Commercial contract in the UAE

This client had agreed provisional heads of terms for the provision of services to a prominent local firm.

We met with the client to take their initial instructions and to review the suggested heads of terms. Based on those instructions, we drafted a consultancy contract which provided for, amongst other matters, the following;

• A precisely defined scope of services to be provided by our client
• The payment mechanism, which included provision for the early termination of the agreement in the event that payment was delayed
• Retention of intellectual property rights by our client
• A limitation of liability on the part of our client
• A termination clause, which included scope for either party to notify the other of an alleged breach before proceeding directly to termination
• A dispute resolution clause, which chose the DIFC as the venue in the event of a dispute

The benefit of this contract is that it captured the entire agreement between our client and the local firm in a clear and unambiguous manner, thereby minimising the scope for dispute between the parties at a later stage.