputes.

Participants leave with reusable review, negotiation and administration templates. They can apply these to live contracts, supplier negotiations, change requests, notice management and internal approval decisions.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The 18 modules build from core legal principles into drafting, risk review, negotiation and a final capstone dossier presentation.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.