Deciphering Government Contracts - What IS the Contract? Putting the Right Things in and Leaving the Wrong Things Out

In a series of lessons, you will gain deep insight on how contracts, both government and commercial, are interpreted by boards and courts. The rules are not always the same for them! We will also spend some time discussing good contract drafting that will avoid interpretation disputes. Filled with both legal theory (for the legally inclined) and practical application for the practitioner, you will develop a deeper appreciation for contract formatting, drafting quality contracts, and avoiding disputes, ambiguities, and misunderstandings.

Jun 6 – What IS the Contract? Putting the Right Things in and Leaving the Wrong Things Out

As troubling as it sounds, the parties to a contract are sometimes not even in agreement on what makes up the contract components. Issues such as attachments or clauses incorporated by reference, failing to identify specific versions of standard clauses, guidance versus requirement documents, incorporating changes, keeping cost, schedule and technical requirements aligned, and reading a contract as a whole are concepts that will be covered in this session. To properly interpret a contract you must first know what it is.