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As you may recall from last month's TIPS:
A contract requires four items to make it legally binding:
1. Identification of Parties competent to make the agreement
(a person must be at least 18 years of age to sign a contract)
2. Duty to perform and the specific obligations of the contract
(who, what, where, when, how)
3. Consideration for the agreement and the payment or exchange
of goods and services
4. Acceptance by contracting parties through signatures and
dating the contract
This month the emphasis is on contract management processes.
Contracting is one function, properly managing contracts is
another. Copies of contracts should be kept in the Event Book
and the originals in a safe place (off-site). There are other
contract management processes that will keep you organized
and protect you in the event of a problem. Keep in mind that
if there is a dispute, immediate access to the contract, along
with any riders and modifications, may save time, money, and
even the event itself. Here are a few other tips:
--Keep each contract in a separate file for easy reference.
You can cross-reference contracts by vendor or service in
the Production Manual
--All Exchanges and/or modifications should be in writing.
No matter how well intended they may be, get all promises
in writing and keep copies in your contracts folder and Production/Event
Book
--Have deadlines for returning of all legal paperwork. Missing
or delayed legal paperwork can create serious problems, presenting
another element of risk. You can mitigate that risk by being
in control of this important part of your event entertainment
planning process. Also ensure that you are aware of any deadlines
on legal paperwork that you are responsible for
--Proactively manage the legal paperwork process by knowing
the due dates and following up on any missed deadlines. This
means making telephone calls, sending email, faxes, and whatever
else it takes to get paperwork completed
Good contract management, on your part, also demonstrates
experience and credibility to the client. All of the rules
should apply to everyone, all of the time. When proactive
and organized in this process, you in essence mitigate much
of the risk. Once risks have been identified, the next step
is to determine what will happen if they occur and who is
responsible. This next step is called "crisis mitigation."
For this month's Industry News on Hotel/Site Contract and
Negociations: Contracts click
here.
 Mark
Sonder, CSEP is the Chief Entertainment Officer of Mark Sonder
Productions, a leading national entertainment agency providing
headline talent and production services for large venues,
corporations and associations. In addition, Sonder sits on
the faculty of The George Washington University MBA/MTA Diploma
and Event Management Certificate program, Stratford University
and Northern Virginia Community College. Event
Entertainment and Production is the book published by
Wiley authored by Sonder.
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